#188 Saturday 5 March 2011

Nyepi Day - no walking, no cooking, no shopping ......

The ogok-ogok parade (the night before nyepi)

It's 7:50am ... I've been up for about an hour .... no sounds other than the birds, insects and electricals (pumps etc). When I came into the kitchen, the ants were happily breakfasting on an errant moth .... they were not happy when I kicked them (and their moth) out the door! I think ants will require a regime of cleanliness in the house ..... if a crumb is dropped, sweep it up .... or suffer the consequences! The ants may be tiny (about 1mm long) .... but you can really feel their bite!

Now what shall I do today? I might break the rules and look outside the door .... see what the outside world of Nyepi looks like ..... or I might go and visit Greg & Maxine in Villa Satu .... I have plenty of coffee! More than enough for Nyepi! The pool looks good too. I have learned that I can use the U-shaped neck pillow to support my head while floating on my back in the pool .... I didn't fall asleep but almost!

Of course Indosat observes Nyepi too .... I haven't been able to access the internet since late afternoon yesterday! So this blog will be posted ..... sometime!!

I went out last night about 10pm to watch a nearby ogok-ogok parade ..... if I can ever get on the net again, I'll upload the video clip from the iPhone.







Later: 10:40am I've just spent the last hour & a bit talking to Greg ..... a good time .... similar background and interests. He'll probably be a good neighbour for Pete in his new Bali existence. Funny how life goes .... Greg has had a similar insurance history to me .... and he shares my interest in farming, machinery and so on. At one time, Greg probably knew my Bruce rock family. The world is a small place.

1:30pm The internet is a problem .... I can now connect but it seems awfully slow .... so I ran the speed test ..... about 0.02Mb/s compared with around 5 Mb/s at home ... what's that? 250 times faster at home? This speed is just not fast enough for the sorts of things we do on the net .... just OK for email but thats it!

7:30pm This is really eerie & weird. I've just been reprimanded (by SMS) for having my bedroom light on! It's fortunate that the power isn't turned off .... dunno that I could handle no a/cond. Tea tonight is potato chips and ice tea. I had the idea that Nyepi was 6 to 6 .... it must be 6am Sat to 6am Sun .... I went out to see if there was any num-nums available anywhere but the streets are completely silent & dark. It feels like a post-apocalyptic movie set!

A zealous born again, bible-bashing Christian would have a terrible time ..... they'd feel duty bound to make noise and turn lights on .... to fight the evil and to shine their light in the darkness!

#187 Friday 4 March 2011

It's 4am ... I'm hungry and I 'm so used to being up with Kaylia that I just cannot get back to sleep ... so since Im the only person here, it's OK to be up & about! Kopi & nibblies! .... and the blog .....

Yesterday ..... my afternoon plans were waylaid by Yudi who took over and without any discussion, announced that we were going to Ubud to look at land that he was considering buying. This was at about 2 pm .... and by 10pm we'd shared his dreams, philosophies, life story ..... and I was wondering how I fitted into all this? Why was I here? In one sense, it is flattering that he sees enough value in me that he would want to make the effort! .... but I think the answer is that Yudi is like a cyclone that sweeps in and gathers people ..... if the people can add to his dream-machine, then he thinks about how this extra person can fit into the machinery.
So ... we spent hours discussing ideas and how the ideas could be turned into realities. Realities that mostly revolved around facilities to provide care & education for disabled children. .... and during the course of the discussions, we had a 2 hour trip to Ubud, .... had tea .... and finished with a relaxing massage. I think I like the Balinese way of doing business!

.... oh ... and Yudi had a starter lesson on how to create a blog! Watch out!

I learned a lesson on the way .... don't go anywhere without your camera! I'd left the 'real' camera in the villa while I went down Gang Blongan to Mama Putu's to have lunch ..... and I didn't get back to the villa! The iPhone camera received a thorough workout through the afternoon. In some ways, it is a good way to go .... for instance, in the morning I'd been able to find a special pair of shoes for a friend's daughter ... so I could immediately email a photo of the shoes to Lucinda .... and Mark was able to email back that Lucinda approved! I hope I never become blasé about all this technology ... the ability to do these things is just so mind boggling .... a never ceasing source of pleasure.

Today? At some point (I presume afternoon but I'm not certain) there will be the pre-Nyepi parade and ceremony. I have some shopping do either before or after this .... so it will be interesting. This lifestyle is easy and comfortable while a single entity .... but it would NOT work if other people were fitting into the timetable .... the system could not cope with a Kaylia or a Naomi!

While writing, I had a chocolate bar beside me and in the twenty minutes I/ve been writing, the little black ants have found the chocolate and gathered to take their share! The mosquitoes also gather! I think that I'll retreat. Talk to you soon!

11:30am I went out to find breakfast .... and found that Nyepi strikes the day before! Most warungs are closed for ceremony. I found one open not too far away - delightful little spot .... I'll go there again. Very Bhuddist with sayings all over the walls.
After that it was back to Lotte Mart to find more household items .... dustpan & broom, a large squegee to remove the water that blows under the doors, .... lots of little items that you take for granted till you find yourself in a completely bare villa!

About 10:00am Yudi came and we went over the villa finding all the little faults that need fixing. Komungs husband .... I couldn't catch his name .... is here for the next few hours to do all he can.

About midday I went down to the central Sanur area .... where we stayed Jan09 (the start of the Team-Kaylee) ... I found the street seller who sold me the Diesel bags .... he remembered me and of course I bought some new bags! Then it was home for some food, swim and read a book (... and write some more blog!)


Evening: That all turned into a sleep! Not surprising considering the early start.
I'm now in the Mago restaurant ... about 300m away from the villa in Jn Cemara. It has Wi-fi that works! I've been to Hardys for foodshopping earlier and bought some emergency supplies .... instant noodles, nuts etc .... maximum cooking is hot water.
The villa is now much more presentable after the cleaning session. I've also bought a giant squeegee ... in the heavy rain, water is coming under the doors into the rooms. This is no problem on the tile floors but without the squeegee, it is very hard to get the water out! ... and a broom! They also cleaned up a lot of builders mess .... normal for the builders but it hadn't been cleaned up. All the kitchen cupboards and drawers were filthy.
The mystery of the phone line is solved .... the phone sockets are a very nifty type with a spring loaded cover .... I just hadn't seen them even though I was looking for them. The phone is now installed and

#186 Thursday 3 March 2011

Hi all
The internet is proving hard as usual. First stop on arrival was Indosat and the local sim for iPad & iPhone is cheap .... but it worked for a few hours and by evening had stopped .... and I can't get it working again. Says its connected but it won't talk!

The phone side of the SIM is fine though. As long as the 'kredit' is over 100k rp, then it doesn't expire .... so I just need to top up before leaving and the SIM will be ready for us when we go on our next adventure.

Wednesday was mainly getting living arrangements sorted .... lots of little finishing things have been left undone .... doors don't quite fit so you can't lock it ..... a drain is blocked.
It was a battle to find all the light switches! Komung (the housekeeper) showed me in the end.
Then shopping for essentials like toilet paper (I found the coffee!) Then wander round the villa making a list of stuff to buy .... toilet roll holder, towel rack, a chair!, a clothes rack.

The villa is lovely and its wonderful to be able to jump out of bed and into the pool. I'll have to ask Pete what he wants me to do to prepare ... if only the internet worked! There's a spa next door with free internet ... I'll ask if I can come in anytime for internet if I have a massage each day!

John has escaped Nyepi by going to Singapore for a week .... so I won't meet him on this trip. I have not met Yudi yet ... he was in the temple yesterday. Wiwin is a lovely person .... heart in the right place .... spent her recent 22nd birthday helping in a school for children with disabilities. Yesterday I was met by Agunk (Yudi's BIL) and he did a terrific job of finding all the things I needed.

It's breakfast at Mama Putu's - just outside the villa entrance. Brought my own kopi.

Later: I've had an interesting afternoon. As I was enjoying nasi sapi at Mama Putu's, Yudi arrived in his 1981 Landcruiser ..... it is a work in progress and the exterior looks great but the missing runs roughly ... and it appears that Toyota dumped their remaining 3 speed gearbox vehicles in Bali while the rest of the world had 4 & 5 speed!

Yudi and I have had some long talks about life, the universe ..... personal values and philosophies. People in Bali are so open in comparison with our European based culture in Oz. Instead of waiting till all the stars align ... so that the signs are right to be open and sharing .... in Bali, the norm seems to be to be open & sharing first ... then if basic values are in alignment then proceed to friendship.

The way this works in practice can be disconcerting .... it is alien to Western style relationship building. This would probably be one of the difficult things in international diplomacy .... the western diplomats would be looking for the hidden agenda ... the deceit that is the norm in our relationships. Maybe I'm too trusting and naive? Maybe Balinese relationships don't work that way at all? I'll look forward to being able to discuss it and to get the view from the Balinese side.

#185 Wednesday 2 March 2011

To Bali
arrive 1:45pm
3:30 to Indosat to get a micro-Sim
to Pete's in Sanur
Back to Matahari in Kuta for camera bag?
tea

7:50am I'm actually in the departure lounge!! It's really going to happen. I've had an email from Wiwin telling me that all the arrangements to meet me are in place. Now I can sit and have breakfast and write a bit of blog.
The last 24 hours in Darlington have been very unusual ..... there was a thunderstorm (while we were out shopping) .... we didn't notice anything but the discussions on the radio since have shown that it was a freak storm which dumped 80mm of rain in 30 minutes. We have been without any internet since then as a tree has fallen on a phone exchange! We are fortunate to still have power as many Darlington people are without power too.

This will be the first time I have travelled overseas with mobile internet ... provided I can find the right Sim when I get to Bali. It's amazing how times have changed .... my first overseas trip in 1984 was using travellers cheques ... no phone or email .... email did not exist then and mobile phones were a dream to come. Now I can have internet where ever I am .... location doesn't have to make any difference to communications & finances.

Over the next few days, this blog will be unable to report on Kaylia ..... except for snippets from emails. So Naomi & Zoe & Tina ..... please send some Kaylia news so I can add it to the blog!

This article is in the news today ... if it worked out well, it might help with our worries about Kaylia's adult future. Let's hope!

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/time-to-see-disability-as-a-public-not-a-private-issue/story-e6frg71x-1226014379985

#184 Tuesday 1 March 2011

Phew! Yesterday was a struggle to get through. At one point there was a very welcome thunderstorm .... with the usual power failure. Afterward I spent ages trying to get the ADSL working again ... only to find that I'd been trying to re-boot the router instead of the modem!! Duuh! Too tired .... one sleep to go. I fly to Bali tomorrow morning.

I'd been having a tussle with guilt ... (how could I spend 5 days away leaving Naomi home to cope?) .... but Naomi fixed it for me .... she booked for her own break! She's now going to Bali 12 to 16 May! Veeerrrryy cunning!! That will be the 4 days just before the new moon! She'll escape all the new moon behaviour .....

Kaylia struggled with the effect of her middle of the night shenanigans too ... at school she was unable to work and she was sent home early afternoon ..... but the little blighter wouldn't sleep then either!

#183 Monday 28 February 2011

Technically this is Monday ... but it's 4:00am and she's been up since midnight ... so in a way it's actually Sunday night. She's full of beans .. firing on all four ... excuse the mixed metaphores .... so she's not likely to let me sleep again tonight. This sort of .... I was about to say behaviour but this implies bad behaviour ... and she is actually quite well behaved ... just awake! She doesn't understand that others aren't asleep and it's not fair on them to do normal daytime things at 3:00am! If overnight respite care were a viable option, the carer would certainly earn their pay! ..... now there's a thought ... can I ask for a pay rise?

Weather .... it's now a record number of consequetive hot nights! ... and Zoe took Kaylia to Lake Leschanaultia on Saturday - only to find that the lake has been closed because the water level has dropped too far. Floods on the east side of the continent and drought this side!

Yesterday (...today??) we visited the gravesite for a trip down memory lane .......when I go, please don't bury me! I get claustrophobia ... please cremate me. I struggle with panic feelings in the lead up to a plane flight .... I have to close the door to that part of my mind ... it's OK once I'm actually up in the air but till then, it's not pleasant. If you've watched the two "Kill Bill" movies, you'll remember the part where they bury her alive .... that was something I definitely should not have watched! I find that once I watch a movie, I have my own internal iPod and the scenes get re-played ad infinitum!

... that little digression came from thinking of my trip to Bali on Wednesday ... two sleeps time! (assuming she actually lets us sleep). Of course there's still time to cancel again! I've now had more practice at cancelling flights than booking them! Sheesh!