Indolence!!

04/04/2013
 Managed a successful post of our blog, after quite some time waiting for a connection. Interestingly, we have more followers in Russia than anywhere else. So, that’s one more thing to do before we die….learn Russian!

 05/04/2013
  Highlights of today….Jane’s visit to the blacksmith to get re-shod. Well, they call it a pedicure but for what it cost you could get your pony a new set of shoes….That of course is a complete exaggeration , a foot massage, pedicure and manicure takes 1 ½ hours for less than £8. I sat in the pub watching rugby on TV.
  Dinner at our Crispy duck restaurant where we both tried the special, Crevettes in a Balinese sauce (garlic, chilli, onion and peppers) with fried rice. Bloody good feed.

 06/04/2013
  Ten days ago was the religious festival of  Galungan, when the Gods defeated some legendary tyrant. Today was Kulingan, a festival to thank the gods for a job well done, any excuse for a party! It is also a day when the old folk are revered , a bit like mothers, fathers and grandparents day all rolled into one. If the old folks are somewhere else I expect they get an email or a text!
 We have spent a lot of the day wandering around the town just looking at the locals going about their traditional day. After the family get together where they are all dressed in their finest clothes (sarongs) everyone seems to de-camp to the beach where they swim, fly kites and generally sit around in groups chatting. It’s a simple way of life but they put lots of effort into it. Just watching as they make and present their offerings to the gods is quite humbling. As with Galungan many shops and restaurants are closed for the day so we found another Aussie run watering hole, Jimmys bar, to have a beer or two saving us from over-culture.

 07/04/2013
 Today we lurched from our sunbed by the pool to another on the beach, just for a change of scenery  and a swim in the sea. Once again we are dismayed by the amount of rubbish that lays along the nice sandy beach and on the sea bed. Nobody seems to clear it up, they just sweep it into a heap and leave to get kicked around later. There are several small packs of dogs that wander around scavenging anything they can find or beg, and nobody seems to do anything about them either.
 After a scorching hot day the late afternoon turned to a tropical storm, the likes of which we haven’t seen since our last stay in Northern Queensland during the wet. Fortunately we were having dinner in a nearly waterproof Warung when the storm hit, which left us with no option but to sit it out with the staff, a few beers and some homemade arak. It’s amazing how language barriers can be breached when there is some local firewater kicking around.