24 to 27 Sept 2012 Phuket

24 to 27 Sept 2012 Phuket Thursday today. Here in Phuket I am relaxing, playing some squash, chatting in the bar. But no beach yet, we have heavy rain, wind and flooded roads. Not in the plan but hey, can't be perfect all the time. I am meeting old and new friends here, Alois the retired Lufthansa pilot now running a Bavarian cafe here, Paul, a tugbout operator off the east coast of Western Australia who works 4 weeks on and 4 off, two Austrians who are in Phuket because it was the first flight available from their home airport, a retired englishman who regales us of his exploits on his 12 month world tour, and Aldo a businessman from Italy who lives here and currently runs a laundry and the squash club, to name a few so far. I am not expecting much to report from here but will let you know if anything interesting occurs. October 11th I fly to Rangoon, Myanmar to start a 12 day tour with World Expeditions. Am hoping to have more to say then! All the Best, John

23 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

Sunday today is my last full day here. I fly tomorrow at 12.50 so have to leave Green Gate at 9.45, Grant will drive me to the nearby airport. This morning I swim 1100m and read the book they have lent me here. I only have 24 hours to finish it. Lunchtime Grant takes five of us to ????????????? Hotel, a very upmarket establishment where we all order beef burgers! Grant is right, they are very tasty. We take a look at the pool area, very smart.

Joey has been visiting for a few days now, he has flown here especially to put a tattoo on Grants back. Joey is an artist in great demand, he free-hand draws his pictures on various parts of peoples bodies. Using specialised equipment, he then applies the inks. Grants tattoo is taking 12 hours. Anyone who would like to travel out here for one of Joeys tattoos, please let me know and I will put you in touch. Here is a pic of Grants back part way through. The new tattoo is the black Samurai Warier astride his horse. Joey is in the background.

I walk 45 minutes to the mall to buy these amazing cupcakes, chocolate ones that melt in your mouth, they are sold out! So, empty-handed, I get a tricycle back to Green Gate, a very bumpy ride but chat with the driver, at least 70, about our respective families. These roads are teeming with local people going about their daily lives in this sadly run-down area.

This evening I am invited to join Violet, Maricel, ChaCha, May and Lorna at the disco across the field. (Joey is still working on Grant). We dance for two hours along with about 200 locals, all having a good time. A great evening, thanks girls.

1am now as I finish this blog, next I have to pack! Goodnight all, John

22 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

22 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Saturday today and after my swim (1000m) I am having my hair cut. This takes all the rest of the morning as I also buy some plums. This afternoon we have some fun in the pool, I don't know why the others can balance on the blow-up boat and I cannot. Jackson thinks it's very funny.

Then a bar-b-q by the pool. Perfect. This evening, Grant, Violet and a group of their friends invite me to join them in a night out at MO2 in central Cebu City. It is outdoors, there are two live bands and we have a great evening chatting and dancing until 2am. Back in my room at Green Gate, now 3am, I hear the local fiesta in full swing. The wall of speakers in a field 100 metres away provides booming music for another hour, in harmony (not) with squealing pigs as they are slaughtered by the roadside, in preparations for the next day's feasting. Unreal. Goodnight all.

21 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

21 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Friday up at 4am for 4.30 breakfast, 4.45 taxi and 6am two hour ferry to Bohol Island. This time everything goes to plan and the three of us are met by driver Ray, pre-arranged by Grant. First we have a long drive to the Chocolate Hills in the centre of Bohol. There are 1260 of these dome shaped hills that are lumps of coral from when this area was lying in shallow seas thousands of years ago. Volcanic eruptions created the hills. Rain eroded them and created swamps then plains around them. The soil on the hills never achieved sufficient thickness for anything other than grass to grow on them. In the dry season, the grass turns brown. Hence Chocolate Hills. I am very disappointed. I love chocolate and thought there would be loads of it here. Maybe even chocolate mines. But there is no chocolate, so I eat one of my apples instead.

On the way back down, we drive through a 3000ha man-made mahogany forest, planted by boy scouts and girl guides. It's traditional to stand in the middle of the road for a photo here. Not a good idea anywhere, but especially in the Philippines.

We visit a butterfly farm where there are many beautifully coloured species. Our guide shows us some trans-gender butterflies. One wing has male colouring, the other female, he calls them lady-boys. Later I pet a giant caterpillar closely watched by its angry mother.

Next we visit the Tarsier Reserve in Loboc. These monkeys are the smallest primate in the world. There are 113 of them in this 16ha wooded enclosure and we see about ten, none of them moving, just sitting quietly on a branch. We can got very close to them for photos. Remembering John Cleese and the parrot, I ask the keeper if these monkeys are stuffed and nailed to the trees. No, she said, they are sleeping.

A short drive further, and we get to walk across a very dodgy bamboo bridge over a raging torrent some distance below. I don't like heights but inexplicably, I can handle then better when over water. We meet an American gentleman who wins the worst dressed tourist prize. we chatted and I liked him. Hans didn't. Here he is on the bridge with his girlfriend whose hat has just blown into the river. He didn't jump in after it. Neither did I.

Now at last we go for lunch, on a boat as it chugs up the river and back. A buffet, OK, but followed by some delicious brown sweet soft tartlets, I sneak five of them including the last one, maybe more than my share but the last group to board were late eating their main course so I managed to go back to the table a few times before they could get to them. There was a bunch of traditional singer/dancers on a pontoon half way up the river, very entertaining. This is s video but I don't know if it will work on the blog, please do let me know.

Next more Python, a real one, not Monty but Prudence. She is 250 kilos and 26 feet. A meal is one live pig or two goats. She has never eaten a keeper or tourist.

Next Baclayon Church, built of coral in 1724.

Lastly a statue of the Spanish making peace with the local chief just before they knocked seven bells out of each other in a viscous war.

r A long trip back followed by dinner with Hans and Lily in Diones. A very enjoyable day. Bye for now, John

20 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

20 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Thursday today, I plan a quiet day ahead of a long day tomorrow. 900 swim, sleep by the pool, read book in the morning. This afternoon I walk and take some photos, including the Electronics Repair Shop, Yangs Eatery and Stinkfree Laundry.......

I have just set the alarm at 3.45 for 4.30 breakfast, 4.45 taxi and 6am ferry to Bohol Island. Wish us luck on our second attempt. All the Best, John

19 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

19 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Wednesday, up at 4.15am for 5 0'clock breakfast, 5.30 taxi and 7am ferry to Bohol Island. But the taxi is half hour late and at the docks we drive from gate to gate and pier to pier and cannot find the ticket office. The three of us decide to buy tickets for a Friday 6am sailing in an office that we do find, then we return to Green Gate. OK sometimes plans go awry. Back at Green Gate I have another breakfast, an 800 swim and a sleep by the pool. And I read my book. I like this Guest House very much, everyone is very kind and helpful with drinks on call and excellent meals. I have experienced this level of service before so I don't know what it is that makes it so particularly pleasant and relaxing here. Below is a photo taken by Grant of Violet and their staff.

This afternoon in a local department store, Violet and Maricel choose two dresses for Grace and Grant helps me pick out some clothes for Leon and Harry. Violet has two boys and Maricel only has piglets to look after so I thought they might enjoy helping me buy dresses. I reward us all with drinks in a restaurant called Booobs. I have mango juice, I love it. Back at Green Gate, it is Chicken Cordon Bleu with mixed salad and rice for dinner. Perfect. Here is a pic showing Violet and some of the staff playing with Matthew, and Jackson in the background at the table where I eat my meals. It is delightful to sit here, in what is effectively the living area for the family and staff.

And here I am in the same family area with Grant, Violet, Jackson and Matthew

Best wishes to all of you and your families, John

18 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

18 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Tuesday morning I am swimming 700m, lying by the pool and reading my book. This afternoon I am walking down the road I described earlier. It is Pajac Abuno, a long minor road on Mactan Island. It is rutted from being dug up for a pipe and never resurfaced, it is lined by tiny shack-like shops and dwellings, and it is famous world over.

What can this road be famous all over the world for manufacturing? Here is a clue, the middle photo is of one of their clients shaking hands with the owner of the biggest factory here, Alegre. I have a tour of the factory and watch these incredibly skilled guys working with local woods to make the beautiful end products they are famous for. There are five factories and about 20 specialist shops on this beaten up road.

This is Apl.De.Ap, Black Eyed Peas and he is buying a guitar. The Alegre factory showrooms and the nearby small shops and other factories are filled with shiny guitars, ukuleles, banjos and mandolins, all individually handmade, various sizes and qualities and prices. I was impressed, so this must be heaven for musicians. Alison T, I hope you can visit here one day.

The guitar-making industry in Lapu-Lapu City started when the Spanish friars assigned in Cebu needed to repair the guitars they were using. Instead of waiting for the guitars to arrive from Mexico, they commissioned the townspeople of Opon village in Mactan Island to make new guitars and repair the existing guitars they had; thus began the guitar industry in Cebu. Typical woods used for Cebu-made guitars are soft and hard woods like jackfruit, narra, black wood ebony, and imported woods. Some guitars have simple designs while others have decorations of intricate designs or inlaid with shell crafts. The guitars made in Lapu-Lapu are all hand-made and people who want personalized guitars can order them custom-made according to their own design requirements.

This evening, after a couple of beers and a game of pool at Bellas, I have a perfectly cooked Blue Marlin steak with mixed vegetables and rice, while some of the girls play a chaotic game of cards. Now I am going to bed because I have to be up for a 5am breakfast and 5.30 departure for a day trip. All the Best, John

17 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

17 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Monday today and two milestones........it is two weeks already since I flew from Heathrow and this is my 200th blog since I started my travels in 2006. A 'family' morning, I am invited to join Grant, Violet, Charina, Jackson and Matthew on a shopping trip. The boys behave very well and are rewarded with an ice cream.

This afternoon I swim 600m, laze by the pool, read my book, go for a walk. I am very relaxed and happy here.

Belly pork for dinner. How does she do it. Delicious. We chat for a while, including with yet another friend/relation of Violets who is staying here, I think this place provides a welcoming home from home for many, then I have another early night and fall asleep reading my book. All the Best to everyone, John

16 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

16 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Sunday Grant takes me, Violet and her cousin Charina 17 to the spot where, in 1521, Spanish invader Ferdinano Magellan was killed by Lapu Lapu, chief of Mactan Island, and his tribesmen. There is a monument and plaques commemorating the event. Also there is a big wall painting showing Ferdie and his men wearing pantaloons and being slain in the shallow waters of the beach. One of the plaques informs us that one of Ferdies ships, the Victoria under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, sailed from Cebu on 1st May 1521 and anchored at San Lucar of Barrameda on 6th September 1522. This completed the first circumnavigation of the earth. Can anyone tell me where Barrameda is?

Here at one of the small market stalls I buy a lovely present for Faye. We also go to a mall where I buy some little presents for Ruby and Amber. Finally Violet leads us to a fresh seafood shop where she chooses and buys 4 kilos of live crabs. Back at Green Gate she cooks them along with mixed vegetables wrapped in palm leaf and red (purple) rice and we have a delicious lunch. This place is heaven. After a lazy hour chatting after lunch, I have my daily swim. I have kept my promise to myself and Anne and increased the distance each day, by 100m. Today I swim 500. Is this OK Anne? This evening I am collected by Jens and his friend Clive and we go for a quiet drink in a bar suggested by Clive. Clive comes from Tewkesbury, worked for MAN in Germany for 37 years and now lives on Mactan Island where he loves to dive, often with Jens. In the bar, we cannot hear ourselves talk, but the music is good, a 6 piece band with three singers one of whom, a girl, has an amazing voice. A great evening but I drink one beer too many for me. Fortunately I am fully in control and do not fall out of the car when we return to Green Gate. However one of the staff girls asks me if I am drunk, I don't know why she asks, I am fine and perfectly incoherent. I think I'll go to bed now, goodnight. John

15 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

15 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Lapu Lapu is the city on the island of Mactan which is a part of Cebu Province and right next to the main Cebu island. It is Saturday today, and after an extended breakfast chatting to Grant, Violet and their staff, I take a taxi to Crimson Resort on Mactan Island. This is a 5* hotel with rooms, villas, conference facilities, pools and its own beach and dock. I pay twelve pounds for the day and use the gym and pool, walk along the beach listening to the live band, and finish off lying on the most comfortable lounger ever. Very nice thank you Crimson. In the evening another superb home-cooked meal. We eat in an outside covered dining area next to the courtyard, the photo is the view. Violet is the chief cook and her sauces are to die for.

Later we are joined by Hans and his girlfriend who also stay here, Casey and Kendra a married couple from the States who are visiting Grant, plus Jens Hofmann a dive-master. Grant has arranged for Jens to meet Casey and Kendra and organize a dive for them (you can look him up if you are into diving). Jens talks about sharks and fish and octupussies and corals and wrecks until midnight, we are entranced by his knowledge and experience. Goodnight all. John (ps, I'm not sure whether the photo will publish, do let me know!)

14 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

14 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu Friday morning Grant, the Guest House joint boss with wife Violet, kindly takes me downtown in his car to a money exchange booth where I get a good rate for my pounds. The booth is in a bustling complex of tiny market stalls surrounding a supermarket. Looks to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for the big and the small. Grant buys some dvds. We chat with some of the stallholders. All very relaxed and friendly. Then a Starbucks iced raspberry coffee. Interesting. I enjoy chatting with Grant in the car. He is rural Canadian, the manager of a large call centre here in Lapu Lapu, employing 1600 Philippine people who he describes as the most hard working dedicated workers he has encountered in his extensive working travels. Also interesting. Lunch, pasta, chicken and vegetables, excellent. I linger, chatting with Violet and the girls who work for her in the Guest House. She and Grant have two children, Jackson 3 and Matthew 1, they are playing all around us. Just such a very pleasant place to be. This afternoon I walk to the harbour again. On the way a bunch of early teenagers invite me to play basketball with them on an improvised court on waste-ground. Tempting because I am taller than most of them. But I decline, with thanks. I am intending to book an island-hopping trip with Kon-Tiki. But they only do groups, or I can pay for the whole boat trip for just me. I don't think so. Next door is the Dive booking centre where I can join a dive trip to one island as a passenger. $69. Not sure about this either so leave it for now. So next I walk to Hadsan Beach. 50 pesos entrance, must be good, about 75p. Hadsan is a pretty inlet, with stone walls and piers, and divers' skiffs moored in the harbour and on the beaches. There are chalets, divers' shops and restaurants. At the end of one pier is a little village of palm thatched shelters with tables and benches for picnics and bar-b-ques. A delightful setting. But neglected and seriously run-down, this potential paradise is deserted. There is nobody to be seen except a couple of sleeping boatmen. Pity. I walk back to Green Gate and have the most amazing baby back ribs so tender and beautifully cooked, wow I have definitely struck gold booking here. Early night, Good night to you all, John

13 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu

13 Sept 2012 Lapu Lapu So here I am in Lapu Lapu, Cebu, Philippines. The Green Gate B&B is an old house full of character, high ceilings, first floor balcony overlooking the sitting room, magnificent staircase, hardwood trimmings everywhere, a hotel straight out of a classic Poirot setting for upper class mystery. Tomorrow I will look for the aspidistra. The outside is patios, palm trees, tropical flowering trees and bushes, all slightly running wild. The swimming pool is another one of those curvy shapes with no lines on the bottom, but I can swim in it so am very grateful for that. The water is very clean. I did 20 wiggly lengths X 10m today and fully intend to increase that every day. We'll see. Anne Ellis please note. Curiously my bathroom has a shelved cupboard filled with valuable looking colourful ceramic pots and things including a large white duck. I am not touching anything in case it cwacks. From my bedroom window I can see a lake on the land next door. Now I see it's wasteland where a recent shower has left a pond for shoeless children to paddle and play in. This afternoon I walk up and down the road to stretch my legs and have a look around. There are many small general stores, mobile phone shops, fresh fruit displays, an electronics centre, and my favourite - 'The Lovlie Store' selling sweets. All small shack-like structures with corrugated tin roofs mostly in dilapidated condition. Behind are hundreds/thousands of dwellings in similar or worse state. They are, like the road, falling to bits. Green Gate is an oasis in a sea of urban poverty. There are other oases. A development of smart new villas in a gated compound. A small business park also recently built and security protected. And Wombats Womb Cafe. But these are incongruous and isolated. Along this one long disintegrating road that leads to the harbour, there is a large community of people struggling to provide the next meal. But they are happy, today at least. There is a festival, centered on a church near the harbour, and everyone, especially the children, is excited. I am wearing my white polo shirt with red, green, yellow, blue and black stripes, my 'combat' shorts and Chesham Prep. Reception Class white sun-hat, and hope I don't look too much like a tourist. But I think they know. I get lots of smiles and hellos and 'how are you's as I pass by, a lone European in a throng of Asian people. Yes I have to be careful as always, but these people I saw today made me feel humble. Take care everyone, and reflect on your worries compared to theirs'. John

11 & 12 Sept 2012 Bali

11 & 12 Sept 2012 Bali Tuesday, an uneventful day, internet in the morning, taxi there and back, a relaxing afternoon on the beach, evening a macfillet of fish. Sorry, I've never eaten so much non-local food on a holiday - although there was some Bali sauce with the chips. 3 burgers and 2 pizzas in one week! Wednesday, my last day here, Ketut drives me to the airport, but we stop for lunch just before. Balika Bumby Bali Cafe is on Kedonganan Beach. We sit at a table as near to the sea as I can get. Kedonganan beach is a three kilometre long curve of golden sand lapped today by a calm blue sea. Across the bay, beyond the main beach, is a series of small also golden beaches overseen by green wooded hillsides. When I come back to Bali I will spend a few days here and try to get to these apparently isolated beaches. Lunch is fish, rice and green veg., with iced melon juice and mixed fruit slices to finish. I enjoy my lunch on the beach. The flight is on time, I am posting this at Singapore Airport. Wondering where I'm going? Tell you next blog. All the Best, John

9 & 10 Sept 2012 Bali

9 & 10 Sept 2012 Bali Sunday and Ketut brings breakfast to my room as he has everyday - chicken leg, veg and sticky rice. Good. He works long hours and is busy today so he organises friend Komang to drive me for the day. It is a holiday for everyone after yesterdays celebrations, a bit like our Boxing day. The roads are busy so it is a long slow journey to Atundown Temple. It is worth it. High up in the mountains, beside a great lake, the ancient temple is bordered on three sides by gardens filled with brightly coloured flower beds, mostly yellow and red, trees and bushes. The fourth side is right up against the lake, with some of its buildings actually in the water, strangely cast away from the main courtyard as if the gods require the peace and isolation of an island for these places of worship. On the other side of the lake, forested mountainsides rise up into misty clouds, creating an immense and mysterious backdrop to the temple and lake. An enchanting place, only slightly compromised by the swan shaped pedal boats on the lake, so ridiculous in this place they can only widen the smile inspired by this temple and its surroundings. After a traditional lunch followed by a welcome cup of tea (with milk thicker than double cream), we drive to the Botanical Gardens. This is a huge area of trees and grass populated by thousands of local families picnicing and playing games on their holiday. Good to see, we drive through and I take some photos, but now it is time to start our journey back. On the way, we stop at Tamas Ayru Palace, a very different temple with children playing football on the lawns, and families and teenagers walking and relaxing in the woods and riversides behind the Palace. This evening I want to post my second blog so walk to Deus, a bikers restaurant. But oh no, they only have wifi, no computers. So the very helpful waitress calls a taxi and asks the driver to take me to an internet place. He mumbles apologies about traffic jams and pulls onto the narrowest windiest causeway through paddy fields, unlit in the dark, mile after mile, amazingly not pushing passing bikes (for whom this path exists) into the watery rice fields. We arrive at a remote village I know not where and yes here is the internet shop, the most basic traditional village store. I sit at the computer in a very dimpsy lit room and ask for more light so the shopkeeper gives me a torch. When he looks in 5 minutes later and sees I am still waiting for googlemail to load, he invites me to use his personal notebook behind the counter. This loads immediately, I sort my emails and post blog number two, while Eddie the shopkeeper serves customers and leans across me to reach cigarettes and stuff on the shelf. This is the real world. I think. Now I am in a remote unknown village shop, getting late and very hungry. So Eddie fetches his car, abandons his shop, and drives me back to Jepun. The man is a hero. Now I enjoy a Quattro Staglionni, tomato, mozzerella, ham, mushrooms, olives and wastel sauce, in Jepun Pizzaria. Then sleep. Monday Ketut takes me on a two hour drive to his home village, Tenganan in the South. This community has preserved traditional ways, there are no cars allowed here. 250 families live in single storey dwellings, arranged either side of three main walking stone laid thoroughfares. As we walk up and down, Ketut stops and talks or waves hello to every villager we pass. Everyone knows everyone here. We visit his house and eat bananas and Bali cake, a gift from a 70 year old lady who helps look after the place. He shows me the temple and we walk through the forest that surrounds the village. A beautifully unspoilt place, quiet, unhurried and peaceful. My favourite place in Bali. After the drive back, I have another australian burger with everything and a cup of tea and a nutty chocolate covered magnum ice cream lolypop. Goodnight all, John

7 & 8 Sept 2012 Bali

7 & 8 Sept 2012 Bali Friday a quiet day, taxi to nearby Kuta-Legion where I finally find an internet cafe....2 and quarter hours later I have cleared my inbox and posted the first blog. Then a coffee and wander around before taxi back to Jepun. We pass many preparations for tomorrows Hindu celebration day. There are tall arching weaved creations, that look like giant straw snowdrops, outside every house and shop along the roadside. And dragons. These are fearsome creatures that weave and rear across the village roads, followed by a troupe of whooping children. Actually, they are a variation of our pantomime horse, but much more interesting and threatening. That evening, Ketut takes me to his home again where I eat an inordinate amount of pork ribs with rice. Sitting in the porch, there are four of us, Ketut, me, Putu(Ketuts main man) and Korman. When we start eating, Putu offers me a small glass of coca-cola which he indicates I have to down in one. Interestingly, the same glass is topped up and passed around for the 4 of us to drink in turn. By the end of the evening there is a pile of bones in front of me and we have got through 2 large bottles of coca-cola. I don't drink coca-cola very often, and thought this had a slightly different taste, anyway it turned out to be arak, distilled from fermented palm extract, a very pleasant drink. I don't remember being taken back to my room but woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed after an excellent nights sleep. Saturday is celebration day, another taxi ride to Legion sees all the decorations in place, mainly on the temples of which there are many, large ones for village attendance and prayers, and small ones in every household and shop porch. And giant straw snowdrops of course. Everyone is dressed up for the day, visiting temples for prayers, men in white robes and hat (called udung), ladies in beautiful saris, radiant colours and fine materials, and children in smart outfits all excited and reveling in the occasion. I see all this travelling to and from Legion through villages and countryside, it's a pleasure to be here. Late afternoon, Ketut and Putu pick me up at Jepun and drive me to Tanah Lot Temple on the coast. Hundreds of locals are here queuing up to pray in the main temple which is on a huge rock in the sea. The tide is out so there is a long queue of white robed worshipers across the wet rocks and up the winding steps to the top. The sea is crashing against the rock on three sides, sending curtains of white spray up towards the temple and its acolytes on this rock that dares to defy the onslaught of the sea and its powerful waves. Those coming back down from the rock look quite relieved and those waiting to go up are evidently keen to get on with it before the tide comes in, and the angry sea reclaims the fourth side of this rock temple. The whole scenario is spectacular and I am privileged to witness it. In the evening Ketut and Putu have to work, so I walk alone to Canggu beach. Although there are many people here, mostly locals and surfers, the atmosphere is quiet and serene. I see a local lady in traditional dress on a bench, she is bending over as in prayer, and I feel uplifted by the sense of peace and tranquility of this place. As I pass by her, I notice she is texting on her iphone but no matter, the sense of peacefulness prevails. I walk across the beaches to Echo Beach where I order a large beer and a very large aussie burger with everything and chips. I am sitting at a table on a promenade right next to the sea. The incoming tide is gradually consuming an outcrop of rocks that separates two beaches (a bit like Corbyn Head rocks). I like this place. Even the dogs are relaxed here, evidenced by the mongrel that continued aloof and unruffled as it walked past my table pursued by a small child throwing firecrackers at it. I finish with an almond and belgian chocolate covered magnum ice cream lolypop. I do like magnums. Corbyn Head rocks are covered now. Time to sleep. Goodnight and take care, John

5 - 6 Sept. 2012 Bali

5 - 6 Sept 2012 Bali Hello again to you all. So here I am in Bali for 8 days on a trip arranged by my good friends from Perth,WA, Sean and Jodie. In our favourite bar in Phuket, they introduced me to their, now my, friend Ketut from Bali. Ketut has organised airport transfer, accommodation, food and day tours for my stay here. The perfect host, he waits two and half hours until past 2am at the airport for me after delayed flight and massive slow queues at immigration. In the car, a cold beer from an ice box awaits, I have never appreciated a bottle of beer as much as this one, a perfect welcome. In my room in Jepun Bali, he gives me the ice box with more beers, a local mobile phone to use while I am here and arrangements for breakfast. Brilliant. Later that morning, after a breakfast of chicken legs, rice and vegetables (+ a spicy sauce...too hot for me, I had to scrape it off!), Ketut drives me to the villas he manages then to his nearby home where I meet his wife and daughters 6 and 3. He has a lovely home and family. Next I change some Pounds into Roupees, 15,000 to the pound, I am a millionaire!, some shopping and back to room for more SLEEP. That evening it's a long walk on Echo Beach a 10 minute walk away from Jepun, followed by a pizza in the restaurant next to my room, then more SLEEP. Next day Thursday, after breakfast, Ketut takes me on a tour. First to a Batik factory and shop, where a lady demonstrates the dying process used on a variety of materials used mostly to make clothes. It involves different colour dyes and wax and is very meticulate and time consuming, but the final product in its various forms is stunningly beautiful. Then to a fine art studio, I have never seen anything like this before. In a very large house, room after room after room with every wall space filled with original paintings of all sizes, traditional Bali and modern. They have 150 artists working to keep the walls filled as they sell from the displays. Some pictures take 6 months to complete they are so intricate. Amazing, striking colours, designs and images, many exceptionally beautiful. They sell for thousands of US dollars, I'm sure they are worth it, but decided I have enough pictures for Rivendell. Now we visit a display of wood-carvings, a Bali speciality. Incredible sculptures, some small, some very large indeed. Horses, dragons, a crocodile, everything you can think of, often in dramatic poses, carved in various hardwoods. All perfect in detail, wonderful stuff. Then LUNCH in a very clean tourist restaurant, pork, rice and veg., excellent. (Ketut has TWO portions!, I am full after one.) Next we go to Mandala Wista Wenara Wana which, I'm sure you will know, is the Sacred Monkey Temple and Forest. Huge trees, hundreds of macaques, a river gorge, stone carvings of gods and animals everywhere, and temples including the large main one and a funeral temple. I love this place, natural and ancient. I only get lost for a short time and find my way back but I am longer than Ketut estimates so he comes looking for me! We find each other, no problem, and drive back to Jepun. That evening I walk alone to Canggue Beach and village, next on from Echo Beach. I am looking for an internet cafe but don't find one. My evening meal in an Echo Beach restaurant next to the beach, listening to the waves crashing on the sand and rocks, is chicken and cashew nuts plus extra vegetable. Very tasty, and I treat myself to a special nutty magnum chocolate covered ice cream for afters. Happy happy. Afterwards I walk inland to a bar called Deus where I find they have internet but it is too close to closing time to use. I have one more beer, but I think one too many. I have to concentrate very hard not to fall into the rice paddy fields which come right up to the narrow grass verge I have to step onto when a vehicle passes on this narrow unlit country road. I get back OK and soon go to SLEEP. I love Bali Take care you all. John