2024 My Return to Bali

I was pleased while on the flight from Perth to Bali that I was able to get an hours sleep.  I just crashed out.  That was after the squealing of the window beside me had stopped as we gained altitude. It occurred again on the descent. The woman beside me was rather concerned. I reassured her we would get there safely as Jesus had a plan for me in Bali.  Before arrival I stripped off the outer layer of warm clothes and the extra pair of socks which I always wear when flying as the air conditioning is always so cold. I was ready for my new adventure – 2024 my return to Bali.

I was very impressed with the Indonesian Immigrations and customs procedure. Having done everything online and once I found my bag (I was first directed to the wrong turnstile), I avoided the groups of people who hadn’t done their paperwork prior to their arrival and were scanning the QR code for immigration at the airport. I asked where to go with an e-visa and was directed to the ‘green line’.  Well that was a challenge as I couldn’t see a green line. I headed to a not so busy set of counters but these were for disabled and young families so I asked again.  ‘Green line’ I was told as the woman pointed towards the ‘green lights’ Oh green lights, thank you. Slight accent misinterpretation on my behalf.  I’ll need to tune my listening into the Balinese accent.  I was on the right track now and zipped through customs.

While at the airport I wanted to pick up a local SIM card just for data as most of the calls I make to anywhere overseas is via the internet.  So convenient. Once loaded up it was off to the tourist counter to check on the tourist tax which hadn’t gone through with my attempt from Perth.  Once paid, I haggled my way through the airport drivers all desperate for passengers. As I had an app I knew the correct fare, the cheapest I was informed didn’t include the airport tax so I’d need to take the next option which once explained to me I did.  I was then directed towards the car his cousin was driving and he then joined us which is unusual.  So chatty!  The opposite to my Perth driver. We were singing Karaoke songs for most of the way. Finally I recognised familiar sites and directed them to Gayle’s home.

What a delight to see Gayle again.  It was like coming home.  She was busy getting ready to go out to a prayer meeting elsewhere.  We could catch up later.  I needed to unpack, relax and have an early night.  Before she left Gayle ordered me takeaway capcay with rice.  It was just the meal I needed as I hadn’t eaten properly since breakfast. It was such a blessing to have the familiarity of my old room back again.  I also had a lovely chat with Jen who filled me in on all her challenges getting a local bus pass.  Wow! I’m glad I don’t have to go through all the run around she had.  It seems you apply at a bank and then top-up at a bank although they say it can be done at an Inodmaret (local supermarket) but that’s not what Jen experienced.  I’ll keep you informed.

After setting my room up, having a shower I crashed out!  I didn’t even remember to take my Vit B and magnesium which I usually take to help me sleep.  I woke several times during the night and remembered I was in Bali then woke at 4:45am just before the loud speakers bellowed the call to prayer. Nearly a full eight hours sleep, I was impressed.  I hadn’t even heard the watchman chiming out the time on the light pole on the corner of Gayle’s property just outside my window.  I must have been tired.

Thursday morning I loaded up the last blog with pictures and started on this one before the day got busy.  Gayle and I have different hours; she’s up late and I’m up early. We both don’t sleep well. Anyway, I had finished breakfast before she got up.  She then had a meeting at the house with one of the church members while I finished my blog.  Then the three of us went out for lunch and shopping as both Gayle and I needed to stock up on things.  We didn’t get back till after 2pm.

Gayle then had an afternoon nap and I had a shower to cool down in the heat and humidity, before having a chat with Jen about our catch up in the morning.  That evening one of the church members came over for some fellowship and prayer which was lovely.  After he and his son left I headed for bed and Gayle for a zoom meeting.  I was asleep by 9pm but woke again just after 2am and was awake for a couple of hours. Then woke again at 6am. I was surprised I slept through the call to prayer this time.

I pottered around getting ready to visit Jen, making some more kefir which I’d brought over from Perth and having my breakfast before my departure just after 8am.  Gayle had asked me to wake her before I left which I did and called for a local motorbike taxi which took me to the hairdressing salon I have been to with Cheryl last year.  Jen was going to meet me there as it was about half an hours walk from Cheryl’s where she was staying. I should have called ahead as when I arrived (via google translator) I was told the uncle who cut hair wasn’t going to be in the salon till midday.  Oops!  I messaged Jen to say I’d meet her on the road. We then continued back the way I’d come to the junction on the two main roads and turned right towards the large food market sprawled over a few blocks of back roads. Here we also found a large building with small stalls selling clothes and shoes.  Jen needed a new pair of sandals as the one’s she had brought with her had shrunk. She found what she was looking for at a local price not tourist price as we were a long way from the tourist area.  We then wandered back down the main road till we reached the road that went parallel to the main road but was quieter.  Along this road we found the path to Hidden Mini Zoo which Jen said has a good reputation for a collection of giant spiders and snakes. We thought we might come when her friend Bonny is here. As we continued along the back road I wanted to see if I could find Nyoman who was the friendly old man who introduced himself to me last year.  I peeped in through some of the open gates to see if I could recognise anything. At one home a lady came to see what we wanted. Nyoman wasn’t there.  Then finally I thought I recognised the home. An elderly man came to the gate but it wasn’t Nyoman and he couldn’t speak any English.  Then Nyoman poked his head out.  I recognised him immediately but it took a while for him to remember me.  Then I found the photo I’d taken of him and his wood carvings and he smiled, taking us back to show Jen the woodwork. This time I took a photo of him and Jen outside the gate so I would remember where he lived.

By now it was really hot and there was no shadow to walk in as it was 12:30pm.  Praise God there wasn’t much further to walk to Cheryl’s house.  We were the only ones there when we arrived so we both jumped under a shower each to cool off before sitting on the front steps, chatting and enjoying the cool breeze.  By 4pm I decided to head back to Gayle’s.  I showed Jen how I used to cut through the rice paddies.  Unlike the previous time they were quite muddy and although we tried to keep to the raised path the workers had been pulling out the weeds and laying them across the path which made them quite precarious to walk along.  Poor Jen slipped off but praise God she didn’t hurt herself, just got one of her new sandals muddy.  We turned right at the main road looking for some crispy chicken for her dinner but nothing seemed to be open so I called for a motorbike taxi instead.  I had walked over 10km with Jen.  It took quite a while to find a motorbike driver to take me home.  Jen waited with me till they arrived then continued her walk north.  We drove south, crossing the bridge near the temple where I saw lots of stalls open with what Jen was looking for so messaged her to let her know.

It was a busy time of the day and the lady who was taking me home zipped in and out of the traffic even jumping up onto the footpath then out to the outside of the vehicles in the far lane driving up the lane on the wrong side of the street!  It seems to be the done thing here. I was grateful the Lord got me back to Gayle’s safely.  Poor Gayle had been home all day with fellows cleaning her air conditioners and replacing the old one in her room and now that they had gone the replacement one in her room wasn’t working.  They said they would be straight back to fix it but when they didn’t turn up and I had arrived home Gayle took a nap.  They still hadn’t arrived at 7:30pm and I’d been home two hours.  By then I was getting tired.  He didn’t end up coming till the following day and then spent nearly all day fitting another second hand machine which worked really well.

That day, Saturday, was spent at home.  I put some washing on, organised a few things while Gayle had a church leaders meeting at the house.  Then in the afternoon when all had gone I made some late lunch of stir fried veggies and chicken, which Gayle later had for dinner.  In the late afternoon the youth group arrived and stayed till 5pm.  As it was in Indonesian I excused myself and went up to my room where I tidied the linen cupboard putting matching sheets and pillowcases together; something Gayle had been meaning to do but had not gotten around to it. She was out again that evening for a prayer meeting which I declined, staying home going to bed early and sleeping through to 5am. You guessed it the call to prayer woke me.

Sunday is a busy day with two church services the first being with prayer at 9:30am then a lively service with English translation for visitors of which there were 3 not including me.  I was warmly greeted by those who remembered me from last year.  Gayle put out an invitation to the visitors to join us for lunch and the newlywed couple from Brisbane accepted. It was lovely hearing their story and their ministry to the needy in Brisbane.  Then Gayle went back to the church for the 1pm youth service while I looked for my favourite roti and banana place.  Unfortunately they no longer had this on the menu.  I was very disappointed.  Having a local SIM has made it very convenient to stay in touch while out although most places will allow you to use their WiFi.  I had a lovely chat to Vi-Lay and Jen while I waited.  Then back in time so say hi to the youth before heading home.  We chatted to Jen on WhatsApp trying to organise the week Jen and I are having away together.  Gayle sent messages to her friends who lived where we hoped to explore, with whom we might be able to stay.  This was an ongoing project as there were different places we wanted to visit and different dates.

It’s taking a bit of adjusting to all the noise during the night here.  There’s dogs which can start up at any time, occasionally cats, people and motor vehicles and then there’s the night watchman who clangs metal on the metal light pole outside my window every hour from one o’clock.  No, not just one clang but the time it is!  Praise the Lord on occasions I sleep right through it; other times I’m in my light sleep and wake up with a start, adrenaline pumping!  I’m sure on other nights he hasn’t done it at all, that was like the Monday night when I woke at midnight and couldn’t sleep till nearly 2am!  What was that all about?

That Monday morning, thank God, there was a bit of a run around to do which kept me awake.  I think due to the humidity I’ve been feeling really drowsy even just after I’ve had a good night’s sleep.  Gayle had quite a bit on including a specialist eye appointment which was just up the road. I went with her to see if I could find a hairdresser or salon as they call it here.  We had looked them up on line so they weren’t hard to find.  One was closed but the other wasn’t.  I was the only one there which often seems the case in the outer suburbs on a week day.  With the hairdresser’s little English and my limited Indonesian I waved my hands around gesturing what I wanted then showed her a few photos which helped. I think she did a very good job, at least it will be a lot cooler and not so bedraggled when I get hot and sweaty.

From here I walked to McCafe for a coffee, which was rather bitter, then on to my favourite shopping centre Tiara Gutzu.  I let Gayle know I had arrived as she was heading here after her appointment.  She arrived just as I had finished and was choosing my favourite snack Bika Ambon.  We also ordered some veggies to take home to add to our fried rice and the vegies I’d previously cooked.  Gayle then did her shopping including buying six more gallon bottles of drinking water. Praise God the shopping centre employs a couple of guys with disabilities to help load the car as the bottles are very heavy.  When we got home I was able to get them out of the car onto the raised brick area around the front porch and eventually into the house.

After lunch Gayle was back out to visit the bank before it closed while I stayed and had a relaxing afternoon which included cooking the remainder of the chicken I’d defrosted and more vegies which needed using up.  Later that evening Gayle called Joshua, who is studying Theology in Singapore, and the three of us had a lovely online chat.

I slept well that night which makes me think the high doses of Vitamin D I’m taking every so often might be contributing to a longer sounder sleep.  That morning I decided to work on one of the kitchen cupboards.  Gayle had bought some plastic baskets to help organise the stores, so I pulled everything off one shelf, wrote the expiry dates clearly on each package and box and rearranged things.  I then did the same with the herbs and spices rack and the tea, coffee and biscuits area.  It looked a lot better when I’d finished.  Than in the afternoon Gayle and I went to the bus terminal to try to get a local bus card.  Jen had bought herself two at a bank in Ubud but had still not been able to find anywhere to reload them even after trying the same bank but different branch and supermarkets where she was told it could be done.  The woman who Gayle was asking didn’t know either.  The local bus system here is not at all user friendly, the buses themselves will not accept cash so you need to buy a card preloaded. We really didn’t get very far.

Back to the house I made us both lunch then had a relaxing afternoon. When I went back upstairs to my room, switching on the light I was greeted with my ginormous gecko roommate.  I suspect he’s been here all the time hiding behind the desk waiting for my return!  I’m not so frightened of him this time as I know he keeps to himself, what’s more he’s been here a lot longer than me.  Just as long as he keeps to himself I don’t mind sharing the room with him.

That brings me to the close of my first week in Bali.  With lots more plans for this week including more time with Jen, I’m looking forward to telling you all about it soon.

Photos:  1. One of the many verity of Frangipanis     2. Myself, Gayle and Kadek     3. Jen with Nyoman outside his gates     4. Rice paddies behind Jen and me     5. Lunch after church with the Brisbane couple     6. My new haircut

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for my safe arrival and for helping me manoeuvre my way through all the airport check points.

Praise Him for Gayle’s continual generosity, hospitality and friendship.

Please pray that my time here will fullfill that which the Lord has called me to do.  Pray for my continual good health, safety as I travel around on the roads and for Jen and my travels this coming week.

Please continue to pray for Elsie and Ross Winchester as they continue their cancer courses. Believe with me for the Lord’s intervention and total healing for both.

Continue to pray with me for world peace both in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering that both these wars have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live in despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.