Sima is still in Kuta

Last night I enjoyed the company of Sima Cutting who as usual was going in 50 different directions concerning her choice of direction. She had a giant map spread on the floor of Internet Outpost and was asking Ika questions every few minutes. Was it going to be Mt Bromo in Java, Yogya, Jakarta, fly home or simply stay here and eat. Sima decided to stay in Bali for the next week and do her PADI diving certification before flying home to England.

We rode my motorbike down Jalan Legian to Made’s Warung for a 15,000rp nasi campur ( ‘champers’ as Sean calls it ). We sat upstairs and it was cool as the locals next door in the temple were creating their own version of Carnival on the gamilan.

Sima and I discussed religion and politics and it was especially interesting for me as Sima is Jewish and has spent time in Isreal. She has the amazing ability to be objective about the situation there and we talked about the alternatives for the people.

This morning I rode to Cafe Moka before hitting Global Extreme for couple of hours. It always great to get surprise e-mails and today I replied to Phyllis, the mother of ‘travel god’ Jay.

At Global, Mimi the lady who runs the place had her grandson to look after and he was wailing a storm today.

After a couple of hours I took the bypass road down to Kuta and the sun had burned through the morning clouds already. The bypass is a nice way to go as there is good visibility, just like a highway with less chance of getting mowed down by someone coming out of a sidestreet. The dangerous spots are the 3 intersections where traffic isn’t regulated at all ( no lights, signs or cops ) and you have to slow and negotiate the situation yourself.

I got downtown quickly and swung by Ryoshi japanese restaurant for a cup of green tea to offset the effects of the cigarette smoke in Global. My friend Putu wasn’t working but the others are friendly. The girl in the photo, Kadek, was sleeping on the mats last time Sean and I were in there and we joked about it.

Outside there one of the traditional offering places complete with burning incense. Jalan Legian wasn’t too busy and locals were out hoping for a customer.

Now at Internet Outpost and Ika has been busy promoting us!