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Fourth Time in Two Years

by

The Old Man

June 2001

There were three of us on this Bali trip, Wife Marian, Daughter Jane and me (The Old Man.)

Here we are in downtown Bali all set up in our hotel at Legian. The plane trip on Garuda was excellent, the food as usual was yummy. There are very few tourists about; it is dead compared to other times, which is great for us. The hotel is really good value, Jane negotiated by e-mail before we left and the figure came down from IR 200000 a night to IR130000. This was for one room, but they have given us two double rooms for the same price. Easier to do that than lug beds around, as there are plenty of spare rooms. One is air-conditioned and the other is not but has an efficient fan. There is a small fridge and both rooms have television, all this for about seven dollars Australian each a night. I forgot that it includes American breakfast, eggs any way you like with bacon or ham a little bit of sausage, tomato, a couple slices of toast and some jam.

Went to the bank yesterday to bank some money and we diddled around getting there so it was shut, will have another go later. I have money to bank for my other daughter. We have a joint account in the Bank Negara Indonesia They pay 10% interest and you are a Rupiah millionaire for about Aust $200. My ambition is to have 10 million invested so we will receive a million rupiah a year in interest.

We have not made any real program at this stage, just slacking along and will go where the wind blows.

We wandered around the shops and finished up in Mataharis and bought a few drinks and snackfoods to have in our rooms. We bought an electric jug (Jerry Jug) and the bits to make coffee and tea. It is a Magic Electric Mug, Type 9800 The volume is 2 000 cc’s. Anything else you wish to know is written in Chinese or whatever language on the box. Jerry cost RP22 400 (4 dollars Aust.) and holds more than three cups. It is a beauty and with what we save making our own coffee it has paid for itself already. The hotel charges RP 6500 for a cup of coffee and there are three of us. Six cups in one day and the jug is paid for plus the cost of a 50-gram jar of Indocafe and 50 grams of creamer. The twin pack cost RP 7 400. The main thing is the convenience. The ladies are here for two weeks and me for three so that means a lot of Rupiah saved. I am sipping a cup as I write this at 5.30am. 

We wandered down to the beach at Kuta and the beach sellers treated Jane and Marian like old friends. Not long and the old “You have massage“ “I do your nails“ “I plait your hair “ “you buy T-shirt” “You buy Dress” and so it went, on and on and on. The women enjoyed the atmosphere, as there were the regular Aussies there as well. After the women settled down Sueyet the drinks man appeared and it was the hello’s again until we were seated on plastic beer crates with a drink in hand. Then in comes Harry who sells watches and all the gooddays start again. Harry shakes hands all around settled on another drink crate opened his box and it was watch buying time. Bloody hell I am not buying anything this early and have to lug it around everywhere we go. Well that was what I said but when walking back to the pub with T-shirts, shorts and a ripper Seiko Kinetic watch for 10 dollars, I was shaking my head. I forgot, the girls had fingernails done, massage or both. They are real top sales people, I mean Harry did not even ask, just went straight into presenting watches to me and the bastard knew just how to catch me. He reckons he is still recovering from his robbery of a year ago. I consider he is going pretty good and still using the event as a sympathy thing. That is how It goes ”all is fair in love war and beach selling at Kuta.”

We went to the money changer that the girls took me on my first trip. Last time on my own I could not find it. I had a different picture of what it looked like in my head and I was looking in the wrong spot. Handed over my money $100 and they gave it back to me saying it was faulty. Now this is the place I spent a lot of time looking for and now Jane has brought me here they are telling me my money is not any good? I am not a happy little vegemite until they show me why. On the right hand side it has been cut up from the bottom in a wedge shape starting at about three millimetres wide and up a couple of centimetres high. A little thing but check your money before you go. On a later visit to the same money changer I saw an American have a note refused because it was dirty. Keep them straight flat and clean. It seems pretty crazy when you think of those horrible dirty crumpled torn patched RP1000 notes you get in your change. I was pleased and amazed to sometimes receive new ones this trip.

We had decided to visit Sanur as I had gear to deliver to a Japanese lady I met there last visit. We went around the corner on Legian and Pantai Streets, which is called Bemo Corner for obvious reasons, as there is always a very long line of them. The one on the head of the queue was the worst, in fact if you walked past it in the rubbish dump you would not turn a hair as that is where it should have been. It was the rustiest vehicle I have ever seen up here. It must have been in the sea at some time of its life for maybe a year or two. The roof had duct tape all over it to keep out the rain. (It was not raining). We climbed aboard and away we went. Like a lot of old bombs this one had an aeroplane engine in it? a fruity exhaust and plenty of herbs. It did not take long to reach Denpasar. I learnt that the way to stop a Bemo is to yell out STOPPA and the driver has to hear you or you finish up with a long way to walk back. It cost 1500 Rupiah to take us to Denpasar (23 cents) We then caught another one at the same price for Sanur. We went to Yulia’s homestay where I met the Japanese lady and she had returned to Japan. What a pain, but them’s the breaks. It meant that I had to spend RP100 000 to send it to Japan by post. While there I did check the price in Yulia’s as I think I may spend some of my extra week in there. The price is the same as last time 40 000 Rupiah with breakfast (Aus $7). 

We went down to the beach and up past Tootsies and had lunch in a Warung on the beach that is cheap with good food. There was a big tide and the banks are sandbagged, trees had fallen as their roots were exposed. It was sad to see. Our Warung has been all done up with a new shaded area and that too was all sandbagged with stakes driven into the ground to hold them. I had chicken soup that is delicious and cheap. I ate there a lot on my last trip. The prices at the Bonsai Restaurant have all increased so that is now out of my range. We walked down the beach path and then cut up to the main road and found a big supermarket. I must have walked past it a dozen times and did not know it was there. In fact when we went and looked, the place seemed deserted until a local said the market is now further back in the building. They are rebuilding and adding another story, Plenty of shops to rent in the complex and lots of others closer to the main area in Sanur. 

Used the Bemo’s to get back to Kuta. To be comfortable you need to be short and pretty fit. Bloody hell my joints were aching from the Bali footpaths so I had to crawl out of them on hands and knees. I am not complaining as it is cheap and I could feel my body getting fitter. Well I hope so; maybe it is falling to bits? On the last bus for home they had a go at making Marian and I squeeze up so another person could fit on the two-person seat. I complained, “no room “but next thing another bum is there and all I could think of was “this is squeasy one!” 

The holiday has moved on and we are now in Candidasa all set up in a real Balinese house about 40 meters from the ocean. It is set in a coconut grove and about six months old. There is an upstairs bedroom with a view across the coconut grove, Comfy chairs and a table, bamboo blinds that can be unrolled if you want privacy. You cannot get a clear view of the ocean as there are young palm trees blocking the view. A couple of branches could be lopped without disfiguring the tree and the view would be exposed. It is apparent that the owners have not sat upstairs. I am sure that if they did the job would be done by now. It is crazy living with a view you cannot see. It would be more sense living in the jungle, paying a fraction of the cost and stare at a coconut tree.

Downstairs is a smaller double bed, plenty of storage and living area. Out the back is the bathroom area, a western style flushing toilet, handbasin, shelves to put things and places to hang clothes and towels, It is tiled in white, both floor and walls. The whole house floor area is covered in white tiles. Out the front are two chairs a table and two sofas. A great place to eat as there is a room service. You place your order at the kitchen about 60 meters from the house and they will deliver the food or drinks. They also run a tab system at the fridge, you can help yourself and write the quantities into a book with your room number. The meals are great and low priced. Back to the house, there are sliding windows and walls that can be adjusted to catch the breezes or deflect them. The construction is perfect and the best I have seen. The best western influence is the big number of power points and lights in the right places and they all worked.

We checked out the place when here last time and liked the setting. It is owned by a German couple living in America and spend about six months a year here. Once again Jane organised the booking by e-mail. It cost 120 000 Rupiah a night. That is not cheap by our standards. Our host looked dumbly at us when we arrived as they do not have e-mail here and the booking had not been rung through. Three couples arrived after us and one was disappointed as they usually stay in number five, which had already been taken. Another German couple was put in a small house for a big house price and was not happy. 

To get here we organised a hire car through the hotel. When it arrived the driver nearly fainted when he saw our gear, as his vehicle was a very old and small Toyota car. When loaded up with luggage and us it could not reverse out of the drive as its bum was too low. The exhaust system made expensive noises as it grated and clanged when the driver tried to reverse up a hump to get out on the road, so out we got and lightened the load so he could get out. On the way we wished to stop and change some money at Bemo corner so it was then we found the car did not have bottom gear and our driver did not know much about driving in Kuta.

Money changed and we were away, slipping the clutch to get going at the lights. We went through a few back streets to dodge the police, as the car was not registered as a passenger vehicle. The clutch made burning smells and I made calculations that said we might make the destination and we might not. I also calculated how much it would cost if the police caught us and this came up as LOTS but not our worries. There are plenty of busses and Bemos going past so getting to Candidasa was never a problem.

Last night we went out for dinner choosing the restaurant from the recommendations in the Lonely Planet Book. I had the Seafood Combination that was priced at RP30 000. The prawn cocktail part had a few of those weensy ones sitting on a cabbage leaf with some tasty dressing on grated carrot and pineapple chunks (if the prawns were any smaller they would be called prawn eggs). The main course was fish cooked in palm leaf with three bigger than weenie prawns, beans, chips and rice. And for dessert it was fried banana and honey. Not bad for Aus. $ 5.30 but you certainly do not get many prawns for your money.

We watched the German neighbour walking carefully amongst the coconut palms. He was looking up so I said “up you go and pick one”. He told me that he was scared a coconut might fall on someone’s head especially on his young baby. I worked out that he was not going to have a very good holiday if you are silly enough to rent a house in the middle of a coconut plantation and be worried the whole time that one was going to dong you on the head. 
It got better when he told us he wanted a house with a breeze and there was none. Jane said he should ask for a fan but no he did not like fans or airconditioning. I suggested he find a human wallah who could on command make a breeze with a palm tree leaf. I did not find any conversation value with that guy as he had too many problems. I expected to see him wandering around wearing a tin hat and waving a fan. I even considered buying a coconut to put close to where he was looking so he could find it in the morning. But what the hell we would miss the reaction as we are leaving tomorrow.

Last time we were here we ate regularly at The Legend Hard Rock restaurant and enjoyed our meals so tonight we returned. The food and service were excellent but we were the only ones eating there. Sad is the word and not only for them. There are too many restaurants and drivers for the amount of people that stay in Candidasa and most of Bali. Years ago they blew up the reef here to make lime and this caused the beach to disappear. The folly cost them a lot of tourist dollars. They built concrete groins hoping they would reverse the situation but they have not worked and some are now smashed by storms.

We visited Tenganan that is about 5 kms away. They are the traditional Balinese and their village is walled in completely. They are noted for their double weaving and calligraphy. The latter they do on palm leaves and it is first class. We were amazed to see green yellow and red roosters. Then we found out they had dyed them. We saw heaps of them all in cages waiting to fight I presume.

I heard a bump in the night, it was loud enough to make me think that whatever it was must have been heavy. I am up early as the mattress on my bed is a piece of world war two airstrip with a cotton cover on it; bloody hell it is hard, the tiles on the floor are softer. I looked out and the gods had given us the Germans coconut right at our front door! A friend, Dr John who I met on Cocos Keeling Islands said that coconuts always fall on the East Side of the tree, most of the time? This one was on the south. I am in a quandary, should I shoot across and put it under one of the Germans trees and make out that god had his name on it or just leave it be? Later we found that three coconuts had fallen in the night, one was right on the place the Germans had their baby the previous afternoon. Then I started walking around looking up? I must point out that I am not a German basher as one of my greatest friends was a German. He unfortunately copped the big C from Asbestos.

The silliest and most interesting purchase I have made on this trip is a tennis racquet thing. It is designed to dissolve mosquitoes and any other buggy things with a flick of the wrist. It contains two AA batteries and a button. You press the button and attack the mosquito like you are Leighton Hewett and when it connects to the ball hitting bit, the mozzie is zapped with a blue flash and sizzling sound effects. Of course when I came to try it out there was not one winged thing to in sight. I improvised with a small bit of Pisang skin (banana for those who do not know. I like to flaunt my bilingual skills?) I flung it in the air and when it hit the racquet a zap, a blue flash, and a yelp from me said, it worked. You can buy them for about $4 in Macro and $6 in Matahari’s. They are called Electric Mosquito Bad. A funny way to spell bat but they are bad for mosquito’s.

Today we said farewell to our seaside home and headed into the mountains of Ubud for a couple of days. We hired a car for the trip. Our driver was keen and careful, the weather beautiful, the scenery wonderful. He had been there the day before and knew where Ajana Homestay was situated. Next thing we were all set up in the same rooms as last time, it was as if we had never left there. It appeared that they were still using the same thermos’s to supply hot water for tea or coffee. They were out early each morning and replaced through the day. They use the old vacuum glass models that are made in china and they stay real hot. Breakfast was fruit and then a jaffle that was included in the price. We had two rooms and they were RP40000 and 30000 the same as last time, well near enough. They have a cold water shower and western toilet that you flush with a dipper. 

So far on our trip we have noticed the scarcity of Australians, there are very few tourists and there seems to be more Europeans, Poms and Japanese. I decided that of all the places I have been, Ubud is the one I would give a miss next time. It is like Kuta there are heaps of shops and restaurants but there is a limit to what you can spend and the amount you can eat. Both are good stepping stones to the good bits of the island. Jane took us to the early market (6am) and that was an adventure, in Bali standards it was cold and strange to see locals hugging themselves to keep warm. There was the usual market smells and mess but I just love them (the markets) and all the different gear for sale. To me this area should still be called the Spice Islands that I read about in my history books a long time ago. Women carrying impossible amounts of produce on their heads, chooks being cut up with a cleaver in conditions that would horrify a health inspector. We went for a big walk down Monkey Forest Road and looped back. Our longest walk for the trip and of course was full of shops and the invitation to come in and “looky looky” and “Transport boss”.

We are now in Adhi Dharma Cottages back in Kuta and what a pub we have here. We have an executive room that is included in the package. It is big and the beds beautiful, after the tarmac bed of Candidasa a bed on the road would be heaven. A fantastic lady looked after us from the outset. As we were situated on the third level and when you are getting on like Marian and myself the nearly fifty stairs were a bit daunting. They offered to shift us to another pub they own which is not far away so we could be on the ground floor but we decided to stay. We had a welcome drink you had to see to believe with flowers and bits of scrub stuck in it, a real poofy floral arrangement especially as we were sitting nearly on Legion Street in full view of the passing parade.The drink was Arak, the local 40% alc. local brew with orange juice, very sweet.

A young guy who did a great job drove us down here. Jane teed up these drivers at great savings for us, remembering that they did not have to agree if they would not make a quid. She asked this bloke if he would stop at The Makro Store the huge wholesale warehouse if we pay him an extra IR10 000. He agreed and in we went and bought some gear. The travel bag Marian was to use on this trip died before we left home so we brought it thinking we could get another zip fitted.

In Macro we bought a beauty for the wholesale price and it has beaut strong zips, go fast wheels and retractable handle, it looks like it is going a hundred miles an hour standing still. We found that it has an enormous appetite, something like a ute load. It pops a few eyes when porters lift it. We left quite a few dollars in Macro and saved heaps. We gave the old bag away.

The dogs are still here; in fact at one stage an old man tried to sell us a puppy. At our Homestay in Ubud we had one that was just so friendly, it came up tail wagging and wandered into our room as though it owned the place. We could only presume that the tenants before us had encouraged it. I growled and tried to scare it away but that was a game so when it stuck its head in the rubbish bin tipping it over I gave it a gentle kick in the bum. That was the magic formula as after that he stayed off the verandah and out of our rooms, this one looked healthy but there are so many who look awful and sick. I know this is Balinese country and it is their business, but there are just too many of them. They sleep in the middle of footpaths and doorways, they drag food out of the bins and is one of the downers in Bali. There is an organisation that looks after them and one of the programs is to ask Aussies to bring food from Australia and feed them. I cannot believe they do this as I believe lack of food is not the problem, it is disease. 

Jane took us back to Warung Makan (“NIKMAT”) that we had frequented on previous trips, the food is delicious and is the full Halal Muslim. Yesterday was our second visit as Jane had some business to do in that area and Marian wanted a broken spectacle frame replaced or repaired. The Optician could not find any frames suitable so spent about a half-hour fixing the old frame and then would not accept any money. From there we went to a place Jane had to do some business. Marian and I sat outside in an enclosed area waiting. A young lady came out of a nearby room and came over for a chat. She told me she was a Christian and showed me the cross around her neck. When asked what I was, I said I am a nothing but did not go into the reasons that I cannot understand why all the religious idiots fight each other all the time and the poorest seem to have the biggest church buildings. All I said to the lady was that I am my own god and I do what I consider the right things and try not to hurt other people. Her husband came out with a small baby that he handed to her; she showed us its ear as it was infected. She asked us what she should do to heal it. The ear had been pierced and an earring fitted, it had puss around a newly fitted earring. The baby was 5 months old. Being an oldie I felt like saying, “First thing is to remove the earring”. Marian had a look and said that she should use Betadine at least three times a day. If that did not work then she should see the Apotik (chemist) who could recommend something else. From there we went around the corner to Warung Makan (Nikmat), for lunch, our second visit since we have been here this trip. Met a bloke in there who used to be an electrician at the Perth racecourse and he had some tales to tell. He has been coming up here for 30 years and had a local or Javanese woman friend who fussed around him all the time as he spun his yarns. He brings bras from Perth to give away to the local women, which straight away lobs him as a bit different. The lady with him was a student, we think mature age and about half his age and he is 77 years old. He is organising to take her to Perth and was going through all the paper work that is considerable and expensive.

Time is marching on and the holiday is nearly over for the women. They leave Friday and today is the day before. It also means that my stay in the Ardi Darma is nearly over. I have checked out a room in Poppie Two for IR 30 000 which is dirt cheap and when you look at it closely then you get what you pay for. Five dollars worth of value with breakfast included. If it is too bad I will shift somewhere else. I am still thinking about Lombok, just wish I had someone to travel with as I found in Sulawesi last year that you need four eyes to feel comfortable.

We went back to our favourite Muslim Warung and there was Poppa again but without his student as she was at college in Denpasar. I found that through his old job and mine that we had mutual friends so we had a bit of talking to do. 

We finished up back at the “chook yard” on the beach at Kuta. Well I call it the chook yard as they all crowd around having hugs and hellos and then straight into business, You buy, massage, do your hair, nails or both, hell it drives me mad so I give a big no and that is that for me. We had brought one of those monkey puppets that used to be the rage years ago. You stick your hand up the backside into the head and your fingers operate the mouth. The arms go around your back and then stick together. I dragged it out and stuck it in the face of one of the girls and received the result I wanted. SCREAMS and then watched to see whose eyes lit up and it was “Harry Who Sells Watches on Kuta”. Wow! I could see that he really, really wanted that monkey and within a few minutes Harry was off, the monkey was off with Harrys hand stuck where you stick your hand in a puppet. You knew where they were by the screams. His box of watches was left half-open and unguarded. Harry now owns the puppet and insists that it is for his son. I reckon that next time I am here there will be heaps for sale as the Balinese or Javanese are copiers. While all this was on I spotted our Bra man down the beach a bit further and he was caught up in the fun. I went and had another yarn and he said there was a roast night at the Flora Beach Hotel at IR 24 000 each buffet style and all you can eat. I felt that he was on a commission and would be eating there for nothing. In amongst all this we heard a police siren and an engine revving. Down the walk track came a police ute flat out with six Police officers on board. I say it is a walking track but motor bikes are allowed to use it. I was sitting on a beer crate next to an Australian bloke from Melbourne who is married to a Javanese. An extra crate was just on the track. He managed to haul it out of the road as this vehicle sped past. The gaggle of women reckoned that there was a man in the back all covered in blood. They said that he was most likely caught stealing. They do not muck about up here; they apply their law and leave the cops to find out what happened. Next thing there is a blue on the landside of the track. All the “chooks” have a couple of tourists bailed up. They all seem to be having their two bobs worth. It turns out that the tourists had offered to buy something and then bought it from some other trader. That is not on, your word is the contract, I did not see the outcome but no one got beaten up. It is a great place this Kuta Beach. There are other things to enjoy such as the lone lady tourist who walked down the beach towards the sea, lays out the sarong ready to sit and enjoy the scenery, Then in comes the big wave and the whole scene changes for her. With great embarrassment she hastily gathers up her gear and beats a retreat through the water much to the amusement for people like me. I laugh as I can feel the story growing from when and how it happened. When recounted to friends at a later date that wave will be at least ten feet high and nearly drowned her. Actually the tide was coming in and now and then a bigger than normal wave will appear.

Bali is really Ally McBeal country, well it looks like it to me. There are lots of skinny Japanese girls that seem to travel in pairs. There are also the ones who travel with their surfie boy friends. The latter seem to think they have to sport bleached hair to make the surfie image. The girls are pathetically thin. If they ate a boiled egg you would think they were nine months pregnant. A bloke I was talking to up here said his son arranges tours for the Japanese surfers. He organises the whole deal that includes fares, accommodation, surfboard hire and is making a killing. The cost is less than the price of a surfboard in Japan.

The stay at Ardi Dama is finished and I am back to my level and loving it. I am back in my Homestay at Sanur. The women flew out last night and I have a week on my own. We checked out early yesterday morning and left our luggage to be picked up later. Then it was last minute shopping for them and a wander for me or should I say a follow around. Shopping over and then a Kijang over to here, we had dinner and then at 8pm the women departed for the airport.

Another different thing that happened to us was during a visit to Mataharis. We happened to arrive there right on opening time to find all the staff lined up each side of the isles. They were all smiles and teeth saying good morning. Actually it was a bit embarrassing but we managed to walk past them giving regal waves and looking suitably impressed. I kept looking around to see the real people they were expecting but there was only us present.

I spent yesterday walking around Sanur getting my bearings again. I spent a week here six months ago when I returned from Sulawesi. When the women were here they took me to a supermarket that I had walked past nearly every day to shop at a smaller one further down the road. I never knew it was there as it is set back from the road and the area looks dull and uninviting, how ever they have a good range of gear and a lot of visitors shop there as there are lots of big Holiday Complexes in the area. I checked it out and bought 200 gram tinned snails for special friends. They are made in Indonesia and are cheap at RP6 680. Cheap says I who has never bought a snail or eaten one in my life. I bought tinned crabmeat and heaps of sauces to try. As I find the ones I like then I intend to make a shopping list for next time. I had said to myself before I left that I would not bring silly things back as gifts. What is silly about tins of snails that most likely no one will eat? And battery powered fly swatters? The most important was a jar of creamer for my coffee as I have Jerry Jug all set up and working well. When I got here I searched for a power plug and could not find one. I needed one for my old $300 laptop as well as the jug. I asked mine host where the power point was and bloody hell he showed me two outlets on the globe holder fixed to the wall at the head of my bed. They are just at the base of the globe, tricky.

I decided to walk back along the beach as there is a walk track that goes past all the expensive accommodations front gardens and pool areas. There are usually mountains of exposed flesh flabbing around on recliner lounges. I was not disappointed, in some areas it was like walking through sandhills as the breasts were so big but now and then a few pert ones with no windbreak qualities at all. It was on this walk that I was asked if I required a massage by an effeminate looking young person. That offer made one for a massage with question mark, one for Marijuana, and one for a Coke bottle girl on the trip so far. Coke bottle girl meaning shaped like a coke bottle. There were plenty of “real Massage” offers, they did not stop.

I found “Wanneroo”, a driver I met last time I was here. He was the one who wanted to kill Keating as he is a friend of Soeharto. Of course he was straight into business and wanted to take me to the airport on Friday for RP45, 000 he winged and carried on but finally agreed to RP 25 000. Jane had taught me well. Last night I ate on the beach for RP 8 000 which included a small Aqua. I ate chicken soup with an egg, it was scrummy and I walked home the long way that took me past the Night Market. You guessed it, in I went and spent two thousand rupiah on four fried banana pieces and four something else that were delicious. I shut my eyes as the woman in front of me poked and touched the piles as she selected her needs. Let us be honest her hands were most likely cleaner than mine were. I ate the lot by the time I got home. When in Kuta a tourist lady I was talking to had a massage lady come and talk to her. Later she said that it was to apologise for not turning up the day before to massage her. Her reason was her husband had been diagnosed with leprosy. Bloody hell I think she just lost her massage job in that quarter. The same lady who with her husband are regular visitors and spend months here each year. She told me that before they came to Bali this time her daughter was real depressed as her boss had died of a heart attack. It was sudden and he was regarded as a father figure for her daughter. On this trip she was asked by one of the “chooks” if she could find a woman who had not paid her. She was staying in the hotel just behind the selling area. She agreed to see if she could find her but said she had trouble with her god as she saw fellow Australians being ripped off by the sellers and because they were friends could not warn them. The “chooks” answer was that if they are silly enough to pay stupid prices then that was okay with her god and bad luck for the sucker. So when you get ripped off do not think that they need the money, they get plenty. The lady found the non payer who was most apologetic but was frightened to go back down as she felt she would be ripped off some more. During the conversation they found that they came from the same part of Melbourne and then you guessed it, her husband had died recently and he was her daughter’s ex boss. 

I spoke to a guy who was married to a Javanese lady. Together they seemed an ideal couple. He said to me that they had big trouble for the first two years of marriage, as they could not converse. For holidays they go up to Java and stay with her brother. All the relatives come to see them and he does not have a clue as to what they are saying as he still cannot speak the language. Now they are nearing retirement and are considering buying 5 acres in Java and building a house. Then they intend commuting between Australia and Java. I wished him luck but he needs to get his head down and learn the language if it is to be successful.

Before the women left for home we walked around Sanur and came across an all women aerobics class going full swing. Around the corner was a big group of men so we went and checked to see what they were doing. It was a cockfight and big money was changing hands. I reckon there were a hundred men there and outside were dozens of motor bikes with only one an old model. A couple of ladies had refreshment stalls operating. We watched as an owner stood with his winning bird waiting for a professional plucker to finish cleaning the defeated bird. Winner takes all in cock fighting. 

There are poor here but there are a lot of successful people and the filthy rich just like any country. What I have seen of this place makes me say that they would eat more takeaways and eat out more than anywhere else I have been in the world. You can eat from the five footer street carts for RP2 500 (43 Cents). We ate from a cardboard box vendor at Kuta for RP2 000. It was chicken in a cardboard packet with rice and chilli sauce. The chicken piece was not large and looked like a road kill as it was flat without any bones, but it was delicious. After eating one of their meals I tend to look around for something else to eat and my body size tells the story. Look at the locals and they are trim and fit with no excess fat. Snacks are delivered each day to shops and Transport places. There are sheds here and there made out of scrap where you can eat for RP2 000 

Last night I decided to eat down the beach from my favourite Warung. Chicken soup with egg, noodles and veges for Rp6 000. It was Sunday and I could not believe how many motor bikes were parked down near the Sindhu markets, it was chaos as some were trying to leave and others trying to park. I had a lot of trouble getting to the Warung only to find that she had sold out “Finis” She was busy digging a hole to put the rubbish in? A common practice in these areas. I have read that two big problems have to be resolved in Bali. They are water and garbage, extremes, as one is not enough and the other too much. Both are becoming very urgent items to be dealt with. I am amazed to see the placing of those little baskets everywhere. They are offerings for the gods containing combinations of flowers, rice, biscuits, lollies, mandarins and incense. A million or more must hit the streets every day and amount to tons and tons of rubbish a year.

My trip home came real quickly and next thing I am on the plane. I had arranged for the "Wanneroo" bloke to take me to the airport for 25 000 rupiah. I did not see him at all on the Friday and as the time got closer I rang him on the number he gave me. The bloke who answered was his boss. He told me he had gone home. Okay I had a problem, he could be going to use his own car if he had one, or he had forgotten. So I said to the landlady that I had a bit of a worry. She loves me and shot out on the street and grabbed a friend. This guy started at RP50 000 and came down to RP 35 000 and I said no way. He said no as he had to pay the toll at the airport. So I said that is only one thousand and laughed. We settled on RP30 000, I was happy as it was getting late. He had my best taxi story tale. He told me that he had lost all his money at a cockfight. This meant he lost his chook and during the fight one of the chooks shot over and drove his spur into his foot and he could not work for ten days. At the airport I gave him most of the coins I had collected on the trip as a tip. He was worth it. The good bit was going through the tollgate, he made out to give the guy the RP1 000. They had some deal going. Oh wonderful corrupt Bali. 

I had a fantastic window seat right exactly in the middle of the wing. This position gave me a perfect view of the wing. Wings are very interesting as they look like wings. They stick out and do what wings do. Hold the engine up off the ground. It is very handy for people when the plane has landed as it keeps the sun or the rain off. I think they should plant gardens on them to give people sitting in the middle of the wing something to look at. There are lots of low growing plants you can buy. It would be a bit silly having coconut palms growing on there as the coconuts would blow off and maybe dent the wing surface. Also there may be a German out there enjoying the breeze as Germans like a breeze but do not like to be hit on the head with a coconut. I will give it a bit of thought and then send the plan to Ansett as they need a new image these days. 

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