Saturday, September 11, 2010

Saturday morning in beautiful Ubud


After waiting for some time for the dining room to open - jam karet! - we had a large continental breakfast of telur mata sapi, fruits, and Bali kopi. Two cow's eyes later, we are ready to explore the town.

I had some Balinese Duck last night which may not have agreed with me as I am suffering from frequent 'buang air'. Nick seems to have got over his; now it's my turn!

I have convinced Nick to move into the Arjana Bungalows Nr. 3 for the rest of our stay here and we will move up Jalan Kajeng tomorrow to our spacious bungalows amongst the ricefields.

In the meantime, we are wandering through the shops. I am happy to report to Padma that in addition to "Country Breeze", "Friends", and "Livin' With Dreams", I have found another three CDs by Tantowi Yahya . They are "The Best of TY" with Jangan Pernah Berkata Benci, Anggrek Bulan, and Selamat Tinggal; "Southern Dreams", and "Country Manado" which has Malam Minggu, Polo Pa Kita, and many more on it.

For myself I found the music video "Golden Hits Lobo" (which takes me right back to Burma and my time there in 1975!) and the movies "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Men who Stare at Goats", "Is Anybody There?" with Michael Caine, "The Motorcycle Diaries", "The Kite Runner", and - by Nick's recommendation - "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson.

Ubud also has a couple of good bookshops. I have never been known to pass a bookshop without going in and buying something, and today was no exception! I found Joseph Conrad's The Return and A Smile of Fortune, Gombrich's A Little History of the World, and The Sultan and the Mermain Queen by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski.

Nick and I also bought matching sunhats and shirts and now look as debonair as Tweedledum and Tweedledee While I am walking around with my 'I LOVE BALI' shoulder-bag, Nick is still trying to find one that says, 'BALI TRAUMATISED ME'!

Found a 'bis serat' to mail the few postcards I've written to friends and am now back at the hotel for a rest.