Happy Birthday to me! A few days after Nyepi and it’s my birthday. I’ve had two on the road which is pretty awesome to think about. Two years homeless! Oh, and here’s some more shots of our place in Ubud.
Here’s the other path to our front door, turn right and then right again and you’re at the swimming pool. Our other favourite place other than the table outside in the shade.

Our Villa inside is nice and sparsely furnished. Alice can tell you some horror stories about a rat climbing on her in the middle of the night, but for the most part we were not pestered too much.

We loved our resident geckos. Here’s our bedroom one, there were two more outside who greeted us every morning early for work.

To get to the main road we go through this alleyway next to the public space that holds events, and where anyone can rest in the shade. it’s a great landmark to help taxi drivers get us home.

Looking toward the main road you can see it’s nice and quiet and then BOOM, road noise and hustle/bustle. Plenty of shops around to buy bits and pieces, and other tourists walking around. What was really cool was that here there was a community centre where they were learning traditional music; the rhythms were incredible.

Lots of wires overhead, but we never had a power outtage. Internet was not great, but interestingly enough you can’t send a text message; there is no SMS service, everyone uses WhatsApp here for everything and Bali is responding to that.

You put your rubbish in these gated, cement areas. Sometimes people get told off for putting the wrong things in the wrong bin. I think this sign says something to that effect.

Our Villa had some parking spaces, and above is where the manager lived. Our great friend Guli.

The front door is another reminder of Balinese culture; you are entering a compound, do not forget to be respectful. Incense and flower offerings welcome you in.

This is the entrance to our Villa Cantik. It’s beautiful. Even new buildings go up with this style, a reverence for the past, and for tradition.

And now my birthday! It’s traditionally hard to shop for the birthday person in our family when we’re together all the time, so really it’s more of a day off and breakfast in bed that you look forward to because you already know the gifts you’re probably going to get. But, all of this is fine, it’s always fun!
Alice and the kids made me a great birthday card and I wanted to save it for posterity.

I’m feeling pretty special right about now!