2 months
6 countries
13 guesthouses
4 hotels
3 homes
8 home cooked meals
26++ bug bites
1 haircut
2.5 bottles bug spray
3 times Mike's been sick
1 serious argument
Not a bad start. We're still trying to find the perfect On-The-Move to Time Out ratio. If we are to survive the next 4 months we need to move a little slower.
So the latest news is we are not in India, we are in Bali. A day before we were to leave for India, Michael got sick for the 3rd time. I suppose we consider ourselves lucky that it happened in Singapore and not in India. Similar symptoms but thankfully not as rough as the last time. We cancelled the entire India leg and made appointments to see a specialist since Singapore is our last chance for quality medical attention, the comfort of home and support of family.
2 blood tests, 2 stool samples, 1 EKG, 1 sonagram later, we've ruled out Malaria, Dengue Fever, bacterial infection of the heart valves, and confirmed that Mike's previously diagnosed heart murmur is non-existent. We did find out that it was Salmonella, which can stay in one's system for a while.
Mike says that as far as stool sample kits go, he prefers the Singapore kind to the Thailand kind. More like a prescription bottle than a fast food condiment cup, it makes for a more hassle-free stool harvest.
After 4 days of solid bedrest, healthy food, and TLC, we decided to join the rest of the family who were already in Bali to celebrate Val's grandfather's 89th birthday. Not a bad place to recuperate. The family stayed until last Sunday. We've decided to stay on for longer, until we leave for Casablanca on Nov 15th.
There are around 33,160 islands in Indonesia, 3000 of which are inhabited. Bali alone has about 3.5 million people, most of whom are Hindu. Two bombings here in recent years have taken a serious toll on the tourist industry here, a lifeline of the Balinese. Nearly 90% of the people here are directly or indirectly affected by the tourist trade. US and Australian travel advisories are still in effect and tourism is at about 50% of where it ought to be. Regardless, all the flight here from Singapore were full and it doesn't feel all that deserted here. Security guards are posted at the entrances of major hotels and bars, metals detectors in hotel lobbies, guards checking in trunks and cameras embedded in driveways to check the underbellies of cars.
The people are superstitious here. Sometimes when you pay for something you've bought, they will take your money and brush it against all the other merchandise, blessing the stock with good juju. Everywhere you go, you'll see colorful offerings, square boxes constructed of palm fronds, cradling a rainbow salad of any or all of the following:
flowers and flower petals
cooked rice dyed different colors
leaves
lime zests
fruit
a cracker
small change
candy
Then garnished with a few drops of holy water and a stick of incense.
We're on a sick spot in Seminyak, a nice surf spot where Val can spend all day in a cabana while Mike surfs right out front. He seems lonely, no one else it out in the water. Outside the hotel are streets of lovely shops and restaurants, boutiques, spas and temples. The people here are warm and outgoing, super friendly. Well, not all of them.
The other day we were pulled over by a cap, He just materialized in the middle of the street and waved us over.
Is this your first time to Bali?
Yes.
Do you have an International Driver's License?
No. But our hotel didn't say we needed one.
(Dismissal) I am the law. I will write you a fine, you have to go to court tomorrow, do you have time? If not, you can just pay me now.
Val dislodges a spew of ugly words.
Ok, give us the ticket.
Also, I keep your bike.
I'm calling the hotel.
What hotel you stay?
Val tells him, finger poised over the button with the green phone icon on the cell phone.
OK, this time I give warning, because your first time Bali.
And we got back on our bike and took off. If he had been scarier or better at this extortionist thing, we might have buckled. In any case, having a cell phone and a place to call really did save us.
For photos of Bali, go to http://flickr.com/photos/31967627@N00/sets/72157594365893323/
