Our Wild Bali Neighbor: A Water Monitor Lizard Named Sate

Meet Sate—our unexpected (and slightly terrifying) villa guest. 🦎 We’re pretty sure he lives somewhere close, but let’s be honest, he knows exactly where we live. The first time we saw him, he was casually taking a dip in our pool. From the sheer size of him, we genuinely thought a crocodile had somehow made its way into our backyard. Panic? Oh, absolutely. 😳 But after a few moments of heart-racing chaos, we realized we weren’t dealing with a rogue croc but a very confident water monitor lizard (Biawak). Since then, Sate has become somewhat of an unwelcome yet fascinating neighbor. He sunbathes on the bathroom wall (our open-air bathroom, mind you—cue the jump scares), scales the villa like he owns the place, and every morning, we spot him climbing the same wall to catch the first rays of sunlight. It’s like his version of morning yoga. 🌞 Are we friends? No. Are we enemies? Also no. There’s a mutual respect… from a distance. A very safe distance. We lock eyes across the garden like two opponents sizing each other up, neither willing to break the uneasy truce. I’d love to say we’re getting used to him, but truthfully, every time the kids scream, “SATE’S IN THE POOL!” my brain still pictures floating chicken skewers bobbing around the pool 😂 🏊‍♀️ 🍢😂 #BaliWildlife #MonitorLizard #BaliNature #VillaLife #LifeInBali #UnexpectedGuests #ChadAndMia #BaliWithKids #OnlyInBali