What Happened at 2AM on My Birthday in Bali Was NOT the Plan - Nomad Notes | EP 29

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In this raw and entertaining nomad notes edition, Ryan shares the unexpected twists his 40th birthday celebration took in Bali. 

What started as a quiet evening at his peaceful jungle villa quickly spiraled into an adventure through Bali's nightlife that nobody could have predicted. 

Between questionable entertainment choices, meeting colorful characters, and encountering what Ryan calls "the final boss," this birthday certainly won't be forgotten. 

Plus, Ryan reveals a surprising announcement about his next destination that changes everything. 

Listen for a glimpse into the unpredictable reality of nomad life and why sometimes the best stories come from plans gone wonderfully wrong.

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DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Transcript

Ryan Mellon: [00:00:00] Hey guys. Welcome back to Digital Nomad Nation Nomad Notes edition, where I give you a little insight of what it's like living and working here in Bali. So after an unforgettable birthday and a few sketchy moments with drunk Axe throwers, my Bali adventure is coming to a surprising end. More on that in, a second.

I'm here in Uluwatu. I've been in this most amazing villa in the middle of the jungle, in the middle of nowhere. Five minutes from the beach, five minutes, from town all by, uh, motorbike and just immersing myself in this, villa in nature. It's been great. It's been good for catching up on work and, uh, getting what I need done as well as, just getting some alone time again after having friends here.

it's really nice. It's a one bedroom, one bath. It's got an outdoor courtyard, fully private with an outdoor shower, the living area and seating area outside. Also a full outdoor kitchen, which is really nice as well. so I've been able to make meals and to really [00:01:00] just enjoy the time here that I call home for these three weeks without moving or going anywhere.

One of my favorite parts of the island. So be super sad to leave it. And, that's coming up. So I've been hitting some of the beaches, some of my favorite beaches, especially NYang NYang Beach, which is on the south of the island, about five minutes from here. spending days just soaking up the sun and watching the surfers, rip through the waves out there.

There's massive waves on this beach and just enjoying, my last beach days. And, also checking out single Fin again for one final Sunset. Single Fin is one of the cool beach clubs that is located on top of Cliffside overlooking the ocean with an infinity pool and multiple levels of restaurants and bars and beach chairs.

so you can just like buy a day pass and get some, places to sit under an umbrella and sip some drinks and. Look over the ocean. Enjoy the pool. So just [00:02:00] going back to some of my favorite places before I head home. and for my 40th birthday, I did what every, one does on their 40th birthday, and that is going on a hostile bar crawl Now, that was not the plan.

That was not the plan at all. I met my buddy Otto, who was still here. I went to meet him at his hostel where he was staying and to have a couple drinks, maybe go somewhere else for my birthday. And we quickly realized that it was like Wednesday night bar crawl or whatever, and he was like, do you wanna go?

And I was like, I don't know, man. It's in a couple, you know, it doesn't even start for like four hours. Well. four hours came around, we had a couple drinks. We decided to go on the bar crawl, and that turned out to be a wild ride. we really enjoyed it. the very first stop was like a small club atmosphere really close to the hostel.

They all kind of just corralled us right over to the next spot, which was really easy to get to. And it had a DJ playing music [00:03:00] and we all got free drinks. And, we were in a group of people that we had just met some other. Folks were buying some free drinks with shots, and that was really nice. and then the second place we had to actually get in a grab or a car and, which is like Uber here, and, Uber about 10 minutes away to the next place.

And I was really surprised, show up and see this place. I mean, picture this, it's 2:00 AM and the music's pumping. there is a, Bar with pool table and a bunch of people hanging out. But then there's also Axe throwers, like an axe throwing, cage where you can go inside and pay money to throw axes at a target.

And it's just a bunch of drunk people. And it was like a little bit sketchy. I'll be honest. It was really fun to watch from outside of the cage, I felt really nervous for the people that were. throwing axes probably for their first time in their entire lives, but there were a couple people doing well and a couple people just slamming axes all over the place.

I felt really bad for [00:04:00] the guy supervising inside, but it was fun watching from the outside of the cage from a safe place. Is what it is. And then the last place that we ended up was a very, crowded, club. The music was amazing. Nice lighting, lots of people, probably at least 300 people.

To get any drink. Including our free drink that comes with the bar crawl price. You have to battle the final boss. And that's what me and my buddy Otto labeled this guy, because there's one cashier. To take the money and take orders for drinks for the entire club, which was an absolute shit show.

You would have to wait 30 minutes in line to see the final boss, pay him, and then get one little. Piece of paper that you could then take to the bar where there was seven bartenders standing around not doing anything to get your one drink. So that was kinda, stupid to be honest.

But the music was great and [00:05:00] we really enjoyed it. We had a good time. ended up getting back to my villa, catching a grab by motorbike through the jungle back around three in the morning. So it turned out to be a, fun time for my birthday. Not exactly how I pictured it, but it still went really well.

Leaving Bali. I'm leaving Bali in two days, so it feels bittersweet. But this island gave me, one last crazy adventure to remember it by, sad to leave the villa. Sad to leave the island, but, heading somewhere new also. On Sunday, I am heading to the Netherlands, Amsterdam, to be specific and can't wait to check it out.

I've never been to the country or the city. I'm meeting a couple friends who are flying in from the US and we're gonna really enjoy, a week off there. I'll be there about eight or nine days. They'll be there about, six or seven. also my friend Ann from Germany is flying in for, two nights as well since it's not too far from her.

So, a nice group of folks in Amsterdam [00:06:00] to finish off this six months in Bali. On my way home after Amsterdam. I'm going back to Virginia to be, living on my sailboat for the summer. Looking forward to that. Looking forward to getting out sailing, going to the beach with friends and enjoying summer.

That's just beginning there. So just wanted to give you guys this update and I hope you guys have an amazing week.