ok, third day in udub, finally acclimatised to the humidity, kind of. did i mention i don't do well in the heat? by now i had adapted to a day spent waking early (6am) instead of my usual holiday wake-up time of 10am. at 6am it's calm and cool and the day holds plenty of promise. so a quick swim, breakfast at the hotel (banana pancakes are a must, have even got used to the coffee de mud) and then out onto the streets.
first thing to deal with is the potholes - easy, just skip around them and hope you're not cleaned up by a wayward moped at the same time. then navigate your way through the bali dogs. these i found to be friendly in the most part, but there was one who took an instant dislike to me. ever mindful of the rabies outbreak, i kept my distance, but this particular canine seemed to relish the time of day when i would step out onto the street. i saw him sleeping, playing with kids and just scratching himself happily, not a care in the world, and then suddenly... his ears pricked up, he sniffed the wind, and he was on the hunt. yes, i had made the mistake of stepping onto the street. he hunted me with all the enthusiasm of an ageing, balding aussie looking for 'me love you long time', barking madly all the while. i soon learned to time my trips into town along monkey forest road with the kids going into school. they all carried brooms, which i wondered about at first but soon realised what an excellent weapon for keeping stroppy dogs at bay brooms were. so, with the cover of kids and brooms, i made my way into town and the market.
i was on the hunt myself, looking for DVDs. found none at the markets, and for that matter no designer handbag copies either. Oh no! the two reasons i came to bali! oh, and the food, culture and general experience of course.
found a DVD shop just down from the market, bought 20, got 5 free. all AU$1.80 each. cheaper everywhere else, i know, but we are talking about cents here. a bit of perspective is a wonderful thing. nothing pisses me off more than aussies who bargain their way down when bartering, maybe saving a couple of dollars per purchase. to us, that's small change; to the balinese shopholders that's a day's wages.
found a taxi driver on the street, nyoman, and bargained a ride to the delta supermarket and then back to cendana. he wanted about AU$10, bartered down to AU $5. so we were both happy - he got a great price for an hour's ride (usually he'd get AU$2) and i paid a decent price which didn't leave me feeling guilty but was way less than australian prices. nyoman waited outside the supermarket, and when i was negotiating the price for fake handbags (actually found some at last) he helped me with my money and chatted to the shopkeeper, resulting in an even better price for me. got a (fake) louis vuitton bag for AU$10, very happy with that.
so a bit of shopping later (bintangs, cigarettes, fanta in three flavours, cereal-filled bowls for AU.10c each, huge bags of chocolate for AU.50c) it's time to head home.
the rest of day three is spent watching DVDs, swimming in the pool, and relaxing on the balcony drinking bintangs listening to the barong orchestra wafting over the palm trees. there's an internet room downstairs, but i am not fussed about reconnecting with my life back in perth. finally, i am happy to be here and really wish i could stay longer.