Last Day in Bangkok

Well, it is with some regret that I prepare to return to SF and end my year of travel, though of course I am looking forward to returning to my "real" life.

I surprised myself in finding that Bangkok was indeed my favorite destination of all of the places I've been to. Bangkok was a stopover really, I just came here to rest after the long flight from SF before heading to Bali, and it was Bali that was supposed to capture my heart.

It didn't.

Instead, Bangkok reminded me that beyond the traffic jams and congestion, beyond the scams and sleaze, lies a charming, friendly, affordable and fascinating place to visit. I was reminded that I've always treated Bangkok as a stopover and never as a destination in itself and I was reminded, if I ever knew it originally, that Bangkok is a place I really want to get to know better.

On this trip more than any other, I found the back alleys, the Bangkok away from the tourist track, to be quite alluring. I found myself wanting to venture further, to explore more, but realized how limited I am by my inability to speak any Thai. Because of the well-developed tourism infrastructure, Thailand, like Indonesia, is a place where it is possible to travel without speaking the language. Also, I've been so intimidated by Thai, with its squiggly, curly, alphabet and its four or five different tones. The best I have ever managed has been to be able to say the numbers from 1-10, and from there, make a feeble attempt to be able to count to a hundred (since it's just a reordering of the names of the numbers from then on). But I always forget, and on this trip I was able to manage from 1-5, which got me through on the prices of most things, and I relearned, the names of pork, beef, chicken, and shrimp. Hardly language fluency by any means, and my awareness of how my language deficiencies limit my real experience of Thailand has made me want to at least make an attempt to learn some Thai.

Today has been a day of rest, and also a day of simply enjoying the pleasure of Bangkok on a Sunday.

After breakfast, in order to vacate my room for the maid, I went to Silom Road for a 2 hour massage at Sabai Thai Massage, the place I had such a good massage yesterday. Two hours cost 400 baht - about $12.

I think maybe I've been overdoing it with the massage. While I love the stretching and they feel so good, Thai massage involves a lot of pressure as well, and I was beginning to feel sore in some of the spots that have been pressed over and over again this past week. I am also dealing with this sore throat that I think is coming from sleeping in the air-con (it is worst in the morning when I wake up), and I think I might be a little tired from all of this travel. But still, the massage was great. While there are a lot of questionable massage parlors all over Bangkok, the ability to walk down the street and get an amazing Thai massage for anywhere between $6-12 is something I am really going to miss. If I can find Thai massage in SF it will be at least $60, and the quality may not be anywhere near as good as it is here.

After my massage, I went to Soi Convent for a bowl of noodles. I had some last night and they were really yummy. I have not indulged a lot in street food on my trips to Bangkok. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it is always so hot. But I was feeling quite relaxed after my massage, and a little chilled from being in the air-conditioned massage room for 2 hours, and it was actually a nice day here, not too hot or humid with a nice breeze blowing.

I had to walk up and down both sides of the street before I found a place that served what I wanted. Since I could not read any of the lettering on the little signs, and since the vendor I got my noodles from last night was not out yet, it was a bit of a mystery to me what so many people were serving. Again I was reminded that my experience of Thailand is very limited to those places that are geared towards foreigners.

Eventually I did find a place and pointed to the noodles I wanted (thick rice noodles) and the minced pork. I said pork, and the woman working the stall said in Thai "moo", which kind of sounds like a cow. I wonder why pork is moo and not beef. Anyway, I confirmed, "moo", though I realized my pronunciation was not nearly as tonal as hers. Mine came out kind of flat while hers had a distinct falling tone.

The noodles were great as was the experience of eating on the street. Mostly it was me and other Thais as foreigners walked by going to places with English menus (including one English pub that I was sitting next to). A few beggars roamed the streets stopping at tables politely asking for money and just as politely walking away when they were denied. There was very little traffic and a lovely breeze was blowing.

My noodles came in a rich broth sprinkled with cilantro and fried onions and shallots. It had minced pork and some sort of balls, maybe fish balls, maybe beef or pork, I am not sure. I'm not a fan of the balls, but they weren't bad. Total cost, 30 baht. About one dollar.

I spiced up my soup with some of the condiments on the table. There are always at least four flavors to add to Thai food. Spicy, sour, sweet or salty. Often there are other combinations of these, such as sour and spicy or salty and spicy or sweet and sour or sweet and spicy. I added some chilis and a dash of sugar.

I was enjoying my meal watching everything around me, including the pigeons rummaging through the garbage set in the gutter, when one of them rewarded me with a little dropping on my hand. I was happy it didn't land in my soup, because I was enjoying it so. I just wiped my hand off and continued eating.

From there I headed over to McDonalds which I discovered last night has a vanilla ice cream cone for 9 baht. The ice cream sales are conveniently located in a little window in the front of McDonalds which up a few stairs on Silom Road - you don't even have to go inside (Thais make their food service so convenient, which is one of the reasons I can't stop eating!)

I got a cone and as I did last night sat on the steps to enjoy the show on Silom Road, directly across from Patpong. As I was eating it, enjoying it so much, another bird dropped something on my leg. I simply moved further up the steps from under the tree that probably housed the little culprit and continued eating.

While last night the whole Patpong night scene was in full gear, today it was all relatively quiet. A few tuk tuk drivers waited on the street, trying to lure tourists for a tuk tuk ride with promises of anywhere from 10-40 baht per hour (until they pull out their little brochures for the sexy show or tailor or gem shopping or whatever their real destination actually is), the Skytrain zoomed by overhead, reminding me that it is there (I had forgotten) and a few pedestrians wandered about - nothing compared to what it would be like later tonight, well into the early hours of the morning.

Bangkok seemed a bit sad today, knowing that I am leaving. Or perhaps I was projecting my own feelings on to the city that felt kind of deserted on this Sunday.

After all of the sights I visited in Europe and my two weeks in Bali, I have to say that Bangkok was my favorite place of all. It might be because it is familiar to me, though I still feel like I am not anywhere close to knowing it, This trip was as much of a trip of discovery as it was returning to an old favorite. What I found was that Bangkok has many charms, beyond the most obvious. The food, the culture, the ayurvedic view of the body/health (including massage) and the friendliness of the people make it a place I want to return to again and again. I certainly cannot say that about Seville or even Amsterdam.

And so, to reluctantly quote our governor, Mr. Arnold Schwarzeneger (I don't know how to spell his name) - Bangkok, "I'll be back!" I hope that when I return, I come with the intention of seeing Bangkok not as a stopover, but as a destination, with my phrasebook in hand and a willingness to continue to venture beyond the safe and easy to continue to peel back the layers of this fascinating city.

Ready to go...

Someone once said to me that no matter how long you are in a place, when you know you are going to be leaving, you feel ready to go. I'm ready to go.

I've had a great time in Bangkok. I have mostly been enjoying walking the backstreets and seeing the life that is hidden from most tourists on the main drags. I just love seeing all of the little carts selling all kinds of wonderful food with makeshift restaurants set up with little plastic tables and chairs. I've decided that the main roads are for cars and tourists, the back streets are for people. And since I enjoy seeing Thai people more than tourists and cars, I just love the back streets.

Today I would have been perfectly content to stay in my room, but I had to leave so the maid could do her thing (one of the disadvantages of staying in a hotel, even though clean towels and sheets every day are kind of nice...and wasteful). I walked to Silom Center, again taking the back streets. I stopped and bought some fried bananas.

At Silom Center I was looking for some shirts similar to those I bought when I was here in April 2008. They are very light cotton and have a square bottom, which means they are perfect for really hot weather and don't need to be tucked in. I brought them with me to Korea this past summer and they were great for a situation where I had to kind of dress up and it was incredibly hot.

Only, I guess they were "summer" shirts and unbelievably, they now have sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts on display in the stores now. I mean, it went up to 95 yesterday. It is hardly sweatshirt weather!

From there I walked a little on Silom and stumbled across a Thai Massage place. I think it is called Sabai Thai Massage. They had a Thai massage for 200 baht. I was looking for a way to kill some time before lunch (it was too early) and went in.

The massage was great. I've noticed I moan a lot now when I get massage. It just feels so good because my body is all loose and it doesn't hurt and the stretching just feels good. I wish I could get several massages per day. Well, actually I could. Now the thing is when I get home I need to continue to stretch to build on the flexibility I've attained in this past week.

After my very cheap massage (200 baht = $6.00), I went and had lunch. I went to this little hot pot place that I like. I've been there a few times with Bank. Their soup is very good. But hot pot is not a thing to get alone (at least I don't think it is) so I ordered grilled beef salad and green papaya salad. Now I am thinking that maybe this hot pot place is an I-san restaurant (on the fancy side), since they had several I-san dishes I recognized. I like it better than the Chinese place Bank and I went to the other day.

After lunch, I walked around some more back streets, avoiding eye contact with all of the men who were calling out to me (they all wanted me to go see shows or get massage) until finally a tuk tuk driver pulled up next to me. I don't know why I spoke to him because I should have known what he was up to - no good....

I was not very far from my hotel. I was thinking a nice ride around in a tuk tuk would be fun, but I know that doesn't exist. But when he pulled up next to me and called out to me, I turned to look.

He said something about driving around. I told him no. Then he pulled out a pamphlet and showed it to me. It had a bunch of scantily clad women. I don't know if it was for a massage or a show or what. It turned out that is what he was selling - not a ride in his tuk tuk.

I decided to be bold with him because if I just told him I wasn't interested, he would have persisted.

I said, "I don't like lady", and kept walking.

He was stunned for a moment and said, "what you like?"

I was waiting for him to pull up beside me with a pamphlet with scantily clad men, but instead it took him some time before he finally moved. Maybe he was in shock?

When he did start his tuk tuk he passed by me without another word. It turned out, in this instance, simply stating the fact that I am gay (in a rather roundabout way) was the perfect way to get this tuk tuk driver to back off. Something tells me though, that it probably won't work with all of them.

Cutey and Beauty

I'm taking advantage of these last few days of pampering. I mean, what else can I do?

I decided to try a gay salon for my final facial instead of the really cold, slightly uncomfortable MBK experience. I was glad I changed.

I went to Beauty and Cutey, or Cutey and Beauty, I can't remember the order. It's located on the third floor of Thaniya Plaza, this weird Japanese-oriented shopping center that mostly has golf supplies - clothes, clubs, etc. I'm not sure how Beauty and Cutey ended up there.

I walked in and was greeted by a cutey who offered me coffee or tea. I got a glass of water and was then led into a little room for my facial.

It was one of the best facials I've ever had. The guy who did it was a young guy named Tong or Tong, or Toon or Doon, I can't remember. He did the usual steps that most facials include, different creams, cleansers, masks, peels, etc, but at one point his fingers felt like they were playing the harp on my face. It was incredible. He just kept massaging and massaging using all of his fingers. I've never had anything like that done before. And at about $15,it was quite the bargain.

When we finished, I was led back out into the salon. Several men were waiting and chatting, one guy was sitting in a chair with dye in his hair, and another was getting a haircut. And then there she was. I don't know who this guy was, but it is amazing to me that a person could dress the way he did and not get second looks, but again, the Thais seem to be impervious to the strange collections of foreigners that visit their country.

This guy was wearing a shirt that was electric blue and had bright pink and yellow strips of fabric sewn on it. He was wearing little square, yellow glasses, tight jeans and yellow high top converse sneakers. When he went to pay he pulled out a furry pink wallet. Oh, and he had a blue scarf tied around his neck and a yellow t-shirt under the electric blue shirt. He was like a walking neon sign.

When I came out he was getting a manicure, with polish, of course (but not yellow or pink, just clear). He said, "good idea" when he saw me sit next to him for my mani-pedi.

First a young cutey named Jet started on my nails and the guy who was working on the neon princess came over and did my feet when he was done. I was sitting there feeling like royalty having these two young guys working on me at the same time. And I felt so much more comfortable than I did at the place I had my original pedicure and foot massage when I first arrived. The women there were a little too pushy and I felt like they were trying to get me to go upstairs for more. Here, I felt comfortable in the hands of two cute young gay men and there was no sexual tension (though the guy doing my feet seemed a little flirty in a funny Thai way).

From there I went to Silom Center for lunch. I ate in the food court that is my little secret, though I do see a few foreigners there once in a while. I had fried chicken and rice with a nice soup and a thai desert - sweet potato and corn in coconut milk with shaved ice. It's one of my favorite deserts and always feels so refreshing and not terribly unhealthy.

I went to the basement of Silom Center to buy some chili oil, one thing I forgot to pick up. It's nice to dribble a little on tom ka gai (coconut milk with chicken soup), but as luck would have it, Tops didn't sell it! I am getting so fed up with Tops. I know I saw it yesterday at Tokyu, so I guess I will need to make a trip there tomorrow if I really want it.

I was expecting Ken or Bank to contact me but neither one did, so it looked like I had the evening off. In the four months I've been traveling, this is the only place that I actually have made any friends, and good ones too. Ken has been amazing driving me around and trying to show me parts of Bangkok that I have never seen before, and Bank is an old friend and I love his sense of humor. I'm so happy that he has found someone who is taking good care of him and hope the US will give him a visa and allow him to visit SF with his boyfriend next month. But since neither one of them contacted me, and I was feeling like I needed an evening of rest, I didn't try to contact either one of them and instead took a nice nap when I got back to my hotel.

After my nap, it was time to eat again (seems like all I do). I left my hotel and walked up Soi Phipat, the street that runs from the Skytrain Station to the other end of my "block" to Soi Convent. Along the way I got curious about this little winding street that veered off to the left. I've passed it many times and I was wondering where it would take me, especially now that I am realizing that this little world within the sois is in a way like a hidden world.

I walked down this little street which was really only big enough for a motorbike and had no traffic. Old style Thai houses with lots of pots filled with big luscious plants lined both sides of the street. Doors and windows were open. Some shops were open and others had closed up. A radio playing American country music blared (I think it was Hank Williams or someone like that). The whole thing seemed so surreal. I walked under a very big banyan tree with its roots hanging down to the street and came to a dead end, where girls and boys were lifting weights with an old man sitting in a chair yelling directions at them. Wow. Talk about stumbling on a hidden world.

It seemed like I could go no further, so I turned around and retraced my steps, past the banyan tree, the country music and on to Soi Phipat where there was more life, and finally to Soi Convent clogged with traffic. From there I walked to Silom Road which was packed with people, the road clogged with cars just sitting and going nowhere. It was hard to believe that just a few steps away past the banyan tree lay another world of boys and girls lifting weights with an old many yelling directions at them.

I often wish I had a device attached to my eyes that when I blink a certain way, I could take a photo of the things I see. I've seen so many interesting people but don't just want to point my camera at people unaware, and if I were to ask their permission to photograph them, it would completely spoil the shot. So I guess these images I've seen, especially walking down the sois, are for my eyes only and anyone who wants to see them will just have to come to Bangkok and get off the main streets.

And so my last weekend in Bangkok approaches and I am seriously considering returning to Thailand for my next sabbatical, and thinking this might be a place I could retire. I would not be able to have anything resembling a decent life in the US, but here, on my retirement salary, I could live quite well, and it seems I would easily be able to make friends, have access to wonderful massages and services and get decent medical care. There seem to be quite a number of long-term foreigners in Thailand and they seem quite happy.

But for the moment I have the problem of getting my new suitcase to close and lock. It is entirely full of Thai cooking supplies - curry pastes, herbs, and a new wooden pestle. But I can't get the stupid thing to close. I'm going to have to unpack it and see if I can do a better job of packing. And I guess that bottle of chili oil will have to wait until my next trip.

Makro!

It's funny the things that get me excited. Kind of strange, actually. But I guess at heart, I am a shameless capitalist consumer.

Today was another hot day, and I've been fighting a sore throat which I think was caused by sleeping directly under the air-conditioning vent. I solved that problem by changing the position of the bed and the sofa in my room, so now the air-con blows on the sofa, which I don't use.

I wanted to take it easy today but also needed a reason to leave my room when the maid came to clean. I didn't want to see her shock at the rearrangement of my room (I did inform the front desk). So I decided to continue my search for dried galangal and kaffir lime leaves so that I can make some decent curries and soups in SF.

I headed to Sukhumvit Road where I used to stay when I first started coming to Bangkok. I remembered a pretty big supermarket there where I knew I bought dried galangal and kaffir lime leaves before. I knew they also had a food court where I could eat lunch.

I took the sky train and got off at Asok station. The supermarket, Tops, was a short walk from there in the basement of Robinson Department store.

As I entered, I wasn't sure where to go at first because they had remodeled. It seemed much smaller and I knew right away that they wouldn't have what I wanted. It was even smaller than the Tops in Silom Center, and if they didn't have what I needed, this one wouldn't either. This was the third supermarket I'd been to in my quest.

Not sure what to do I decided to head to MBK and try the supermarket in the basement of the Tokyu Department Store. I got some pandan flavoring there last time I was in Bangkok and none of the other supermarkets I've been to on this trip seem to carry it, so I figured they might have these other two things I'm looking for.

I first went to the 5th floor of MBK to the International Food Court. They had Indian, Vietnamese, Thai Fusion, Vegetarian, Italian and a bunch of other choices. After walking around, I decided to try the I-san food. Though they spelled it E-saarn. I ordered fried chicken with herbs, fruits som tom and sticky rice.

The food looked great but I was a little disappointed. The idea of a som tom which is normally made with green papaya, made with different fruits was really intriguing. I couldn't wait to taste it.

It looked beautiful when I got it. It had grapes, pineapple, green apple, pomelo, tomatoes and maybe some red apple. It was sprinkled with chili powder. But the sauce was way too fishy. They had put too much fish sauce. I'm going to try to make it myself and use only a sprinkle of fish sauce (if any) and lime juice and fresh chili and maybe some cilantro. The chicken was pretty good. It was fried and sprinkled with lemon grass and other herbs.

From there I went up to the 6th floor and got some sticky rice with mango. I figured I won't have much longer to eat it so I better enjoy it while I can.

After my big lunch, I went to the basement of Tokyu.

A very annoying foreigner was asking one of the clerks questions about all of the Thai packaged spices and things. "Is this spicy?" "What is this?" "How can I use this?" Since she was answering him, I knew she spoke English. So I asked, "Do you have dried galangal?"

She gave me the same quizzical look the woman in the Tops on Sukhumvit gave me. Only since then I learned that the package of Tom Ka Gai paste I had had a picture of galangal on it. It was for that that I wanted galangal. Tom Ka Gai is a soup made with coconut milk, chicken and galangal and kaffir lime leaves. It's the galangal and kaffir lime that give the soup its bite.

So I pulled out a package of Tom Ka Gai paste I bought at the other Tops (this supermarket also turned out to be a Tops) and showed her.

She said, "fresh or dried?" I was hopeful and said, "dried". She said they only had powder.

I was disappointed but ready to try the powder, but I asked her, "where can I buy it?" and she said, "Fourth Floor, Tokyu". It seemed the Tokyu Department Store had a supermarket on the fourth floor.

So I made my way back upstairs hoping she hadn't sent me on a wild goose chase because for some cultural reason it might be better to give an answer than to say, "I don't know". But to my delight, the Tokyu did have both the kaffir lime and galangal. I bought a few bags of each plus some more curry pastes.

I came back to my hotel, laden with shopping bags and escaped the taxi drivers comments somehow. Usually when they see me with a bag they say, "oh, many shopping". These are the guys who hang outside of my hotel.

On the way home, I had stopped at Senses Spa and made an appointment with Mr. A for another foot/thai massage combo at 3 p.m. I had a little time to take a nap before my massage.

The massage was as good as yesterday. The stretches are really good for me, and Mr. A really knows how to stretch me to my limit without making it painful. I left feeling very light on my feet (again) and headed over to Silom to pick up my laundry.

By the time I got back to my hotel it was just about time for me to meet my friend Ken in the lobby. He was waiting there for me at 6.

We came up to my room and chatted a bit and waited for traffic to die down before heading out. He took me across a new bridge to another province outside of Bangkok. It was dark so it was hard to see, but he tried pointing out the fact that there were a lot of trees as opposed to the urban sprawl that is Bangkok. It was kind of hard to believe that a short drive across a bridge we were in an area that looked very rural. How had it escaped the massive development that is Bangkok?

We drove around a bit looking for a place to eat. At one point we got out and walked and I felt like a curiosity (something I do not feel in Bangkok). A group of high school girls smoking cigarettes by the river called out, "hello!!!" I ignored them because they looked like bad girls (smoking by the river and all that).

We couldn't find any food so we returned to the same I-san place we went the other night. It was again as entertaining as it was before. There were only a few foreigners there (all accompanied by Thais) and the rest were Thai people, and the dogs, and the vendors that stopped by - the little girl selling cookies, a mute woman selling little plastic key chains that buzzed and lit up, and a guy on a bike selling dried squid. A Thai soap opera was playing on two large TVs and a few guys were getting really drunk.

When we finished dinner, Ken took me to Makro.

I had told him I needed a mortar and pestle for making Som Tom (green papaya salad). The mortar you use is ceramic and the pestle is wooden. I have a stone mortar and pestle I got on my last trip here.

Makro is a huge bulk type place kind of like Costco or Jumbo or the many other big bulk places I've been to on my travels. I was like a kid in a candy store. Probably because as we entered, all there was were cookies and candy. We made our way to the back where they had a big bag of dried galangal (that I didn't buy and will now regret) and eventually found the ceramic mortars and wooden pestles.

The whole time this military type theme music was playing, M-A-K-R-O, Makro!!! It had us marching through the aisles singing along. I think it was signaling they were closing. We were the only ones I saw still shopping.

I asked Ken if I could use my stone mortar and just get a wooden pestle and he said yes. The thing about Som Tom is it is too delicate to use a stone pestle, but it seemed to me the thing you crush it with is more important than the thing you crush it in. And I didn't want to carry a big ceramic mortar and then have to figure out where I was going to store it, especially since I would probably make som tom once or twice per year.

So, I just got the wooden pestle, which looks kind of like a mini baseball bat, paid for it and as we were leaving the turned out the lights.

Unfortunately, Makro requires a membership, so if I want to go back, I'll need to go with Ken. I don't think I need to go back.

And so it was another full day in Bangkok, eating, shopping, getting massaged, and being driven around by my new friend who has a car.

But the one thing I will remember about today was my visit to Makro!

Behind the Veil

I had a nice day today with my old friend Bank. We met about 11:30 at Silom Complex, had lunch, hung out a bit and then went out for a snack later (since neither one of us really enjoyed what we had for lunch and didn't eat much).

As we were sitting in a little restaurant on Soi 3, up the street from my hotel, I told him how much I like this little neighborhood where my hotel is located. Since it is located on a soi off the main streets, it feels like my own private piece of Bangkok. There are a lot of foreigners staying in my hotel (of course) and there was some sort of hotel/residence right next to the place we were eating, yet, the life on the streets outside of the restaurant was unmistakably Thai. I like that I get to see a little bit of Thai life that is not altered or distorted for tourists' eyes like on some of the main streets.

I watched as people went to and fro, most of them returning from work, but others going or returning from shopping or running other errands. Directly outside of the window of the restaurant was another little soi and we observed several guys horsing around. It looked like they were fighting, but they were just playing. Life in the sois seems so much more relaxed and playful than life on the main streets.

It is interesting to see the way the city is laid out. I consider the two main streets, Silom and Sathorn Roads, to be the outer rings of my "block", and between those two main streets, there are several smaller streets that run parallel, but are not for cars or other vehicles that are not traveling within the boundaries of the block. I mean, it would be very difficult for anyone who was trying to go anywhere else in the city to travel through the sois. Often they end in dead ends or are blocked by pedestrians, bikes, parked cars, or vendors selling food on the streets.

So there are the two major streets and then some minor streets and within them a bunch of alleyways that get no vehicle traffic at all, but where there are various markets that come and go during the day. It's quite a web of life all within this "block" of the city.

Because I've always stayed on the main roads, I never really ventured into the sois unless I had a destination that was located on a soi. But now, since I am staying on one, and I find life on the main streets to be a bit overwhelming at times, I'm enjoying just hanging out in this inner world, and I feel like this veil which has always existed for me as far at Thailand goes, is intermittently pierced and I get to see inside the real Thailand a bit more.

I doubt that as a foreigner I will ever really experience or come close to knowing the real Thailand. I don't know if any outsider can ever really know the true essence of any other foreign culture. But I can see that by only sticking to the main touristy areas and only going to places where menus are in English and I can get by without speaking Thai, I have limited myself to only one aspect of life in Bangkok, and there is so much more to it that I cannot even begin to imagine.

After traveling around to so many different places, I think I have a much deeper appreciation for Thailand as a place to visit. The people are incredibly sweet, gentle, friendly and easygoing. They have an expression they often use that translates as "never mind". I never feel they are in any way judgemental of the many oafish foreigners (myself included) who traipse around their streets sweating, looking incredibly uncomfortable and making all kinds of cultural faux pas. They either pretend not to see us, or when they have to deal with us, it is always with a smile and a sense of total acceptance.

And then there is the food. After so many trips to Thailand I am completely ruined when it comes to eating Thai food anywhere else. From a makeshift cart on some alley to the fanciest restaurants, the food is incredibly delicious, varied, healthy, fresh and often very cheap. Other than our lunch today (we had a hot pot in this Chinese-type chain restaurant), everything that I've eaten here has been incredible. I had a delicious serving of sticky rice with mango that I picked up at the market next to the place where I got my laundry today. Later with Bank I had a really yummy pork salad with garlic, chili, lime juice, shallots and mint, and tom kha gai, coconut milk soup with chicken, galangal, kaffir lime, lemon grass and this one had some really yummy mushrooms (I took what we didn't finish to my hotel and just had it as a snack).

Between eating, there is either shopping or massage. The shopping opportunities are endless, and my quest to find a good Thai massage nearby was finally realized today when I went to a little place that just opened down the street from my hotel. I got a 2-hour massage - 1 hour foot massage which was really good, and 1 hour traditional thai massage which was not at all painful and really helped to stretch some of my tight joints. I wish I had tried it sooner and will be going back every day if I can until I leave on Monday.

I guess what I was trying to express when I started this post kind of got sidetracked, but it brings me back to an earlier thought I had before I started writing. I was thinking of my experience eating with Bank earlier and then having my feet massaged in a place that was filled with foreigners. I had gone from one side of the veil to the other. But I think one of the things I am really appreciating about Bangkok is that it allows me to do that. When I was with Ken yesterday eating I-san food and being the only foreigner, no one took a second look. No one acted like "what is HE doing here?" - I was there and no one seemed to care. And yet, I can go and pamper myself and do things that Thais might not do (in the same way). Sure they get massages, but not in fancy places like I was today (with fancy prices, that are cheap for me, but not for them). I have the ability to move between these two worlds easily, at will, as much as I like.

It's easy for me to love Bangkok because I have only done it in short doses. Unlike Seville, where I eventually got bored and tired of the heat and the noise in my neighborhood, I never get to that point with Bangkok because I am never here long enough. But I am thinking that I would like to try staying a little bit longer to see what the experience becomes like for me. I'm guessing that given the openness of the Thais and the ease with which I seem to meet people here, I will find myself having more opportunities to get to know the real Bangkok, on the other side of the veil.

A Small World

Funny how things happen. Some of my best memories in Bangkok were with a friend I met years ago named Bank. I'd always look him up when I came here and with him I did fun things like go to the movies, go bowling, etc. I always felt like I had moved beyond being a tourist and was having a more authentic Thai experience - well as much as a foreigner who did not speak any Thai could have.

Today after breakfast, I headed down Soi 3 to Silom Road. I was going to walk to Silom Center to see if the supermarket there had dried galangal and kaffir lime (part of my quest to bring back ingredients for Thai cooking).

As I was walking down the street two Thai guys approached me. One of them smiled, and said hello and punched me lightly on the shoulder as they passed. I thought they were two hustlers or something flirting with me. But as they passed, a flash of recognition hit me. I turned around and said, "hey!" It was Bank!

What are the odds that I would run into him like that on this little soi running from my hotel? The odds are even less given the fact that he is now living in Hong Kong with his Norwegian boyfriend and has been there for 5 years. No wonder it's been so long since I've seen him around. He is here to renew his passport.

Anyway, he was with a friend going to get something to eat, so we made plans to meet up tomorrow for lunch. He and his boyfriend will be in San Francisco next month and I look forward to showing him around a bit.

I didn't have any luck with my shopping excursion, so after lunch, I came back and rested.

Yesterday I met an interesting Thai guy and we made plans to meet tonight for dinner. He speaks fair English (sometimes I have a hard time with his pronunciation) - he is close to my age (but looks much younger) and I found out today he is a police officer. He's also gay, which is why he approached me when he saw me :)

Anyway, tonight we met and he drove me in his car (!) to an outdoor restaurant where we could have I-san food. I-san is a region in Northeast Thailand near Laos. Culturally, I think they are very close to Laos, and the food is often compared to Lao food (by Thais). It is known for being very spicy. Some of my favorite Thai dishes are from I-san.

As we were driving there, Ken (that's his name) asked me if I knew I-san food. I mentioned a few things I knew - Yam Nuea (a beef salad I love) and Laab Gai (minced chicken with shallots, coriander and mint that is served with cabbage and other raw vegetables). He also named Som Tam (green papaya salad). When I said I liked that, he said, "so we have our menu".

We arrived at this place which is not too far from my hotel, but not a place I would have gone on my own. I was the only foreigner there at first (one other white guy arrived later with a Thai woman). Ken ordered and instead of the chicken laab, he got a roasted chicken (half).

The food was delicious. The chicken had been grilled to perfection with the outside crispy and the inside tender and moist. It had been stuffed with herbs and had a delicious smoky flavor to it. It came with two chili sauces, one sweet and hot, and the other sour and hot (but neither too hot). We also got the beef salad and papaya salad. The total for all of that came to 190 baht - less than $6.00.

Ken was really worried I wouldn't like the place, but I loved it. I got to observe Thais in a more natural setting. There were groups of co-workers drinking and eating together as well as some families. A woman walked around selling lottery tickets and a little girl had some cookies she tried desperately to sell (she came to our table twice). Soon a guy honking a horn came up on a bicycle and sat there for a bit selling desserts. It was nice to be away from the tourist trail and all that comes with that (inflated prices, aggressive taxi drivers, etc.)

From there Ken told me he was taking me to a different place. I had no idea where we were going. We crossed the bridge and went from Bangkok to Thonburi, on the other side of the river. I've always seen it from the boats on the river, but have never been there. It was like an older version of Bangkok and a little more low-key. We went to a new apartment building and Ken took me to the 33rd floor to show me a new apartment he had just bought. From his balcony we could see a beautiful view of the river, the Oriental Hotel and further down Wat Arun (the temple of the dawn). It was a really lovely experience. He is not living there because he said it is too far for him to commute (he lives near my hotel). In Bangkok it can take forever to move just a few blocks in rush hour traffic. He said he wants to rent it out. I thought it would be a perfect place for someone in Bangkok for a short time. I myself was looking for a furnished vacation apartment (though I don't know if I'd want to be in Thonburi, not speaking any Thai). I told Ken I would help him post an ad on Craigslist.

I'm so happy that I ran into Bank and will see him tomorrow and that I have a new friend in Bangkok who is willing to show me around and allow me to have a little bit more of an authentic experience. It's times like these, when I get to see the real Thailand, that I really think I could live here long term. If nothing else, I would be assured to always have wonderful, cheap food available any time of day or night!

I have no patience for bargaining

I went to MBK today after dropping off my laundry. I had a nice lunch in the food court - some pork and rice and green papaya salad and then sticky rice with mango for desert - all for less than $5. It was quite a splurge, since usually I don't even spend $3 at MBK for lunch.

Afterwards, I went exploring all of the booths on the 6th floor which seem mostly geared towards foreigners. They have a lot of junk. Cheap Buddha statues that don't look very serene, candles and candle holders, silk scarves and pashminas (I don't know what a pashmina is), clothes, etc.

I was looking at a t-shirt for my great-niece Emma. It was cute, it said Thailand on it and had a picture of a tuk tuk. I asked the woman how much it was and she said 300 baht. It seemed expensive to me. I think she said she would go down to 250. I told her I would pay 200 and she said it was too low. I walked away, thinking she would say, "okay, okay, 200", but she didn't.

Then I found the luggage place and saw the same style of luggage I bought on Silom Rd last night. It was priced at 1650. I paid 1400. As I was looking at it, the woman who ran the "shop" came over and said, "I can discount". I asked, "how much?" and she took out her calculator and punched in 1400.

I told her I bought it on Silom last night for the same price. "Good price, right?" I asked. She said, "you want this color?" I told her I already had one. I said, "I wanted the big one" and she said, "you want this color?" I finally said, "maybe next time" and she smiled as I walked away.

I wasn't really seeing anything worth buying and I so wanted to buy something. Unlike the weekend market, this shopping area was nicely air-conditioned, so it was a pleasure to walk around. I just wished they had more things of quality like at the weekend market. There were more things there that I would have bought if I could have withstood the heat.

I passed on little table that had some magnets on it. I picked up a package of about 6 little magnets that were little bamboo baskets of dim sum. The woman came over with her calculator.

I asked, "how much?" and she punched in 380. She was speaking in a very low voice so I couldn't really hear her, but I got that she was saying she could discount for me, especially if I bought more than one. "How many you buy?" she asked.

I told her it was too expensive. I mean, she was asking more than 10 dollars for this little collection of magnets that were basically junk. I think she went down to 300, which was still too much. I would have paid 100 for them.

She kept asking me how much I would pay, but I just wanted her to tell me what the real price was and to stop this little game of zeroing in on the lowest price she would sell them to me for. Finally, I decided I didn't need them. I mean, they weren't even Thai food, they were Chinese, so why would I buy them in Thailand? As I walked away, she kept insisting that I tell her my price. I thought the whole thing was ridiculous and realize that I am just not into bargaining they way I once was.

When I was in Sumatra, it was fun to bargain. I think because the Indonesians made it fun and also because things were really cheap. But, I ended up buying a lot of stuff I didn't really want or need because of the fun of bargaining. But now, I don't know if it is because I am older, or I am tired, or it is hot, or what, but I really have no patience for bargaining. I'd prefer a fixed price and then I will make a decision as to whether or not to buy based on that price.

In the States it is said by some that if you have to ask the price it means you can't afford it, but here, if you ask the price, usually it is not the real price and it just seems to me that a lot of people end up overpaying for things.

The Art of Bargaining....or not....

I should have just gone to bed, but unfortunately, my time clock is all screwed up now. I was on a nice schedule of going to bed early and waking up early so that on the 21st, when I have to be at the airport at 4 a.m., meaning I have to get up around 2:30 or so, it won't be so difficult. But now, here it is, 11:26 p.m., and I'm not really feeling tired. How did this happen?

So, since I was not tired yet, and I was really hungry, and it was a Sunday evening and there wouldn't be a lot of traffic on the street, I decided to go out for a walk and hunt down a little snack.

I was hoping for some fried chicken with chili sauce or maybe a few sticks of satay. But when I got to the main road whose name I don't know right now (but I did know it at one time), all of the little food vendors had long gone. I started to walk to Sathorn Rd., but I wasn't sure there would be anyone there, but I did know where to find food ... Silom Road.

Silom Road seems to have food day and night. The vendors come in shifts. There are morning vendors, afternoon vendors and then the evening ones. Pavements in front of closed office buildings are turned into sidewalk cafes, and that is where I headed - Bee's Cafe, "the best pavement cafe in Bangkok" or so their t-shirts said.

I'd had seafood there before and while it wasn't memorable, I was really in the mood for a nice tom yam kung - spicy soup with lemongrass and shrimp. I thought it would be the thing to knock out the remnants of my cold.

I had a beer and a really delicious little claypot of tom yam and the mosquitoes feasted on me. I forgot about them. Now that I am in the city, I didn't think I had to worry about them. I also didn't think I would be sitting outside. My plan was to get a little snack in a plastic bag and come back to my room and eat it.

After my little meal, I was in the mood for something else, preferably on the sweet side - maybe some nice pineapple, or those little Thai deserts made from gelatin and topped with coconut milk.

I didn't pass anyone selling anything of the sort. A few taxi drivers reminded me of Bali by yelling out "taxi?", though they didn't make the funny steering gesture that the Balinese do. I tried my best to ignore them, because I knew they would also try to offer me other things, like massage. Taxi and tuk tuk drivers who sit by the side of the road are best avoided.

I started to pass through the last dying breath of the Patpong night market that runs all the way down Silom Road. Even though I was blocks from Patpong, I don't know what else to call it (the Silom Night Market?) I was thinking of how it has changed from 15 or so years ago when I first used to shop there. I still have a collection of great cotton pants and shirts that I bought there years ago that they don't seem to make anymore. Now most items seem to be geared towards home decor, though there are still plenty of fake gucci bags and Dolce and Gabana sunglasses to be found.

I passed a few places selling luggage. I stopped and looked at one piece, but no one was there to ask a price, and I didn't really like it anyway. I think it was a fake Polo piece of luggage.

Further down, I saw the kind of luggage I was planning on buying at MBK. The price there was 1,750 baht. I don't know if it was negotiable. I asked the woman sitting in a beach chair on the sidewalk how much it was and she said, 3,800 baht. I simply said, "eh" and kept on walking.

She called after me, "wait, how much you pay?"

I told her I could get it at MBK for 1,200 baht. I sort of lied. I wasn't sure if the one for 1,750 was bigger or not, but I thought so. So I estimated what I thought the smaller one cost.

She said, "ok, 2,500". I said, "no, it's okay, I can get it at MBK cheaper".

I started to walk away, seriously. But she came after me.

"Wait, you give me good price. Please, today no sale. You help me."

I told her at MBK it was 1,200.

She said, "ok, I give you 1,400"

At this point, I pretty much had to take it. She had really come down from her ridiculous first price and it was also easier for me to carry it from Silom to my hotel than to lug it on the Skytrain from MBK.

Now, I don't know if I got a deal or not, but I think from the price that was posted on the luggage at MBK, I think I did.

One less errand to run now (though I still want to go to MBK and compare prices) and I can now begin filling my bright lemon/lime green new suitcase.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

I decided to go to the weekend market today since I am thinking it is still winter here in Bangkok. But as I soon found out, it is not. The coolness that I experienced before heading to Bali is now a distant memory and it looks like it is only going to heat up this week. Too bad I didn't take advantage when it was cool, but c'est la vie.

So anyway, I hopped on the skytrain which goes directly to Chatuchak Park where the weekend market is located. I actually never realized there was a park there until today. I've been there probably every time I've been to Bangkok, and I've been to Bangkok close to 20 times, but I never realized there was a park called Chatuchak. How could that be?

Anyway, I headed directly to the area of the market that sells tourist-oriented items. I passed lots of vendors selling food, delicious looking stuff, but I was on a mission to get to a familiar part of the market, buy some souvenirs and then maybe eat if I was feeling like it.

I did stop and buy these little round things that I think are made with rice flour and coconut milk, I don't know what they are, but I was feeling a bit peckish and needed a pick-me-up. I also bought a longan drink, which was nice. There is one noodle stall that I usually get a bowl of noodles at, but I couldn't find it. They seem to have moved things around a bit.

I am amazed at how big this market is and how many people are involved in selling things. I have never walked through the whole market, mostly because it is too hot and crowded, but I am sure you would need both Saturday and Sunday to actually cover the whole thing. Lately, I just go to one area to buy stuff and then get out as quickly as possible.

Basically, that is what I did today. I walked through the aisles of the stalls where they were selling Thai silks, antiques, touristy stuff, etc., and the only thing I bought were some soaps made by a woman in her kitchen. I learned in Bali that certain spices have antiseptic properties, and these soaps are made with those spices, so they are very good for the skin. I got clove, cinnamon, lemongrass, etc. They'll make nice gifts and also be nice for me to use and remind myself of all of my spa treatments that I won't be able to afford in San Francisco.

I started feeling a little bit like I might be on the verge of a vertigo attack and that was kind of scary because I didn't have any medicine with me. It was hot, crowded and noisy and I was a long way from the exit, but I made my way through the crowd and eventually got to Chatuchak Park which is located right next to the stairs for the Skytrain.

Once I was on the Skytrain I felt better, so I stopped at Silom Center, a shopping center one Skytrain stop from my hotel. They have a nice food court there that seems to serve mainly office workers and students from the different schools in Silom Center (computer and English programs). It's one of those deals where you buy coupons and then go to whichever stall you want to get food from. I had a pork and rice dish and some tapioca with coconut milk and corn. It only cost me 50 baht, which is a little over a dollar. Food is definitely cheaper in Bangkok than in Bali.

I came back to my hotel and rested a bit and then had a 1.5 hour Thai Massage. It wasn't the best massage I've had. The guy seemed to be trying too hard. When he asked if I wanted medium or soft, I said strong. I think he actually didn't know how to give a strong massage and was trying so hard he was hurting me and himself. I finally told him to relax and go softer, but it was too late. The good news is neither one of us were injured.

So it looks like my major focus this week will be shopping. I want to pick up some spices and ingredients so that I can cook Thai food in San Francisco. Even though some things are available there, they are so much cheaper here, I want to stock up. It also means I need to buy another suitcase to carry everything home in.

I'm not sure what else I will end up buying, but really Bangkok is a shopper's paradise. You can buy anything here and you can buy it anywhere. In addition to the weekend market, there are night markets and then countless shopping centers and supermarkets and my favorite place to shop (and eat) MBK.

Depending on the weather, I may sign up for a bike tour I read about, but if it is too hot, I think I'll stick to air-conditioned shopping centers and continue my quest for a good Thai massage that is convenient to my hotel.

Gee, I'm hungry now and I've already eaten four times today.....

Back in Bangkok

I really need to learn from my mistakes. Is this a facet of growing older? Am I destined for a life of confusion about dates and times as I age?

I sure hope not.

I hope there are other factors at play here, like the heat, travel fatigue, planetary alignments, ....

Ok, so what happened is this. When I left Bangkok for Denpasar, I thought my flight was at 3 something in the afternoon and it turned out it was at 8:50 a.m. I only realized this after I had a leisurely sleep in and at 6 a.m. decided I'd slept enough and I should check my actual flight time so I knew what time to leave for the airport. Well, good thing I checked because if I hadn't, I would have missed my flight.

And so this morning, I woke up at 6-ish (maybe 7), had a leisurely breakfast and then hung out in my room after packing. I would have hung out longer, but Made was sitting outside of my room waiting for me to leave so he could clean. It was really kind of annoying. He has this distinctive cough and every now and then he'd cough, and I'd catch him peeking in at me to see me lying on the bed (I pretended I didn't see or hear him). Finally, I got up and asked him if he wanted to clean my room.

"No, take your time", he said, as he sat there waiting.

Either he was just using this as an excuse to take a break, which is very unlike him, because the guy works like a horse, or he really wanted to clean my room. Finally I moved my bags out onto my porch and told him to clean.

I went and paid, and at 10:30 my driver came. I was at the airport by 11:30.

I thought my flight was at 14:10.

When I got to the airport, Thai Airways was nowhere to be found. I went to China Air, thinking they were Thai (I just saw the cardboard cutout of Asian women in pretty uniforms) and they told me the Thai counter opened at 1.

I had time to kill.

I thought I would check in and then have a little time to get something to eat. But I thought it was strange that they opened so late if there was a flight at 2:10. So, I checked my itinerary.

It turned out my flight was at 16:10 - 4:10! I had a lot of time to kill.

At least I was early and not rushing. And given the circumstances of my checkout, with Made sitting there coughing occasionally to let me know he was there, what else could I have done? I could have had one more massage this morning, but really....

And so after I checked in, I went and had the worst Indonesian food of my whole trip. Really horrible, salty, nasi campur that I wouldn't have finished except I was really hungry. Then I walked around, looking for something else to snack on.

I could not believe how much I was hassled, still, by people calling out to me. "Hello sir, please have a look", "foot massage?" "where you from?" I was so tired of it. I mean, this was the airport!

Maybe it's just me, but I am more likely to go into a shop if I know I won't be followed and pressured to buy. And I am more likely to buy something if I enter a shop. But when I walked past places and people said, "hello sir, please come have a look", I just kept walking.

And so, it felt good to leave Bali. I'd had a nice time and loved the spa treatments, but the constant haranguing was really just too much. I mean, it happens to some degree in Bangkok, but not as much, and definitely not in the airport!

The flight was not totally full and I was able to get an entire row to myself. The four hours went fast.

Soon I was back in Bangkok in the very impressive new airport and after quickly clearing customs and immigration (I am still amazed at how easy it is in other countries compared to my own), I was in a taxi with a driver who had smoked a little too many cigarettes and buzzing on the freeway at incredibly high speeds to my hotel.

The taxi drivers from the airport all seem to speak some English. This guy's English was not as good as the driver I had when I first arrived, but he could speak some. He told me he had been driving a cab for 33 years and knew his way all around Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. But he didn't know where my hotel was.

Fortunately I did.

But I relied a little too much on his self-professed reputation as the "number 1 taxi driver". As we pulled into Soi 3 from Silom Road, he got a call on his cell phone. While he was talking, I steered him to Soi Phipat, where there were signs with arrows pointing to the Furama Hotel, where I am staying.

I thought he saw the signs, but when it came time to turn, he missed the turn. Fortunately, I caught him in time and he was able to stop, back up and turn into the little street where the hotel entrance is.

As he was driving along this little street, which I think is Phiphat 2, he said, "Oh, yes, FX, I know", but as he passed the entrance to the hotel parking lot, it turned out he didn't know. Again, I had to say, "wait, right there".

He gave me some lame excuse about usually coming from the other direction. If he was as good as he said he was, it wouldn't matter what direction he came from.

And so, within one hour after landing, I was checked into my room. Amazing. It used to be unthinkable to get from the airport to central Bangkok in anything less than 2 hours and that involved mostly sitting in traffic. Now, the airport seems to have more immigration officers and the freeways make a huge difference in travel times.

I just finished a nice bowl of Tom Kha Gai (chicken soup with coconut milk) and am ready to shower and crawl into bed.

I have a little over a week to spend here and am not sure what I will do for that time. I may hunt out a few more cooking classes at other schools, but I think otherwise, I will just relax by the pool, eat, and get massages. I mean, I went a full day without a massage, I will certainly be ready for one tomorrow!

Ubud, last day...

I'm ready to go. I think it is this cold, but I am feeling quite irritable and tired of the friendliness/nosiness of the Ubudese (whatever they are called). No longer will I have to answer "where you go?" or ignore another guy yelling "taxi?". At least in Bangkok I get the gentleness and smiles without all of the questions!

My cold is fading fast, but I still felt the remnants of it when I woke up this morning. After breakfast and taking one last load of laundry across the street to the cute little laundry that has things ready in a half a day, I went to Ubud Sari Health Resort for a cup of Tea Ibu Marlena. The same tea I had yesterday with the one and only, Ibu Marlena.

For some reason it didn't taste as good today. It was too sweet, but I drank it anyway. I also had a cup of banana coconut pudding. Just mashed bananas and fresh coconut. They said on the menu it was delicious. I am not sure I agree. But it felt healthy.

The restaurant was filled with Aussies who were all doing some sort of cleansing program. They were all talking about their colonics. I found them a bit strange. Half naked old men lounging around in sarongs. It was quite a scene.

I had lunch at my new favorite restaurant Batan Waru. I was planning on having the oxtail soup I had last night for dinner, but when I got there I was really hungry and instead had nasi campur. It was good. I decided to treat myself to desert and had a chocolate tart with raspberry salsa. It was not as good as I thought it would be, but I ate it all.

Then at 1, I had a two hour session with Agung Wijaya. He gave me a good dry massage and then an oil massage and then did some energy work. The only thing I don't like about his place is that there is no shower, so you leave there kind of oily, even though he tries to wipe off the oil. I wish he didn't use oil at all. Still, I felt better when I left than I did when I arrived.

As I was lying there through his treatment I started thinking about a nice spice bath at Zen Spa, so as soon as I finished, I went to Zen Spa but they only had an opening at 4. It was a little after 3 when I got there.

To kill some time I went and looked at Artini 3 which is a little further up the street. It is a beautiful setting looking out over a rice field. The grounds have more steps and levels than Artini 2 and it feels more secluded, even though Artini 2 also feels secluded. I am thinking next time I come here I might try staying there. I wonder if they have the equivalent of a Big Made there - a guy who lounges around and tries to find ways to squeeze extra money out of guests.

After killing a little more time, I returned to Zen for my spice bath.

I had a different guy this time and his massage was okay. I still think as far as massages go, "Made, Yang Made" at Nur Salon gives the best. But the spice rub was very nice. I like the way it gets all hot as they leave you there with it soaking into your skin and then the spice bath was also very nice. It was very hot. I got a good sweat from the whole thing, which I think is what I needed.

For dinner, I decided to try a new restaurant right next to Zen Spa on the main road called Siam Sally. It's right across the street from Pundi Pundi and is the same restaurant group as Batan Waru. I have a card from Batan Waru that gives me a 15% discount as a frequent diner and it was also good for Siam Sally.

At The Pond they little gay guy who is the marketing manager told me I got a 10% discount because I was a returning guest. And then when he found out I stayed at Artini, he told me I got 15% as a guest of Artini (because it is the same owner). But the last time I ate there I got no discount. It was weird. Was I supposed to ask for it? So I like this card that they give you at Batan Waru.

Siam Sally was okay. It was silly for me to try to get Thai food in Indonesia. I kept thinking I could have made it better and tomorrow I will be eating the real thing.

And so I am sitting next to the pool in the dark and the few staff members who work at night are sitting around in a circle and talking quietly. I like it here at night when there are few people around. Only, I don't like the mosquitoes, and they like me.

So, it is time for me to get into my nicely air-conditioned room and begin packing.

He's Not a Man

I forgot to include this little snippet from my conversation with Ipu Marlena yesterday which was quite comical.

So we had finished with my treatment and I was feeling quite battered, after the scraping the sauna and all of that. I was enjoying my delicious cup of tea while she sat across from me drinking water and chatting.

She likes to talk, and she is very sweet. She is quite a character and I think anyone who comes to Bali and gets to meet her, is in for a real treat.

And so she was telling me stories about herself, like her butcher shop and all of that. But she also told me that she teaches many foreigners. They come to learn from her. This, I believe, was like many of my conversations with Balinese, an invitation for me to consider an offer to spend more money on her - i.e., come back and take classes with her.

I don't know what the classes entail. I guess she would talk a lot about herself.

She told me she had one student, a Canadian guy, who was very smart. He sat for five hours and took notes. Wow, five hours of her talking? What was she talking about?

And then she said, in a slightly more subdued voice, "But I don't think he was a man."

I just kind of raised my eyebrows questioning what she meant by that.

"I mean, not a real man. He was a gay."

I tried not to take offense at her assertion that gay men were not real men because I'm sure she did not mean it the way it came out.

Then she said, "He really liked to wear accessories - bracelets and necklaces and things", and she kind of made a face, suggesting she didn't approve.

But, she said, you couldn't tell, because he seemed normal, only at times he seemed a little feminine.

She concluded by saying again what a good student he was and because she thought he was gay, she felt comfortable spending so much time with him. They would have class in the morning, and then have lunch together and then rest and then have more class in the afternoon. No other student could handle the amount of time he could.

Hello sir, where you go?

My cold was pretty bad last night and I was afraid it was going into my lungs. I was wheezing and starting to cough. I took more of the cold medicine I got in Barcelona and tried going to sleep early after having a few cups of ginger, lemon and honey tea at Cafe Wayan, but I couldn't sleep well. I didn't want to sleep with the fan because that is how I think I caught the cold, so I put the air-con on instead and got under the covers. I figured as long as air wasn't blowing on me it was not bad. But still I couldn't sleep. When I turned the air-con off I was too hot.

So basically I spent a restless night and as the roosters started crowing and the doves started cooing, signaling the arrival of morning, I turned in my bed and had the feeling of the beginning of a vertigo attack. At first I denied it. It must have been because I was tired and didn't get a good night sleep, but as I lay there, it was clear, the spinning was starting.

So I got up and fished around for my stash of meclizine for these occasions and popped a pill and got back in bed to observe the race between the vertigo and the meclizine.

This time the vertigo won. I was too late.

I made my way to the bathroom just in time to begin a few bouts of the dry heaves (fortunately, the only thing I had in my stomach was the water I used to swallow the pill). And then I had to sit on the bathroom floor waiting for the meclizine to finally kick in.

I think what aggravated it this time was this head cold. If meneire's is caused by a fluid build-up in the inner ear, anything that affects fluid levels, such as a head cold, would most likely bring on an attack.

I'm thinking about looking at the next level of treatment, which involves an injection into my inner ear which would kill off the cells that regulate balance. This would be with the same doctor who removed my tonsils and soft palate and didn't really go over the full pros and cons with me, so first, I need to do my research, but I really don't want to live with the constant threat of puking my guts up.

And so, when I finally got out of bed, a little past 8, I was not in good shape. I had had very little sleep, had a bout of vertigo and still had this cold.

I had my appointment today with Ibu Marlena at Ubud Sari Health Spa, but I wasn't really sure I would be able to make it there. It all depended on whether or not I was able to drive the scooter.

After a light breakfast of fruit, I decided to take my chance, since it was possible she was the person I needed to see today.

I was fine getting there. I drove slowly, there was very little traffic and it was noticeably cooler today (maybe less humid).

When I arrived, she was waiting.

I told her I had a cold and my ear was bothering me. I don't think she understands the ear thing. I don't think anyone does and I'm really doubting there is anyone here who can do anything permanent to fix it.

The session started off pretty much as before, only with less talk. She applied an oil to my face and chest that got warm. She applied another oil and I could smell lemon grass.

And then she started to work on my legs, feet, arms and then chest. She didn't tell me to look this time to see what she had done.

As she was massaging my hands I felt myself sink into the comfort of her care. It was like my grandmother was taking care of me, and I imagined her having done this for her children and grandchildren and many others in her village. Beyond what long term effects, if any, her treatment would provide, in the moment, I was feeling comfort, and that is what I needed.

When she had me turn over on my stomach again she did the several applications of oil, massaged my legs and arms and then began scraping my back. I wasn't sure at first what she was doing, but it hurt. As she continued from my upper shoulders, and down my back and then did the other side, I was aware that she was doing something my acupunturist had done to me once. I wasn't thrilled about having these big red welts on my back for the next few days, but if it could help break the cold, it was fine. Besides, she had almost finished already, so what was I to do?

I felt markedly better from the beginning of the treatment to the end. I gave her 100,000 rupiah tip, as I had before, thinking she would head back home, but instead, she waited as I went to the steam room, then the dry sauna, and then took a hot and cold shower.

When I came out, she told me she had ordered a special tea for me in the restaurant and she led me there and sat and talked to me as I drank it.

The tea was delicious. It was made with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and sweetened with palm sugar.

She told me a little more about her life, including that she once had a butcher shop and something about the government letting her use their car that I didn't quite understand. I was really just wanting to rest at that point and not chat over a cup of tea.

And so I left her and as she directed me, I went to find a bowl of soup. I decided to go to a restaurant I had passed many times on this little street that runs between Monkey Forest Road and Jalan Hanoman. I think it is called Dewi Siri Street. I thought the restaurant was Thai, and since most of the Indonesian places I've been to seem to have more Thai soups than Indonesian ones, I thought I'd have better luck getting real Thai soup at a Thai restaurant.

As I parked my moto across the street, a young guy was standing outside of a shop with a bucket. And so began the simple exchange that I've gone through countless times and today was not in the mood for. It's making me want to print up a fact sheet and just hand it to people so they will have the information they need about me to continue on with their day.

It went something like this.

Hello sir, how are you?

Fine, how are you?

Fine, where you going?

I'm not sure.

Ah, to eat?

Yes.

Where are you from?

America.

Ah, America. What's your name?

Rick.

My name is Agung.

(and then he comes down and shakes my hand)

Where do you stay?

Artini.

Artini 2?

Yes, Artini 2.

Ah.

Are you here alone?

Yes.

How long in Bali?

2 weeks.

At that point, I had had enough and simply said, okay Agung, it was nice to meet you, and crossed the street to the restaurant I thought was Thai.

Agung may have been talking to me still as I left. I am not sure.

Turns out the restaurant was not Thai at all, but their signs saying to check out their other restaurant that serves authentic Thai food confused me. They had neither porridge nor Thai soups, which were my first two choices of what to eat. They had broccoli and red lentil. But for some reason they did not tell me they had soto ayam until I asked (when I asked about the soups they only mentioned two). That was what I had in mind, a good bowl of Indonesian chicken soup with tumeric and a pot of mint tea.

It was a nice lunch and I continued to sweat from the treatment and now the addition of these hot liquids to my body. Occasionally, from across the street, Agung would wave to me from his shop. I watched as he put a sarong decorated with pineapples on over his pants, and tied a red sash around his waist, and then went around the shop and placed little offerings of flowers and sprinkled them with water. He came outside and did the same and then went down the street to a big banyan tree and made an offering to the tree.

He returned and took off his sarong (I guess it was just to make offerings) and then busied himself around the store.

Just as I was about to leave, he came outside and sat on the steps of his store.

I really didn't want to get into another exchange with him. I really appreciate the friendliness of the Balinese, but sometimes it's just a little too invasive and almost always involves them wanting me to do something for them - I was sure he had a motive - either to get me to buy something, to arrange for transport to the airport, to help a sick aunt, but I just wasn't buying that his friendship was without strings.

So I waited until he went back in the store and quickly made my way across the street. Within seconds however, he was back outside.

Hello, Rick. Where you go now?

To my hotel. It was nice meeting you!

And with that, I started up my motorbike and sped off, hoping I wasn't too rude.

So after a short nap here at my hotel, I brought my laptop out to the dining area and tried to connect to the internet. It wasn't working. Finally, I asked them to turn off the modem and turn it back on and that did the trick. But it also attracted a few of the guys who were lounging around on their lunch breaks. Two of them came over to see if it was working. When they saw it was, one left, but the other sat down behind me and watched as I opened my e-mail, reading things out loud - a message from my cousin "happy belated birthday"..."sorry to hear about your dad..." I closed it and opened my homepage and read some news, waiting until he left so I could begin blogging.

Finally after clicking around several different pages, he got bored and left me.

I just wonder, do we come off as cold to them as they seem intrusive to us?

I Catch a Cold

I have another cold. I think in each place I've visited on this trip I have caught one. Fortunately, I have cold medicine I bought in Barcelona. I took some last night to stop the endless drip from my nose so I could get some sleep.

I left 200,000 rupiah on my pillow today for Little Made. He seemed satisfied. I've avoided him most of today. Big Made is ignoring me. I guess he can't think of any way to get money out of me. I've learned that when he approaches me it is because he has a scheme. He's a slime. He should not be running a hotel, or whatever it is he is doing. I guess he doesn't realize that happy guests come back and tell their friends. People who feel like they are walking ATMs are less likely to recommend a place. I actually want to check out Artini 3, which is closer to The Pond and Ubud Wellness Spa. It seems like it might be an even better location (they have a spa too), and there will be no Big Made there! I get the feeling that he is the cousin that everyone tries to help but can't be helped. I'm waiting to see how he will try to get more money out of me when I leave on Saturday or when I return my motorbike.

Today I decided to go for a ride on my moto. The Great Dane told me that if I went further up the road that goes past the rice fields where people appear like magic to sell you things you don't want, you'll eventually come to a road that will take you to fantastic views of a volcano and lake. It sounded like a destination.

What I forgot to account for were the sun and bugs. I should have put sunscreen on my forearms and nose (which are now burnt) and worn my sunglasses to keep bugs out of my eyes.

But anyway, it was an interesting trip. Once I passed the rice fields where there were no people selling things (but I knew if I had stopped they would have appeared), the road narrowed and started an uphill climb. I could feel the temperature getting cooler as I went higher.

I wasn't sure how far I had to go, but the Great Dane told me the road would end and I would have to go right or left. He also told me police would pull me over and ask for money.

So as I headed forward, a guy dressed in black pants and a black jacket rode by in the other direction. He said, "Hello? Where are you going?" I thought he was a police officer. I said, "I don't know. Just exploring."

He pulled something out of his pocket, that I thought was some kind of badge or something. I never got to see it. Instead he told me he had a shop up ahead and just opened today, so wouldn't I visit it and help him?

I told him I wanted to see the mountain and he told me, "you just go straight, and then left, right, right". The Great Dane had told me you go to the end of the road and turn right.

Anyway, I figured I could use a bottle of water, so I agreed to follow this guy to his shop.

It turned out to be quite an elaborate fruit stand with all kinds of wonderful fruits. But I didn't want to buy fruit because I don't have a refrigerator and if I leave them in my room, I'll attract critters I don't want.

He opened a passion fruit and had me try it, then he offered me some mandarin orange. I told him no thank you. I just wanted water. He kept trying to get me to go inside, but I told him I just wanted water. I picked up a Pocari Sweat and he told me it was 7,000 rupiah, which is kind of expensive, but is what I've paid in Ubud. I gave him 20,000 rupiah and waited for my change. He then opened a rambutan (which he called a lychee) and had me taste it. He kept insisting - don't you want bananas? Passion fruit? Finally, I could see my change was not coming, so I told him to give me a few mandarin oranges, I also got a few rambutan and a few mangosteens. I asked him if that was okay, and he said yes.

Then he told me he was from the mountain. He pulled out a map and went into this spiel on what I would see if I went with him. The map had dates showing when the lava flows started. I was wearing flip flops and did not want to be trekking through hot lava in flip flops so I assured him when I come back with my friends, I will look for him. Fortunately, I know how to start my motorbike now, and I just hopped on and left, thanking him for the information.

His information was actually helpful. He told me how to go to avoid the police. The left, right, left, took me to the same place the Dane's right would have, but I didn't have to pay a fine for just being a foreigner on a motorbike in corrupt police territory.

He also told me not to pay for ceremonies on the street. He said, "in a temple okay, but not on the street". I didn't know what he meant, until I passed some women by the side of the street who tried to flag me down so they could do a ceremony with the little offerings to the gods. I just ignored them.

I continued up through alpine forests and finally came to a main road where a huge volcano came into view. I said, "wow" out loud as women on the side of the road started yelling "hello, hello!!!" - they of course, had something to sell.

I found myself in a whole other world. I was in the mountains now and I even saw a person wearing a down coat (!) which I thought was a bit too much, but I imagined it got pretty cool at night. There was a lot of activity. Markets, kids getting out of school (kids always seem to be getting out of school), little mini buses, etc., and there was a lot of traffic. I proceeded on for a while but didn't seem to be getting any closer to the volcano and didn't see any lake. I finally decided I'd had enough and turned around and returned to Ubud.

My nose feels really red and swollen from the cold and now even worse from the sunburn. I had a little adventure today which turned out to be kind of a dud, but still it was fun to get out and see a little more of Bali.

I do have to say the one thing I will miss about Bali are the beautiful smiles. I see them everywhere. People smile so easily here and they seem pretty happy and relaxed. Well, that is, except for Big Made, who seems kind of tense and doesn't have a very nice smile.

Out of gas....

I don't know if it is the humidity, or if it is just me, but today was a weird day.

It started by me being woken up by the thunderstorm and then having some wild dreams, one that really upset me (about a person I work with). But I finally woke up at 8 and had breakfast and it seemed like it was going to be a normal day.

The same characters were at breakfast and it seemed like the normal goings on were going on, the guys were knocking flowers down from the trees to put on our beds, and the women were making offerings and cooking breakfast.

Big Made seemed to be completely ignoring me this morning. I thought it was very odd, from his initial friendliness, but as I've said before, I think it is better when he leaves me alone because I don't trust him.

Well, I spoke (thought) too soon, because soon he made his way over to me where I was working on my laptop and asked me what I did yesterday. I told him I went to the Barong and Kris performance. He didn't seem to care. It was just an intro.

"What you do today?"

"I'm not sure"

"Shopping?"

"mmmm....maybe, I bought some sarongs yesterday."

And soon, he had convinced me to go with him to a nice little village not far from here where I could buy silver at a good price and see woodcarving.

I wasn't finished yet on the computer but he told me he was ready. So I shut everything down and went to my room where Little Made asked me where I was going. I told him I was going shopping with Big Made.

He told me he was going to get some medicine. He seemed to be hinting around for something. I was playing dumb, because I don't like hints, especially when it comes to my "maid" asking for money.

He was standing in my doorway and every now and then would give a cough for effect. He told me how much the medicine cost, and I think the cost went from 200,000 rp to 600,000 and maybe more, but I wasn't sure because he was speaking in a kind of whisper.

Finally, he came right out and asked if I could help him out.

I was going to give him some money before I left as a tip. I did give him 100,000 rp. the other day, figuring it was for last week ($10), and was going to give him another 100,000. I guess I will give him 200,000, and leave it at that.

It was getting too weird with Big Made inviting me (sort of forcing me) to go silver shopping (and I knew he was getting a commission on whatever I bought if anything) and then the Little Made hitting me up for money for medicine.

So, we went to this village where I was brought to this little workshop and explained how they make silver. It was interesting and the guy was a character. Then I went inside the shop while Big Made lounged around like a sea lion outside reading the newspaper.

I could tell immediately that they didn't have anything I liked. The jewelry was very gaudy and big, nothing any of my friends would like.

I kind of breezed around the store and Big Made came in and said, "slowly". I was starting to get really tired of him.

I found one little opal pendant I kind of liked, but then thought about the whole situation and finally decided I was not going to cave into the pressure, so I told them thanks and left.

The guy who explained the silver-making process was really nice and I told him it is hard to buy jewelry for friends because I don't know their tastes. He totally understood, though Big Made didn't look happy.

Big Made then told me to follow him to the woodworking place, but when we arrived it was closed. He told me he was going back to the hotel and I said I wanted to ride around and take some photos. He told me several times to be careful. I am not sure why. I keep getting the feeling I'm doing something illegal by riding around on this scooter he rented me with an expired driver's license.

I took a few photos and then headed to Cafe Wayan for lunch.

First I stopped to change money. I went to two money changers. The first one had no money. The second one couldn't find the clerk. So I walked and found a third one. It was a nice air-conditioned antique shop and there was a nice, healthy looking dog inside (rare to see... healthy looking dogs that is).

I gave the guy two hundred dollars and he spent what seemed like an infinity examining them. Then he handed one back to me and said it was no good. I asked him what the problem was. He said the paper was no good.

I told him it was from my bank, which it was. I knew my bank would not give me counterfeit bills. I held it up and could see the watermark of Ben Franklin's face which I know you cannot counterfeit. I showed it to him and said, "look, you can see the face, that is how you know it is real" and showed him the other bill which when you held it up to the light looked the same.

He hemmed and hawed and I was getting really irritated. He was really pissy and seemed like he didn't want to change my money. I was getting ready to tell him it was okay, I would go somewhere else, when he finally made the exchange.

But even after he gave me the money, he continued to examine the bills. He had me write my name, passport number and hotel name and once again said, "this one no good".

I said, "look, if you don't want to change my money, I can go to another place", and he said, "okay", meaning, it was okay. But I still don't trust him. Now I am waiting for him to come here with a fake bill claiming it is the one I gave him. I should have had him write the serial numbers on my receipt.

Finally, I got to Cafe Wayan. I had the nasi campur again, and it was as good as yesterday.

I had decided I was going to Nur Salon for a massage to avoid coming back to the hotel and facing either Made. I didn't know what was inspiring both of them to suddenly look at me as an ATM, but I was hoping it would pass in a day.

As I headed up Monkey Forest Road my moto suddenly stopped. I tried starting it and it would not start. My gas gauge said "E", but I thought it was broken because it said "E" before and I opened the tank and there was still gas. This time I opened it up and it was bone dry. Whoops!

I saw some guys sitting by the side of the road waiting to say, "taxi? Maybe tomorrow?" and asked them where I could get gas. They said Jalan Hanoman and I was afraid they were talking about the gas station past The Pond, which would have been really far to push the bike.

I passed some other guys on the corner who were very aggressive and all wanted to help me (of course for a price). I really don't like Monkey Forest Road because everyone seems so aggressive to get something from tourists.

One guy tried turning the bike sideways but that didn't help. The other scowled at me because I wouldn't accept their offers to leave the bike and go get some petrol to bring back.

I preferred to do it on my own without any $trings attached.

I pushed my moto down this little street that runs between Monkey Forest Rd. and Jalan Hanoman, and as soon as I got to Hanoman Rd, there was a guy selling gas in bottles. I got one large bottle which filled the tank about half-way and cost me 12,000 rp (about $1.20). I would have probably paid much more if one of those guys had helped me.

I had a wonderful massage with the same guy I had before at Nur. His name is "Made, Yang Made". It reminded me of "Bond, James Bond", the way he said it (he said it the same way the last time). I told him my name was Rick but he had a hard time with that, so I told him Ketut, and he referred to me as Mr. Ketut from then on.

The massage was great, and I got a tamarind scrub. I think I've had enough scrubs. I could feel my skin kind of burning from all of the exfoliation and the sun. From now on, only massages. I might do one more with "Made, Yang Made".

When I finished it was 3 and I knew the boys would still be knocking down leaves and sweeping, so I went to the gas station and filled up my tank. It cost me a dollar more. I then passed Ubud Wellness Spa. I had seen their flyer in our lobby and knew they had an aloe vera facial, so I drove into their driveway to check it out.

It was a really nice newish spa. I think as far as design goes, it's my favorite so far. They have little individual massage rooms, some with two massage tables, all with a bath and shower and all looking out onto some nice greenery and statues (each room has a different statue in its window).

The facial was great and I now really do look like I am 40 (and I feel like it too!)

Big Made just came over to me to whine about not having any money. I don't know what he wants.

And so, today was a mixed bag. Weird stuff with people and running out of gas and money changers and wonderful spa treatments. I guess this is Ubud.

Death By Chocolate, 4 Handed Massage, Barong and Kris

It seems like I am doing a lot, but really, I'm not. Or am I?

I have to make two blog entries, one for yesterday and one for today.

Yesterday, I started out looking for Sehati Guest House and Spa. I thought I knew where it was, and I did, but where I thought it was was not where it was. I drove around the block three times, down Monkey Forest Road and back down Jalan Hanoman and back to Monkey Forest Road again. Funny thing is I passed it each time because I wasn't looking in the right spot. I stopped and asked some of the guys on the side of the road who say, "taxi? Maybe tomorrow?" and they told me where it was and then I remembered. And then I did one of my favorite things, I said to them, "do you need transport?" - they got a big laugh out of it, and one of them joked, "how much?" as he faked getting on the back of my motorbike. It was fun turning the tables to them and they were good sports about it.

So, I finally found it and had a four-handed massage.

Sehati is not really a spa, it's like a store front. It was a little weird. Also, I prefer men to women. For me, women do not go deep enough and when they try, it hurts. Men seem to be able to apply the right amount of pressure for me and I like the fleshiness of their hands. It's just my preference.

So having two women work on me at the same time was at times annoying and at times very nice. When they were doing long strokes it was great having them work in tandem, but when they were trying to go deep and I felt fingernails or bones digging into me, it wasn't pleasurable at all. Plus, one of the women made a big deal out of me. Everything about me.

"What is your name?"

"Rick"

"Oooooh!"

I don't know what the "ooooh" was for.

They she said things like, "Ooooh, strong body", several times and I felt like she was coming on to me. She asked how old I was and when I told her 50, she said, "ooooh, look like 40...oooooh strong body....."

They offered me a shower, but I just wanted to get out of there and settled for the hand washing and left.

Then I headed to Cafe Wayan for lunch. I had a nice nasi campur and papaya lassi and was planning on a piece of death by chocolate cake, but I was too full, and I am trying not to gorge. So I told them I would be back.

I came back to my hotel after looking around for some souvenirs and buying some expensive sarongs (I remember them being cheaper in Sumatra). I also arranged my transport to the airport on Saturday from the guy I bought the sarongs with. He and his wife ran a little shop up the street, and were very nice. They showed me an Obama button they have for good luck!

I took a little swim, hung out by the pool and did some internet stuff and then went back to Cafe Wayan for my cake.

Death by chocolate is enough to kill you, that's for sure. A really rich piece of chocolate cake, almost like fudge, with chocolate sauce.

The thing is though, afterwards I was still hungry, but I thought the folks at Cafe Wayan would think I was strange for ordering dinner after my cake, so I went up the street to Bumi Bali because they have a cooking school and I thought I'd try their food.

I got some typical Balinese food that wasn't that good. It was okay, but it was a little dry and bland.

Then I came back and got my ticket for the Barong and Kris performance across the street. The lovely woman who hangs out outside of our entrance selling tickets sold me my ticket and at 6:50 I crossed the street for the 7 p.m. show.

It was one of my favorite performances so far, even though I loved the kecak. I liked the venue, which is kind of a temple that we're not supposed to enter without a sarong (they made an exception for the performance), it was well lit, and the gamelan orchestra was not amplified (it was loud enough). Also, most of the performers in the orchestra were really young, like maybe 14, 15 or so (though it's hard to tell) and they were really good, very focused and the music was not bad either.

The performance was great. There were all kinds of weird characters. A big monster, a monkey, two funny guys who did this kabuki like narration, a few other weird characters and a big shaggy thing that was supposed to be evil but looked like "Cousin It" on the Munsters. It was really fun. The costumes were great and the music was bearable. I really enjoyed it.

I came back and hung out in my room a bit before going to sleep, only to be woken up by a major thunderstorm that seemed to last all night. It was really loud and a little disturbing and I ended up having some pretty wild dreams since I was woken up several times.

That was not a bad day.

Artini 2

I just love Artini 2. That is where I am staying. I call it my hotel, but it is more like a family compound, only a little spruced up (some of the family compounds I've seen have been pretty shabby looking and usually have chickens and other animals running around).

How can I describe it?

First of all, it seems to be set in a valley or maybe what you would call a ravine? Maybe not so good as chi goes (or air-flow), but it seems fine to me. On one side is a rice field, which is set up at street level, and on the other side is a family compound, I think the owner's, also at street level, so we are below street level.

You walk down a path from the road to reach the reception desk, which is next to the pool. Alongside the pool is the dining area where we are served breakfast, and if we wanted could get food at any time of day.

There are a few cottages above the reception area but further back in the grounds there are clusters of buildings. Each building has maybe four rooms to it. Two below and two above. The bottom rooms have air-con, but the upper rooms, since they get breezes off the rice field, don't (and are cheaper). Of course, they also have a view.

I just love hanging out here, and normally I don't like spending a lot of time in a hotel.

The day starts early, maybe 6 or 7 a.m. I usually hear Made cough, so I know they have arrived. The guys are wearing green sarongs, a dark green one under a lighter green printed one, lime green shirts and lime green head scarves. They are usually engaged in their morning activities, by the time I get up. This involves picking flowers for our rooms, sweeping up anything that has fallen during the night and maybe knocking leaves from trees (they knock down the leaves that are going to fall soon so they can sweep them up). It is amazing how much attention they give to keeping the place clean, but also how much attention it needs. With so many trees, things are always falling.

One guy has been trimming the grass outside of my cottage all week, with shears. He hunches down and clip, clip, clip, all morning.

But when we wake up and make our way to the breakfast area, they convert into our waiters. I think they take turns doing it. They take our order and then hang around until we are finished so they can clear our dishes.

There are two or three women working here as well. In the morning, they prepare the offerings for the gods and go about the complex putting out these little trays of flowers, rice and crackers, which the doves soon devour.

Then I guess they go to the kitchen and cook our breakfast.

After breakfast, the women clean up the dining area, sweep and mop and I guess do other things behind the scenes, like maybe laundry.

The men clean our rooms. Made is my dedicated servant and he usually comes and gets my key if I am still hanging around. Even though there are signs asking us to conserve energy by turning off our fans and air-con, they still are not doing what most hotels do and each day we get fresh sheets and towels. It is really a shame. I could sleep on the same sheets all week.

Once the guys finish with the rooms, they continue with the grounds-keeping, a big part of which is knocking leaves down from trees with a big stick. It's quite a funny thing to see. Right now, it is 3 p.m. and they are still at it. Also one guy is dusting the reception area.

I usually leave by then and don't know how the rest of the morning unfolds, but when I get back, they have usually changed into their afternoon wear. Made wears shorts and a t-shirt, the same shorts and t-shirt every day. The guy who usually cuts the grass wears jeans and a black t-shirt with orange writing. The same one every day.

They seem to have a lunch break during which time they hang out in the back of the dining area and make a lot of noise! Indonesian (perhaps they are speaking Balinese?)is a very staccato language and sounds a lot like chickens clucking. It is amazing how noisy it can get.

Today was quite comical because they were chattering away, several people at a time and all of a sudden they switched to English. One guy said, "listen for me" and the other guy, mocking his mistake said, "ok, I will listen for you" (he meant to say listen "to" me). Then again the chatter was interrupted when one guy started singing and they all joined in. It was a very sweet, beautiful ballad.

When their lunch break was finished, they emerged to continue with their grounds-keeping, and the women just hung around. I guess most of their work was done.

They work so hard and I never see them complain or say "ugh" or even wipe their brows.

Soon they will all change into their street clothes and leave and a new crew will come in. It seems the night crew just sits by the pool and chats all night, but I don't really know.

And of course, there is Big Made who lounges around like a sea lion on a pier wearing a sarong and head scarf and chats up new guests, I guess so he can try to sell them "his paintings" or talk them into a motorbike or tours or whatever.

Aside from all of the people, there are also these beautiful doves that hang around. They start cooing early in the morning and wake me up if I am not up already, and they attack the offerings as soon as they are put out, and then the rest of the day they lounge by the pool, sipping the water, cleaning themselves and eventually returning to their resting areas for the evening. There are some other beautiful birds that fly around and I've seen an amazing lizard hanging out on the wall at the far end of the pool. He is beautifully camouflaged and is mostly the color of the rocks with spots of green to match the little moss growing on them.

I guess at this point I have been here the longest. There are a few other long-time guests. One American guy who looks like he is a police or Army officer. He looks very stern, has short-cropped hair, a big mustache and wears mirrored sunglasses. There is a hippiesh French couple who are here buying stuff to sell in a shop they have in Paris. The woman looks kind of like Katie Segall, the woman on Married with Children (though not as trashy) and the husband has the biggest mullet I have ever seen. His hair looks almost normal on the top, front and sides, but in the back there is a huge party going on and his curly hair goes almost halfway down his back. They sit around and smoke cigarettes when they are not out shopping.

And then there is a great Dane. He reminds me of a golden retriever. He's very friendly and a little high-strung. He is always talking, wagging his tail and visiting with everyone here. I got stopped by him yesterday after my ride on my moto and he kept me talking for about 30 minutes until I told him I needed to get something to drink. He was in the pool and I was standing in the hot sun. He's very nice and also quite interesting, but it amazes me how he can talk about anything.

At first I didn't like him because he was talking about all of the Chinese tourists who you see out and about now. It is quite remarkable. When I was in Europe I was reading this book from my taxi driver in SF that was written in the 70's when China and Russia were still hard to get into, and impossible to get out of. Now you see large groups of Chinese and Russians. I say, "welcome to the world!"

But this guy was talking about how they walk around with their noses in the air and this air of superiority (and he was speaking to the French couple!) and said, they are like American tourists in the 50s. I don't know what he meant by that, but I found it kind of insulting (at that time I thought he was French).

I don't know much about him because even though he talks a lot he doesn't reveal much about himself other than how much he knows. He speaks Indonesian fluently and he seems to be an expert on any subject.

Right now it is pretty quiet here except for the sounds of the guys finishing sweeping up. All of my fellow travelers are out doing something in the hot sun no doubt, the French couple is probably shopping and the Danish guy is probably talking to someone.

And that is life at Artini Cottages, or as the locals call it Artini 2. It is a lovely home away from home, and even though I can't cook or use internet in my room, I think this is by far the best place I've stayed at on my four month travels so far. The people are great, the pool is a nice touch and the price can't be beat!