Home & Around Town

 My kitchen counter usually looks like this (I could so easily be a fruitarian!):

I like to buy hand made brooms when I travel to use in my Washington home (even though I am always hassled at customs and other travelers ask why I am waiting for an airplane). Here is my first broom find in Bali. It is a stiff one for use on my decks.

The sidewalks here in Sanur may be full of holes (big holes...have to be very careful, especially at night...liability is not a concern here), but every few feet, someone has installed a bit of beauty.

After my last dental appointment (crowns are affordable here in Bali and the dentists are trained at UCLA), Dewa took me to Amalia's warung. Amalia always feeds me when I visit the warung. A delicious tempeh (tempe) dish that she has promised to teach me to make, corn and egg patties, green papaya salad, and the yummiest potato chips (they are white and not greasy)! Amalia's iced tea continually appears in front of me...she knows I am a heavy drinker! It is so refreshing! A new sign graced her warung today:

Please notice that the chicken's foot is still attached to the leg...Balinese consider the foot the 'best part'! Must be pretty crunchy.

As I passed a couple hours at the beach today, these towering cumulus clouds struck my eye. I expected rain, but it did not come. Sunny, sunny, sunny. Soon there will be rain. Rainy season is December and January, but it is only sporadic and often at night. However, sometimes it is literally buckets of rain, soaking and flooding! Those of us on motorbikes sometimes have to wait to get where we want to go.

After the beach, I cycled by the new business of my friend Berto. He helps people plan tours: snorkeling, fishing, village tours, whatever one wants to do in Bali, Flores (a beautiful island to the north where he was born and which has Komoco Dragons...see one below), and many more trips by boat. I have known Berto for a few years and he is a charming young man; I am sure he will attract tourists with his winning smile! I wish him well in his new venture.

Then I proceeded to Talia to have a back massage, manicure and pedicure (swimming a couple hours daily is hard on the nails). Desak took good care of these tasks for $6.15. Do you see how easy it is to get good care in Bali? I save money by being here. I will try to get a pic of the Talia ladies and the price menu next week. They are all very good. Desak has the strongest hands...she manipulates my back with great force and it is not easy, but I hope to break up the stressed muscles in my back with her skillful work.