2015
You'll never guess where I am!
16 October 2015
Aw shucks, you got it first time. Am back in Bali- of course! It's that time of year - October- Writers Festival coming up. A bit later in the month than usual.
Have arrived ten days early to spend some time with the family, but alas Stacy and Roman are in the States. My visit has coincided with Stacy's silver jewellery selling trip to supply shops with Xmas stock. There is just Josh and Jazz and me - will miss the lively, big-family vibe and especially the family meals. Last night after my arrival it was back to Josh's favourite staple, cheese and tomato toasties, and Jazz's, scrambled eggs. Tim-tam chockie bikkies - treat from Oz - for dessert.
The trip went smoothly. A three-chick flick flight. The sorts of movies one is glad one did not pay real money for - until you think that you got the three movies for the price of entry - $650 dollars for the plane ticket - making them very expensive movies indeed! Plane not full. Even arrived half an hour early, and it being the only arrival, immigration queues passed very quickly. We Aussies are still being "punished" with the Visa on Arrival while virtually every other country has had the visa waived -A$55! There was talk of Australia also being included in the list for waivers from October 1 but not implemented! We are not yet forgiven for our stand against the executions of the “Bali Nine” Chan and Sukumaran, it seems. I will never forgive the government here for this crime either, so the visa feels like blood money to me. The early arrival was cancelled out by a 40-minute wait for my bag to come through. Watching that bloody carousel go round and round for such a long time is the stuff of madness!
Much of international air travel is the stuff of madness, I am sure many of you will agree. I was given the full search in Sydney. The full body scan, then a full pat down and because of the furious expression on my face, I was then subjected to an explosives traces search through all my hand luggage. When I asked the guy what he was looking for and he answered explosives, I snarled at him and hissed "The only thing about to explode is my temper" and I huffed off. He muttered something about not having finished with me yet but I kept going. He had the grace not to try and stop me - or put a bullet in my back! And I am just a "little old lady". Imagine if I was of "middle eastern appearance"!
All this almost made up for by the welcome from the guys at the Wirasana taxi counter at Denpasar airport. When I reminded the one touting for business that the correct Ubud fare was $30 he remembered me from three months ago and readily agreed. Also the guy taking me out to the car remembered me and exactly where in Ubud I was going, but best of all I got the same driver as last time. We met like old friends and talked the whole way up. That last time he had been fasting and he remembered I had given him a mandarin that I had with me from Australia to break his fast after he dropped me. This time I got to hear about his trip home to Malang in Java for the Idul Fitri holiday with his new baby to show the family.
Josh has just had a five-day break on Gili Air again - that tiny island off Lombok we visited last time I was here in July. He took Rama, Jasmin's 15-year old brother for a birthday treat of a scuba diving course, which he loved. Josh got to do several dives and relax in what is his idea of paradise. It was a week of school vacation so Jasmin spent it over at her mother's - her big sisters were home too and she had a lovely time. Back at school today, happily skipping off to see her friends.
The family menagerie has been expanded - two hamsters, Honey Lemon and Momo- unfortunately they don't get on, so have to have separate cages with fancy play equipment in each. Jasmin has begged for another pet since her beloved bantam hen disappeared last time I was here. One of the hamsters is Roman's. And there is Cookie, a scrawny cookies 'n’ cream-coloured stray Bali dog that has taken up residence. Great companion for Rosie who is a quarter Cookie's size. They look like a comedy act together.
Have arrived ten days early to spend some time with the family, but alas Stacy and Roman are in the States. My visit has coincided with Stacy's silver jewellery selling trip to supply shops with Xmas stock. There is just Josh and Jazz and me - will miss the lively, big-family vibe and especially the family meals. Last night after my arrival it was back to Josh's favourite staple, cheese and tomato toasties, and Jazz's, scrambled eggs. Tim-tam chockie bikkies - treat from Oz - for dessert.
The trip went smoothly. A three-chick flick flight. The sorts of movies one is glad one did not pay real money for - until you think that you got the three movies for the price of entry - $650 dollars for the plane ticket - making them very expensive movies indeed! Plane not full. Even arrived half an hour early, and it being the only arrival, immigration queues passed very quickly. We Aussies are still being "punished" with the Visa on Arrival while virtually every other country has had the visa waived -A$55! There was talk of Australia also being included in the list for waivers from October 1 but not implemented! We are not yet forgiven for our stand against the executions of the “Bali Nine” Chan and Sukumaran, it seems. I will never forgive the government here for this crime either, so the visa feels like blood money to me. The early arrival was cancelled out by a 40-minute wait for my bag to come through. Watching that bloody carousel go round and round for such a long time is the stuff of madness!
Much of international air travel is the stuff of madness, I am sure many of you will agree. I was given the full search in Sydney. The full body scan, then a full pat down and because of the furious expression on my face, I was then subjected to an explosives traces search through all my hand luggage. When I asked the guy what he was looking for and he answered explosives, I snarled at him and hissed "The only thing about to explode is my temper" and I huffed off. He muttered something about not having finished with me yet but I kept going. He had the grace not to try and stop me - or put a bullet in my back! And I am just a "little old lady". Imagine if I was of "middle eastern appearance"!
All this almost made up for by the welcome from the guys at the Wirasana taxi counter at Denpasar airport. When I reminded the one touting for business that the correct Ubud fare was $30 he remembered me from three months ago and readily agreed. Also the guy taking me out to the car remembered me and exactly where in Ubud I was going, but best of all I got the same driver as last time. We met like old friends and talked the whole way up. That last time he had been fasting and he remembered I had given him a mandarin that I had with me from Australia to break his fast after he dropped me. This time I got to hear about his trip home to Malang in Java for the Idul Fitri holiday with his new baby to show the family.
Josh has just had a five-day break on Gili Air again - that tiny island off Lombok we visited last time I was here in July. He took Rama, Jasmin's 15-year old brother for a birthday treat of a scuba diving course, which he loved. Josh got to do several dives and relax in what is his idea of paradise. It was a week of school vacation so Jasmin spent it over at her mother's - her big sisters were home too and she had a lovely time. Back at school today, happily skipping off to see her friends.
The family menagerie has been expanded - two hamsters, Honey Lemon and Momo- unfortunately they don't get on, so have to have separate cages with fancy play equipment in each. Jasmin has begged for another pet since her beloved bantam hen disappeared last time I was here. One of the hamsters is Roman's. And there is Cookie, a scrawny cookies 'n’ cream-coloured stray Bali dog that has taken up residence. Great companion for Rosie who is a quarter Cookie's size. They look like a comedy act together.
Received a copy of this children's novel posted to Bali at long last. I translated it last year for a Bandung publisher especially for the Frankfurt Book Fair (taking place right now with Indonesia the Guest of Honour). They hope to sell it to a foreign publisher. This is an unedited, mock-up version. Sorry to say they did not go with my zappier title "Moon Boy" and translated the Indonesian title literally. It is a play on words with “monsoon” and “Moon’s Son” but sounds weird as a name in English. Also they did not use my back cover notes, but wrote their own in not very good English. Also I see they decided to change kenari tree to walnut tree, though the kenari nut bears little resemblance to a walnut and walnuts do not grow in Indonesia anyway. I knew nothing of these changes until I got the book yesterday - had been asking for a copy to be sent to me all year. If it is sold to an English language publisher I hope I will be involved with the editing process.
Newly planted rice - a week or two ago. I feel very much a part of the ageless rice cycle when I come here, and can't wait till I see "our fields" first thing when I arrive at Josh's. I know you are all hanging out to see them too.