Internet....HUH!!

 24/03/2013
 Living in Bali can be done very cheaply if you know what you are doing. We learnt a bit about that when we were here before , then promptly forgot it all. One bar in particular charges the equivalent of 30p a beer more if you sit at a table rather than at the bar, we worked that out pretty damn quick. At our hotel breakfast is included in the rate…..unless you have bacon and more than one egg, that’s extra. So, healthy fruit diet at brekky coming up.

 25/03/2013
 Reminded ourselves of Sanur beachfront where you pay for sun beds and shades, a tree and sand are just as good. Happy hour in the hotel is 3 30 to 5 00, drinks are much cheaper and also free tea and coffee are served. We must look for another happy hour in town that starts around 5pm.

 26/03/2013
  Another frustrating morning trying to catch up with sending our photos on our shiny thing. There is just the one hotspot in this hotel where there is wireless internet but the signal varies, depending on how many people are using it, so we are constantly losing our connection. After 4 hours we managed to get a dozen photos away but not to everyone on our hit list.  We will try again tomorrow and then move on to the next album.
 The Hindu festival is ongoing, yesterday being the food and offering preparation, today being the killing day when the animal to be offered is slaughtered. Also today families and businesses erect a tall bamboo pole outside their premises as an expression of gratitude for their well being. The whole story is a bit complicated if you are not a Hindu, but the but the workmanship that goes into making these offerings is obviously very fundamental . Tomorrow  Gulangan is the climax to the ceremonies (akin to our Christmas) but families pray all day.

 27/03/2013
 Even more frustration this morning as we waste most of it trying to get the photos away. We think we have got all of our N Z photos sent but still not altogether sure who has received them and who hasn’t as the signal kept breaking up.
 We eventually gave up, hoping what we have done is all good.
 We need some sort of exercise whilst we  are here and walking is about all we can do, far too dangerous  hiring bikes. We set off for a good walk round town and along the beach and found it very quiet. Only expat bars open, the Hindu population observed their religious day. We took more photos of shrines and temples which are lavishly decorated and full of offerings , it really is a sight to see. Then by complete contrast we spent a couple of early evening hours in an Aussie owned bar watching rugby on T V.!

 28/03/2013
 We gave ourselves a day off from firing up this machine , all it seems to do is make us angry. Indy stopped by to see if we wanted to go out for the day but we declined his offer and got settled by the pool with our books. Today is the last day of the Hindu celebrations so we thought Indy would have better things to do than ferry us two around tourist attractions, so we are going out with him on Sunday.
 In Sanur there are dozens of bars and restaurants, whether we will get through a good lot of them remains to be seen. So far we haven’t been disappointed by any of them but one or two have been outstanding, chances are we will re visit them several times.

  29/03/2013
  Quite a dull humid day looking like a storm at any time but all we got was a few rumbles of thunder. After writing up some more blog but not able to send it, we spent the day by the pool and ventured out early evening to what we think now could be one of our favourite restaurants, the Aladin Café. We have also used an Australian owned bar a couple of times and after this evening, Jane has a new best friend. We will have to see if we are to keep going back as the beer is a bit pricey, but they show Super 15s constantly. Tonight we were in two camps as they were showing Highlanders v Queensland Reds. A  good game, the reds shading it by one point, but Jane couldn’t concentrate as her new Bestie (Anita) wanted to sing in her ear the whole time!