5 years from today. 2024. I’ll be 45. A day in the life of me, imagined. A writing exercise in daydreaming about the future, as if I was writing it in the present.

-–

We hop onto our scooter and I drop off the wife at the local Ubud market, while I head off to the local cafe for some typical digital nomading. Riding past the bridge leading into Ubud central always feels like an Indiana Jones adventure - the rush of the wind, the steep drop of the river valley beside us, sunlight shining through the tree canopy like a tunnel into the centre. I arrive at Seniman Cafe and start on my programming tasks right away while savouring one of the best flat whites in Ubud. 

Over the 5 years, I had built up a few good digital products that I can run remotely anywhere in the world, and it supports my family well for our travels. The wife also has a good freelance gigs on the side that contributes to the pot. There’s even enough to bring both my parents and in-laws along some of the time. They stay around for a few months, play with their grandkids, travel a bit themselves. I love the arrangement - that way, they don’t feel too far, and I get to show care for them.

Evening comes fast, and we all get back in the mansion for sunset by the valley, and some dinner. Our helper cooks the best local dishes. With such fresh, organic produce that’s grown on healthy volcanic soil here, one can do no wrong with cooking. And against a backdrop of tangerine sunsets fading into purple and blue hues, there’s no bad dinners here. The weekend is coming, and with the grandparents arriving too, we plan our family road trip up north to Bali, where it’s untouched by tourism, and primal jungles and waterfalls still exist. 

End of the year in Bali always feels right. Like a treat and a retreat. In the coming spring, we’ll head off to Kyoto. Then in summer, we go to the land of fire and ice, Iceland.

Stone and jungle.

Wood and water.

Fire and ice.

Our nomad family life, summed up in the elements.