Bali 'shenanigans'

It is almost the end of my first week in Bali. It has not been an exact vacation, yet the pace for working has not kicked in yet.

So what has been happening?

The most major event so far, is falling sick on Wednesday. For some unknown reason, I had a really bad cash of the runs. Between 4pm to 9pm, I think I went to the toilet at least 10 times. Thankfully, things slowed down in the night and I only made two more toilet visits. But all the activity made me exhausted, so I spent Thursday morning sleeping and regaining energy.

This leads me to a small discovery: There is a Guardian pharmacy at the Bali Mal Galeria Kuta, located on the outskirts of Kuta, and they sell Po Chai Pills!

There was also the realisation that the island possibly does not sell o.b. brand tampons (only Playtax, Tampax and Safetax; Johnson&Johnson, do you hear my cry for help?!); tampons are more expensive in Bali than in Singapore; regardless of brand, contact lens solution cost about S$1 more; toilet rolls can be bought individually; the ladies here are also concerned about getting fairer skin through the use of various beauty products, and beauty products from brands like L'Oreal do not seem to be available.

The S.O. has thoughtfully purchased a year's subscription to the gym at the Sanur Beach Hotel, so that I can accompany him and his business partner on their almost daily workouts; I have bargained it to about three times a week, with the other days spent at the hotel pool instead.

The gym is undergoing some minor facelift but the equipment there is more than adequate. As for the pool, everything about it is pleasant, except for one male staff that mans the booth by the pool where hotel guests obtain their towels from.

He is friendly to hotel guests, but utterly rude to gym members even those who speak to him properly and with respect. Sure, hotel guests have paid for their stay. But an annual fee has to be paid by gym members who wish to use the hotel pool. We are all paying individuals, and what we pay to both the hotel and gym contributes to his pay. Perhaps something may have happened to cause him to be in such a miserable state. At the end, he is leading a life worse off than me. So that is some consolation.

Where food is concerned, we are both exploring the immediate area around us, because the S.O. was previously living in Sanur. We are both 'Jimbaran virgins'! But the biggest plus is knowing that we live about 5-minutes (on the motorbike) from the beach.

Tomorrow, we will be spending time in Sanur, where we will be having dinner at an Italian restaurant, by invitation of the owner himself. He has a Singaporean friend visiting Bali, and he also wants to introduce me to some people who might require my expertise. I look forward to the weekend!