I'm an Australian, but Bali has been my home since 1999. My company, PT Dewa Krishna Seni, builds, sells and manages the rental of our villas in Penestanan, Ubud. In my leisure time, I write, paint, travel and people watch. I love collecting stories.

Villa Heliconia is in the Penestanan community. This was the home of the Penestanan Young Artist Movement and so Art is alive in the area. Rice paddy walks are also plentiful in this area.

Ubud is located 35 km northeast of Bali’s International Airport. It is attractive to tourists for a variety of reasons. On a relatively small island with a horde of attractions, Ubud is centrally located, There are plenty reasons why Ubud was voted in recently as the most fascinating city of Asia by Condé Nast Traveler. The Ubud area is around two- to three hundred meters above sea level and surrounded by rice fields, which makes it noticeably cooler than then other tourist destinations in Bali. Nearby villages are well known for unique bamboo crafts and furniture, wood- and stone carving and many other crafts. Ubud is famous for it’s regularly traditional dance performances, which are part of the traditional culture and are arranged for tourists on a regular schedule. Hindu-Balinese ceremonies take place on a nearly daily basis, especially in the European summer, which is the driest and coolest season here. Ubud are also somewhat more reasonably priced than in the beach towns of Bali. But atmosphere is perhaps the major attractions. One visitor summed it up this way: Kuta is madness, Sanur is sterile, and Nusa Dua is culturally isolated; Ubud is the place to go.