#1260 Friday 13 May

It's good to be home.  After Kaylia went off to school I headed over to visit Maxine in hospital ..... she's having a tough time at present.

Then this afternoon it was time for repairs to 'Scooby' Subaru ..... it needed a new throttle body.  The job required some contortions .... at one stage I was crouched in the engine bay .... almost upside down.  The task was successfully completed.

Kaylia is very excited ...... not only does she have a visit to her favorite doctor on Monday afternoon, she now has a visit to the dentist in the morning as well!!

#1259 Thursday 12 May

Kaylia has been behaving strangely at school these past few days ..... being very unsettled and wanting Daddy or Mummy.  It's very unusual for her and I'm wondering if it is tooth related ..... she has  a new premolar erupting on the inside of the tooth line.  It's in a very bad position and I'm sure it will need to be removed ..... perhaps it is painful?  We will need to advance her next dental visit.

This morning I left the villa early with the idea of having a good massage at a spot I know on the way to the airport.  I hadn't counted on the place not being open till 11am .... and with my flight at 12:30 I couldn't wait there and I was left with time to spare.

As I was waiting on the busy road for a taxi to stop, I had a time of mindfulness ..... I was calm and comfortable in myself while standing in plain view of all the busy passing traffic.  Even only 10 years ago, I could not have done that ..... I would not have been able to tolerate the idea that I was so open and visible.  For most of my life I have craved anonymity and I could not tolerate attention from either peers or public.

#1258 Wednesday 11 May

This morning I went for my usual walk ..... up to Hardy's ..... via the bypass this time.  I needed to top up my supply of medicines ..... they are much, much cheaper than in Oz.  My usual place is on the bypass. Then I continued walking to Hardy's through little back streets .... it's very interesting.  At Hardy's I had to exchange a faulty cable that I had bought on Monday.  I went prepared to just give the cable back and forget it ..... but I learned that the nice man on Monday had charged me double the price .... and pocketed the extra!!  Needless to say I wasn't going to put up with that  .... so I stood my ground and he backed down.  He had recorded the sale in their books as 50k and put 50k in his pocket ..... the shop owner was not impressed with him.

Then it was a taxi to Parahanya for my current favorite tucker .... nasi goreng with "krispy" bakso spicy.  It's a filling yummy meal for under $3

After that it was a short walk t D'Anti for a 2 hour hot stone massage ..... bliss.

After that it was time for one of the new movies ..... it got right to the exciting part and then --- Nada!   So I just had to go back to the shop to exchange it for a better copy!

Now I'm at the Warung Qu in Jn Danau Poso for some more yummy food.  This is very close to the villa ...... so since I've walked to here from Hardy's,  it means that I've done a lot of walking today.

#1257 Tuesday 10 May

I had to go to Denpasar this morning to find  a mini USB cable for the DVD recorder ..... Remo is quite a shop.  It's a large 3 storey building entirely devoted to electronics.  It's really good.    On the way back, the traffic was very bad so we detoured through the back streets of Renon and Sanur.  I was with Yoman Ciri (a friend of Made) and he was telling me of his bank troubles ..... he has borrowed $100,000 to build a house for his mother in Bangli .... north east of Ubud  .... and with the current bad times it is hard to pay the bank so he needs to sell his Sanur house.

Back at Sanur I went looking for a haircut .... I began looking in my usual places and soon found that they were all full of customers!  So much for the quiet tourist time!  I kept looking and finally found one with no customers.  Silly me ...... I just went in and sat down.  After the haircut I almost fell out of the chair when I found that the price was 3 times the usual!  175k Rp!  Normally I pay 60K.   While I was having the haircut I had noticed some guys outside looking .... and when I came out they had a chat to me.  There's a much cheaper one round the corner was the advice.

#1256 Monday 9 May

Morning was spent attending to business ....

...... and then it was off to Hardy's for shopping.  Afternoon was massage time .... a 2 hour massage!

#1255 Sunday 8 May

After a good trip the arrival was a welcome surprise ..... no VOA!  ..... so with no luggage I was through customs and arrivals in a very short time.  They've even stopped X-ray of luggage on exit!

So it was outside to find a taxi.  The normal price airport to Sanur is now 150k according to the notice board .... but even the booking agent wanted 200k!  So I went out and haggled.  Sure enough .... they asked 300k .... when I said 150k and turned to walk away, the price immediately dropped to 150k.

The trip to Sanur was the fastest ever!  100kph in 5th gear!  I made sure my seat belt was tight!

I indulged for tea ..... the Linga Longa Warung nearby has pig on a spit on Sunday nights ..... Yum

The music was reggae  ..... pretty good too.

#1244 Sunday 8 May

While waiting to see the doctor last Wednesday we went for a walk in Kings Park (nearby) and found the Bali Memorial.  It's a lovely spot.

..... and of course it was selfie time .....

Today it's Mothers Day ..... Kaylia and I are so fortunate to have Naomi.