Long Time no see

Such a long time i don't write and update my blog,,,
Nice to back again

My life so far...

Life has been ok.

Work is pouring in, so that's good. But sometimes too much, so I have to turn down a few.

My little boy is learning to walk now. What a handful! Very naughty! He is becoming a little dificult to take care. He wants to be on the ground all the time... and playing all the time....

Ok... have to get back chasing the little one. Ciao!

A letter from Rossitravel

YY said her "Italian brother" is coming to visit Bali and she asked me to take care of him.

I agreed.

Since we had not met before, I told him when I picking him up from the airport, I will have a placard in my hand with his name on it.

When we saw each other, we was surprised with each other. It didn't cross my mind that he is not a Chinese, I thought he is a Chinese coming from Italy.

"I thought you a Chinese!" I said.

"I thought you were taller!" He said.

We laughed.

When we entered the car, I told him I have not speak English for a while because almost all my customers are French.

"Ahhh... don't worry, I don't speak much English also."

Dear Titak,

Greetings from Udine, Italy.

Thank you for driving me safely around Bali.

Thank you for telling stories of your country. It was interesting, and I have learn a lot.

Though these are only simple words, but they did not explain my feelings...

It was not just a holiday. It was a journey to a culture, history, religion, and life. You were the guide who took me through all of that.

It was an honour to have met your family, visited your village, and your home. It taught me a lot.


Thank you Titak, thank you my friend.


Andrea

Nyepi

Balinese New Year...

The day of silence...

Shhhhhh~~~~~

The Weather

YY's friend sent me an email asking me to recommend an ideal itinerary for her trip in November.

Because the mother nature have not been in very good mood, she said that she and YY had been checking on the weather forecast and YY said it should be ok because Bali is a well protected island.

Anyway, she said she decided I am a much more reliable person to check with. So I have to let her know what's the Tsunami warning status is going to be like...

Aku anak gunung, not only I have to watch out for the volcano erruption, now, I have to watch out for the Tsunami.

Small family

That day was full moon, so it was a holiday. A lot of people went to the temple to pray.

My wife, Dewi, was at home with my little boy when the family came to visit us.

He only sleeps during the day, and awake during the night...

I Putu Mahesa Putra Diatmika @ 3 and half weeks old.

A family of 3 in front of newly built house :)

Photo courtesy to my brother, Alvin , who started Damien Photography recently.

Nuff Said ;)

~~The Bali Gang~~
Mark, Jiin, Chuan, Me & YY in Gunung Kawi, Tampaksiring
Photo courtesy to Damien Photography

I putu Mahesa Putra Diatmika...

I'm so happy to be a papa.....

Here are the picture I got by the handphone...

Welcoming a New Life

I would like to share the happiness. My son just born on 10th July, 2009. So happy to be papa :)

His name is I Putu Mahesa Putra Diatmika, means a great son and inteligent.

Hopefully he can be like what we wish he is becoming :)

Time flies!

April is over and it is already May.

Not only May is a busy month, June is going to be crazy too! I saw so many emails in the inbox and my jaw almost dropped. So many people is coming to Bali in June.

I am happy that swine flu is not affecting Bali much. Phew!

Jean-Pierre and Micheline, thanks so much for recommending me to your friends. Your praise, your help and your kindness is very much appreciated. I can't thank you enough.

Abang and kakak is coming to Bali with their family, and there's a special request - they want to witness a cremation ceremony. Kakak, I will see what I can do.

And to everyone, if you have any inquiries and would like to leave a message in cBox, please kindly leave me your email address so I can reply to your email. Thank you :)

Take care everybody! See you in Bali.

Busy Busy Busy...

May is approaching and we are getting busy.

I received a lot of emails on booking and request on tariff. So many of them are travelling at the same time! And most of them are staying in the south (that would mean I have to work longer hour.)

I have to turn down some of them because I can't take more than a set of client at the same time.

I am so sorry.

Heart Warming

A friend in Belgium found my photo in another friend's Multiply page and left a message.

"Titak, my friend we had 9 wonderful days with you during September 2008. I like to thank you for the nice places you took Micheline and I. Take care of yourself and the family."

It is heart warming to learn this words. It shows how much they love Bali :)

Checking in

Hi all, sorry for the long absence. I was at home since wedding and just started work 3 days ago. Hence the “no access” to the Internet.

Life with the family, became a husband, and soon to be papa requires much more responsibilities. It will be harder, but it’s life and it is nice to have a family.

My wife resigned from her job and staying in the village with my family. So I go home frequently nowadays.

I would like to thank all for the well wishes and contributions. God blessed.

Wedding!

I'm ending my single hood on 31st December, 2008 :)

I have a mission!

YY sent me an email to ask for a favour. She found this short article in The Straits Time 1958 and she would love to find this girl who should now be 58.

There's no other information we have so far. We only know her name - Golungan, and she is/was a dancer.



My best bet is she is either in Ubud ot Kuta.

I hope YY can get more information about which village she's from, or else it will be difficult. I would love to find her.

Happy Rain

The rain has come for the rice field...

Yet another happy customer left a comment in my box:

Les excursions étaient parfaites et bien choisies ! Pas de soucis pour le téléphone !!!
Le bonjour d'axel.

As: The trips were perfect and well-chosen! No worries for the phone! The hello from Axel

And another one in the chatbox!

Coucou mon amie de Bali. Merci beaucoup pour ce temps inoubliable a Bali avec Toi. J' espere, que on se vera un jour en France.

As: Cuckoo my friend in Bali. Thank you very much for this unforgettable time in Bali with you. I hope that one day we'll meet in France.

I am a very happy driver :)

Life as a Driver on a small island

Most Balinese live in Bali their entire life but hardly been to many parts of Bali.

When I started driving tourists around, I was quite lost. I had no idea how to get to one place and another. So I was always on the phone with my cousin who worked in the hotel, who sometimes driving people around the island to make some extra income.

He knows Bali fairly well so he can direct me to the correct direction without me getting lost… well, even when I was totally lost in the middle of nowhere.

Of course my customers then asked me why I was always on the phone, or maybe they notice that I was lost.

My answers was quite standard, “The road changed.”

Alive and Kicking

It's been awhile since I last updated.

It's peak season and I've been working none stop. It is good though considering that money needs to be saved to complete the house.

Yes. The structure of the house is done. The roof is up! Next thing to do will be the flooring. That would mean later...

Considering the amount of work I'm getting recently, I am proud that Bali is still a paradise...

Baturiti

I've been here many times... and I still like it here. It's just so... peaceful.

Cremation

It's going to be the cremation of some one rich family from the village so they can do the cremation directly even the actual village cremation will be held next year for all of the dead in the village so we can share the cost together.

That's the way of the Balinese people do to reduce the cost of the cremation because it is so expensive. And we can do all things of the tradition and culture.

It's gonna be just one person, so I just come back to the village sometimes, because everybody have to do something else, like… working for a living.

Tomorrow, there will be a very big cremation in Ubud. It’s for the king of Ubud who past away two month ago. It's gonna be the biggest cremation we ever had. It's just great! All the hotel in Ubud are fully booked. Everybody (both local and tourist alike) wants to witness it.

I'll try to take some photo to share with you.