It is just 7:00 pm but I'm beat! It was a hot one today and given that we walked a fair bit the heat was even more uncomfortable.
Last night was a long one....remember that damn squeaky toy I told you about? Well, last night someone kept stomping on him at about 30 minute intervals almost all night long! And....he was right outside my window - in fact from the sound of him...he could have been in the bed with me! In the end I fell asleep and once the sandman took over I slept like the dead and nothing could have wakened me!
This morning Ketut brought us toast and a hard boiled egg along with our fresh fruit salad so that was a first and it too was yummy. The fact that it is being made and cleaned up by someone else helps on the yummy front too! LOL
Our morning was spent in quiet reflection with each of us doing our own thing and then at 10:00 we did some planned Facetime calls with family. What a treat this facetime is! It makes the world seem like such a tiny place even when you're on opposite sides of it. In fact, when I spoke to my 2 year old granddaughter, Danyka, she wasn't sure it was really me as usually when we facetime we are in the same time zone and she can recognize my surroundings. This time it was night for her but full sunshine for me and I was obviously surrounded by jungle type trees and there were birds in the background. She knew it was me but she also knew something was very different. Kids are smart! Last night I'd had the opportunity to talk to my son and his family too and as a result got all the updates on their upcoming move to Regina. Lynda too had a chance to visit with one of her kids and 2 grandkids in Vancouver. Joanna (Lynda's daughter in law) just finished a run with a play she's been working on and so we were able to hear all about that too as she shifts into R & R mode now that the
play is finished.
Once all the technology stuff was done Lynda and I headed out. We located a new little warung further up Monkey Forest Rd and had another fantastic meal. I won't bore you with the full menu again but just say that the final bill was consistent with what we've been experiencing everywhere we've been so far. Wahoo!
Post lunch we continued our wander up Monkey Forest rd making our way past the soccer field and all the way to the palace at the end. Across from the palace is the start of the market - the one that Julia Roberts was filmed in during the movie Eat, Pray, Love. It's a busy place! Hard to believe this is the slow season! I'm actually glad that we'll be heading north over the Xmas break...it might be a little quieter up there when the tourists arrive in droves for the holidays.
The market is filled with vendors all wanting to sell their wares. I was excited to see a few mangosteens on one vendors table so I bought four of those from her along with 4 of the snake fruit as well. That snake fruit is fast becoming something I could get very very used to! I have no idea if I overpaid for those 8 pieces of fruit or not but I'm a firm believer that as long as I feel good about what I paid..it was a fair price. She originally wanted 100,000 ($10) for just the 4 mangosteen and I said no but that I would also take 4 snake fruits and give her 50,000 for all 8 pieces. She argued vehemently but in the end I got them for $5 so I'm pretty sure that was an okay price from her perspective too and for me.....I'd pay at least $2.50 or $3 for one mangosteen at home so this felt like I was.getting a very good price! I also picked up a super light dress that I'd be able to throw on when hanging around the room. That asking price was also cut in half from $20 to $10 for the final sale so I'm starting to see a pattern develop in terms of knowing just how far over they're going with their original "ask" and that will be helpful going forward over the coming months as we negotiate any number of things.
Healthy drinks are very popular here and so every restaurant (and there is a restaurant about every 50 feet) has them on the menu. This afternoon I opted for the "energy boost" that was apple, lime, and ginger. It was delicious and honestly....I felt a little boosted or at least refreshed. LOL. Lynda's choice was a Green Tea Iced Latte and it too was tasty. As you can see....there is no shortage of options for us to consider ont he food and beverage front. Well....on any front actually.
In addition to the many restaurants there are even more spas where massage is the top item on the menu. In fact, Bali is touted as having more spas per square mile than anywhere else in the world! We could go to a different spa every day we're in Bali and not even visit all the ones in Ubud alone! And we're here for 150 days folks....that's a lot of spa time!
Other places we located today were the post office (which I needed to find) and Bali Buda which we also needed to find as that is where we can connect with Komang (Julie's friend who is an agent that deals in visa extensions). We struck out at the post office as it had already closed and struck out with Komang too as she is only there from 2 - 4 and it was after 5 by the time we found Bali Buda. Lynda had better luck on locating the Radiantly Alive Yoga studio though as it was still open and so she was able to get herself a mat for our great spot right here at home as well as a package of tickets to attend classes that fit her interests.
We started the walk back but I decided I'd had enough and so caught a taxi to bring us back to the alley that leads to our little place. Pretty much everything in the town of Ubud is 50,000 ($5) and I figured it was worth it to just get back and put my feet up. I guess I should tell you that walking here isn't like walking at home. Here you have to look down when you're walking and if you want to look up or in a store window etc you have to stop walking. The reason for this is the sidewalk (if there is one) is VERY VERY rough. Often the sidewalk is just missing a piece and there is nothing there but a massive hold that is big enough for a child to fall into. If the sidewalk is in tact it is very likely got a pile of dirt on it or a motorbike parked across it or some kind of construction material or piping stacked or a guy repairing it or Balinese offerings to the gods laying on it or.....well.....you get the picture. It reminds us so much of the time we were at the pyramids in Egypt and our guide made very clear the importance of stopping to look up as the evidence of people who didn't do that was all around. Broken arms, broken noses, scratches and bruises.....yes that trip was like a PHD in traversing uneven ground and the ground here is pretty uneven!
Hmmmmm .....what else can I tell you today. Well this morning one of the two cats that wanders between here and Julie's caught and ate something that neither of us had ever seen before. We think it must have been some kind of lizard or gecko. Heh...maybe the cat was kept awake by the little bugger last night too and so decided to get rid of him! LOL The other thing you might find interesting was as we were walking along the narrow sidewalk along the soccer field. As it common in most of the world, people are expected to be smart and look after themselves. I mean...make smart choices around safety etc. It is different than in Canada. Here it's not the law that dictates a choice to wear a seatbelt...it is your choice. Anyway...along that same vein, there are really no railings or other safety measures. WCB or the likes would have a hayday and a heart attack here...everywhere you look there are safety rules being broken (because there are really no safety rules). Well...along that very narrow sidewalk we had to make a choice...to take the inside track and risk falling over the edge (about a 5 - 6 foot drop) or take the outside and risk being hit by a scooter or a car. We both opted for the collision course and took the outside because that inside track felt a lot like walking a tightrope!
I've about run out of content for today so until next time,
L & L
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