Hey, It's my Birthday!

Day 298

I could have continued doing nothing for another week, however my Indonesian visa was ticking away and I knew that there were some things I would be unhappy to miss. It was time to go. My biggest hesitation was that it was my birthday and I was headed to a place with no nightlife. The day time sites won out and at 9 am I was on a bus to Ubud.

Once in Ubud it took me about 5 minutes to find a place to stay. The price was right and was actually just as attractive as it was in the pictures. The only problem was there there wasn't a tv and I had more bootlegs to watch.

I spent the afternoon checking out the town. It was very small but there were loads of temples and a rather dirty fountain. Everything was surronded by rice paddies. There were offerings by the dozens outside each building. I learned later on that these were to keep the local volcano from erupting. Some rather cute monkeys had gotten into some of them. During my wanderings I also managed to book a tour for the next day and get a facial.

For diner that night I had crab cakes and a steak sandwich. It was pretty yummy. The best part of the day was talking to my parents. I've grown used to homesickness and missing everyone in the same way you get used to any daily annoyance. Homesickness is annoying, not the people, just to be clear. The holidays (I consider my birthday a holiday) have been a bit tougher and the emails from friends and chatting with my parents really helped.

After a bit more time on the internet I headed back to my hotel. There wasn't really anywhere else to go. This wasn't the best birthday ever, but it was a hell of a lot better than last years and I'm sure that the next one will be even better!