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- Tag 10
- Freitag, 14. Februar 2025 um 06:48
- ☁️ 23 °C
- Höhe über NN: 226 m
IndonesienPenestanan8°29’56” S 115°15’45” E
Ubud
14. Februar in Indonesien ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
A bit of an up and down night as Mick has developed a nasty rash on his arm which he has had before on different parts of his body. We’re not sure whether it was sunburn, or an insect bite or a brush with a plant or a grub or being run down from diarrhoea a few days ago and now it’s red and blistered all over his forearm. He brought his meds from a previous outbreak but it might mean a visit to a doctor in Perth. Its kinda stabilised but not regressing though with oral and topical steroids and antibiotics. Jackie has been advising as much as she can so it seems we're doing everything but he keeps fucking scratching it. Like a fucking dog with fleas. Of course if I say anything I'm the worst but being concerned is in my DNA - cant help it
So I slept but not very well and so saw the light starting to blink through the curtains and woke up to the unspectacular but lovely sunrise over the rice paddies. We’d been blessed to sleep and doze through the night to the sounds of so many frogs and crickets and insects. If the snails and fish could have sung I would have welcomed it. So this morning I woke up and opened all the curtains which gave be an almost 360 degree panorama of the rice fields: the mist, the birds, the sound of the roosters, the sounds of silence!
It was very early so I pottered around. Breakfast was at 9.00 but when we went downstairs Steve advised Jackie had been sick all night. So we headed to breakfast and a lot lost in translation. I was going to kill for a coffee, so got that and just toast.
Naturally, Steve was going to stay with Jackie so Mick and I decided just to go into town and try and find a sports bar for tomorrow’s pre-season game between the Rabbitohs and Manly. Wandered through the rice paddy trail, past so many small shrines, especially of Ganesh. The elephant god was represented in so many ways – tiny dark shrines, larger colourful ones adorned with marigolds, some covered in moss and ferns, one that was very detailed and adorned with gold painted symbols and patterns, and all usually swathed in a checked sarong.
We are on a narrow motorbike trail (see yesterday's entry) but its very busy with Balinese motoring to and from the villas that ribbon the rice paddies. So we saw kids going to school behind mum, big bags of laundry, long orange reo rods, sacks of cement, gloriously groomed Balinese women with tight sarongs and flowers in their sleek-chignoned hair, chunky slabs of stone destined for a build, fruit and vegies. A mirrocosm of everyday life on the rice paddies.
We went to look at the Ubud Palace which was beautiful but basically a temple. We wandered down one of the main streets. It was very hot too so we stopped in a place which was crazily half tiny restaurant and half temple courtyard. We had a few beers and Mick had a pork satay plate and I had vegetarian felafel (with Jackie’s demise I’m going to try and stick to vegetarian and Indo food).
Ubud has a vey different feel to the coast. It’s a lot less frenetic but more upmarket maybe? That is no surprise because it’s always been like that, and definitely the calibre of day trippers are more Japanese and Chinese and Koreans.
We got some wine and visited an ikat shop when it started to pour like you wouldn’t believe. So we sat on the bench out the front for maybe 30 minutes while it bucketed down and just watched the rain, the gutters, the traffic and the Balinese still going about their daily business. It was quite relaxing really as it was warm and taking in the light and clouds changing.
We walked back the few kilometres to the villa through winding stalls, all with their stalls covered in plastic for the rain. And then onto the rice paddies where we made our way home. A few farmers were taking advantage of the rainfall and extra water to drag out their noisy ploughs to churn up their fields, cloaked in petrol fumes and thick blue smoke.
A swim, drinks and then up here in the living area with all the curtains opened watching the light changing and all the beautiful rice paddy birds seeking out their dinners. We’ve seen kingfishers, water hens, egrets and a fat wader bird with a brown and pink head and neck with black wings.
Dinner tonight was without Jackie at the next rice paddy 'resort', Far out, too much food though I ordered simple noodles. I'm feeling sick after every meal sadly. We think they may cook with coconut oil? Hopefully the red wine I bought today will degrease me. Lots of frogs and crickets singing their night songs now. Plus the sparkly, flickering fireflies. Too good.Weiterlesen
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