Ghostwriter wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 4:27 am Whoah, i didn't mean static on your whole years, just on the moment described in your text.
Relax ^^
A bit edgy eh ? Hopefully you got your bus.

Apologies. Yep, a bit wiry and maybe need a sleep.

Brought back memories of having a few whiskies too many till late at night and having to catch an 8am bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh years ago. It wasn't a pleasant ride, so I'm not even sure if I should hope you've made it. Sometimes sleeping it off is the better way, there's always another bus tomorrow. Keep us posted, in any case!

Ubud and the hangover.

I struck a lonely sorry figure walking from the Perama shuttle bus office in Ubud to my guesthouse. Hungover, dressed in the jeans, shoes, and shirt I’d need for convincing officers at the Kantor Immigrasi that I was indeed a man of high merit and integrity, I’d already begun to sweat heavily under the humidity of Bali’s lingering wet season - the massive hangover didn't help. The pounding drums from locals preparing for the coming ceremonies was in harmony with the beating I was taking from last night’s drinking session.

It’d be about a two kilometer hike to my accommodation, but I doubted the room would be ready at this early hour - I started recalling places that might be open early enough to wait out the next few hours should I be put back on the street.

Nyoman greeted me with typical Balinese warmth on arrival. As is often the case, she was the younger member of the family and in possession of decent English so given the welcoming duties. The rest of the family remained busy in the background with basket weaving, draping their home temple in fabrics, and going about preparing for one of the biggest festivals on their Hindu calendar that was approaching.

Once I began speaking my very limited Indonesian, everyone dropped what they were doing and I was welcomed very graciously by all - except for the grandfather who had probably met enough noisy westerners in his time to forgo any pleasantries, he preferring to look off into the distance at nothing in particular.

I don’t speak Indonesian very well, but even a rudimentary grasp elicits a change in the the social dynamic. Asking the grandmother how old she is and telling her she looks decades younger I’ve learned works across most cultures. Sadly, flattery didn’t change the fact my room still had its occupants from the night before - I’d have to find something to do after all. The pounding in my head continued unabated.

With some relief I came across a cafe with wifi not too far from the guesthouse promoting a sizable breakfast for a couple of dollars - here's hoping I keep it down. And so it was I sat my weary hungover ass into a chair to be tormented a little more with the fallout from the previous night's hilarity - that feeling when you re-read the nonsense you posted the night before . PM's were sent.

Between coffees, breakfast, making apologies, and chatting with the cafe staff, I could finally return to the guesthouse and get some sleep.

One of Ubud’s many charms for me is the value some of the guesthouses offer for longer stays. The next month will cost $200 for a huge spotlessly clean room with balcony, ensuite, dark heavy solid wooden furnishings, and a great hundred and eighty degree view across a lush tropical tree line with a host of bird life to hear and watch. There’s an egret, or stork, or ibis, or some other kind of white long-legged wader (where’s Hanno when you need him) nesting not far away…

A day after the morning of the night before, life’s good.

They're getting harder to find but there's still some reasonably good value studios to be had in Ubud. Top/third floor overlooking kind of central Ubud with hot water, wifi 20d/20u and all by your self for $US175 per month. I'm here for a few months.



No dogs, no bars, no construction, no temples, no gamelan or other music to be heard offers a peaceful existence with the request of a cook top for the morning eggs and bacon fry up being accepted - delivery in a day or two. One kilo of local coffee is about $1.50 and there's still an abundance of local warungs for your fried rice, vegetables, egg and deep fried noodle garnish on top (and many similar dishes available) for a dollar if you can't be bothered cooking for yourself.



I've got koi to watch on my balcony in the morning with a coffee while making the decision whether to work on the screenplay, make a video, play the guitar, take some photos, touch myself, or go back to sleep. Normally it's an early walk if I haven't been on the drink - but I've started back into some old habits recently and need to put the handbrake on.



I've managed to curb some urges with a Shisha each day at a mates bar here (perfect place to get clean *eye roll*). He's one of the last old school bar owners left in Bali. We were drinking the other day and parted at 11pm when I bumped into him outside another bar at 2am as he was holding off a swarm of Indonesian blow-ins who disrespected some Ubudian local friends - he's well respected and a guy who carries old school values and doesn't suffer fools easily. There's been more than a few supposed expat heavies who have tried their luck and looked a bit ugly the morning after. At 6'5 and around 250 pounds with a colorful history...



I've got a new love interest - Indonesian women have always been my weakness. I've always needed a girl to be independent, motivated, with ideas and dreams of her own, and this one's got all that and not interested in me being any kind of leg up for her. She doesn't want kids, doesn't want a handout, and has a sincere desire to help others. She's off to a good start but it's only been all of a couple of weeks so I still have plenty of time to make it all go pear shape because of the inability to stay in one place longer than an episode of flatulence.



Might disappear for a few months and get healthy.

Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:43 am Might disappear for a few months and get healthy.

Be well mate, all the best!