Sarong

The people here are easily hypnotised by blonde hair. I have been living like a film star with people taking photos of me in the street & at the supermarket. They either try to sneakily take the photo or come up to me requesting a photo with them & then inviting me to their school or college. Its amusing, the people are so kind that it hasn’t yet got annoying & as we travel closer to the Indonesia more frequented by tourists I will no longer be the only blonde.

We travel about on benos. Tiny yellow mini buses that you just flag down. It must be law to stuff the windscreen with as many cuddly toys & lights as humanly possible so you can only just see the other cars on the roads! The other law they seem to have invented is at night you must have flashing neon lights all over the interior of the bus. It all makes for interesting trips to the supermarket & mini mobile discos on a Friday night!

I have begun a life of normality. I had a well needed hair cut (£3 for a wash cut & blow dry compared to £50 at home), I’ve chilled out at some nice restaurants, been clubbing for the fraction of the price back home, bought a mobile phone & when we get to Bali its only going to get better. Independence is probably the biggest thing I miss & one of the hardest things to try & keep alive living in such confined quarters with a partner. There are some plus sides to a western lifestyle!

I’m loving the experience here, the people & the food but the children I can live without. All day we are bombarded with the kids shouting “Mister Bobby, Mister Suzi” & if we don’t answer they then start throwing things at the boat. At which point they get an answer but I’m not sure it’s the answer they were wanting. It was bearable in the beginning but I’m starting to loose now!

The news I'm still trying to come to terms with is that the fridge has quit working. We are facing the real possibility of sailing the rest of the trip down to Bali with no cold drinks & no way to keep fresh food. There are cruisers that sail around the world with no fridge & I take my hat off to them but there are a few luxuries I cannot imagine being without in this climate, the fridge is top of that list. We are being forced into living without out it & it doesn’t get better with time. I know we will survive but arrgghh its not making provisioning for passages easier. Wish me luck or wish Bobby luck it maybe tins of baked beans from here on out!