Ubud Good

Had a fun dinner last night with runner Di and her husband Ron at Cafe des Artistes. They've travelled a lot and have lots of fun stories. I really enjoy Di's company. She and I ran again this morning, then met up twice more: at Bali Buddha mid-morning and at Tegal Sari in the early afternoon. (During our run Di spotted Wayan, the healer from Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Eat, Pray, Love", who she knows from previous visits to Ubud and who was also out running!) We spent time at Bali Buddha with Canadian Cat Wheeler, who is a really amazing woman-around-town and author of "Dragons in the Bath": a collection of her columns from the "Bali Advertiser" about her life (and issues) in Ubud. I've been reading this over the past week and loving it. Cat's involved in many projects aimed at helping local people become self-supporting, kids become readers, dogs become vaccinated and rabies-free, etc. I donated my security deposit on the villa, refunded by Sue, to Rotary to buy books for a mobile library for elementary schools. Good to talk with Sue over lunch. She's the incoming president of Rotary. People here all have amazing stories.

I spent some time at Tegal Sari sorting rooms for when Therese and JB visit in December. I'll do something similar for when Jules and Yvonne visit in January. Worked for two hours on the terrace.

Tomorrow I fly to Kuching, Malaysia, where I'll finish the job that has dominated my life for the past two months and start a new book for my Singapore client – my sixth (?) by this particular author!

I've really enjoyed visiting Ubud and meeting some of the locals... A fascinating place!

Hash Downs

I successfully avoided being identified as a Bali HHH2 "virgin" and having to do a down-down (skolling a full glass of beer) last night after the 958th run of the Hash at Taman Mumbul, Sangeh. There was a crowd of about 70 or so expats and locals. I got a lift with Morgan (who I met the other day at his warung, Sanjay's) and David (a computer consultant). We arrived late. I tried to stay with David, who bolted off through the jungle, but I was wary of tripping over roots so I backed off. I ended up walking the whole course with Tara, a young mum and writer from LA, who had her 19-month-old son on her back (and later her front). After three days of rain, it was a really challenging course through rice paddies, along muddy levees, over gullies and irrigation ditches, and up and down steep, slippery slopes. At one point, by a channel where some local people were taking a bath, Tara slipped and fell forward on the rocks, on to the baby. He was very lucky not to hit his head. I thought her husband, who was up ahead, was a prick for not realising the conditions were dangerous and coming back to check on them. It was the least-fun hash run I've done, but it was good to meet Tara. I got a lift back to Ubud, after the very boozy, very boorish on-on, with two Aussies, Graham and Annie. They have spent decades living in Asia, including Hong Kong when I was there. Annie was at the International School and Graham was a professor of linguistics. Others in the crowd included a documentary filmmaker who had set the previous week's run, and the consul of a European country who had been awarded a high honour for his work following the first Bali bombing (2002). I really don't like the beer culture, but you do meet some interesting people!

My run with Di yesterday morning was fabulous. We got on really well straight off. She's a graphic designer and has written a book on herbal horsekeeping. She did some horse work with Shane Gould, whose autobiography I edited. Her husband is a management consultant. They've invited me for dinner tonight at Cafe des Artistes. They have travelled widely in Europe and Asia. Amazingly, from my description, she recognised "Mr Chin" and his dog who I met while walking around and around Hanoi's Hoan Kiem lake!

I took a motorcycle "taxi" back to my villa from Di's hotel, where we'd ended our run. I have a date to go for a run in an hour with my lift, Made.

When I went to have breakfast at the warung just up the road a German woman, Amei, introduced herself. She travels five months a year and has done some amazing trips. She's off from here to head east through the island chain (Lombok, Flores, etc). She's a couch surfer, like my friend Ellen in Saigon, and is staying at Sue's place. She struck gold there! I told her about the salsa dancing at Cafe Havana and she was intrigued. I might see her there later today. She invited me to visit her just outside of Hamburg whenever I'm in Germany.

I spent a couple of hours working on the terrace.

After the hash run and lift back to town with Graham and Annie and their friend David I got a taxi to the villa, got the driver to wait while I washed off all the smelly mud, then went back to the main drag for a quick dinner at Bar Luna.

Bali Belly

My belly was very happy with last night's dinner of green papaya salad with mandarin segments, and prawn laksa.

Kopi Mamma

I like to have a routine. This morning I ran out along my road, Jalan Sri Wedari, for 20 minutes or so. We're on a ridge with drops on either side, but as the road winds up the hill it flattens out a bit. There are temples and these rice terraces at Tegallantang, lots of street dogs, and plenty of people and kids to say "Mornin!" to. This was my first run here, but I'm hoping to have another one tomorrow with a woman I chatted with yesterday morning. My new routine is to have breakfast of fresh juice and kopi, and sometimes savoury rice, at the warung three doors up. It's sort of like the Coffee Mamma van scene in Albury, complete with low plastic stools but without the lycra.

Last night I spent time with some of Ubud's literati at Bar Roma, at a literary event honouring bad-boy poet Arthur Rimbaud. There were poetry readings, a birth chart reading, performances and a couple of songs. Mention was made of the New York punk scene of the 1970s, so I felt right at home in my Chelsea Hotel T-shirt.

My main priority during this week in Ubud is to try and finish a job. I've not had much luck organising a volcano climb through various contacts, and the weather's not being very cooperative. (It's been raining for two days.) Tomorrow I'm meeting up again with the bloke who coordinates the Hash House Harriers. I spoke with Morgan and his wife Krista at their cafe out near the Bintang Supermarket the other day.

Arty Ubud

I haven't had a chance yet to see much art, though I spent a few minutes today in a small gallery that had contemporary work by a young gun whose work seems to be mostly about getting drunk. I worked into the early afternoon at the table on the terrace of the kitchen/dining pavilion, which is separate from the villa's living quarters. Discovered Warung Makan, a few doors up, which is sort of like the Coffee Mamma van for locals. I'll try it for breakfast tomorrow. Went shopping for a few groceries, and for chocolates and wine to take tonight to my landlady Sue's "American Idol" pot-luck supper. Her villa is a couple of doors up, next to the warung.

I bought a book by local author Cat Wheeler, who I've been given an introduction to by friends from Oz. I'm now going to spend an hour reading it on the terrace overlooking the rice terraces, before it gets too dark.

Flower Power

It's lovely seeing these traditional flower offerings scattered around the garden of the villa. A long day yesterday spent flying here from Sydney, during which I worked for three hours, followed by a 90-minute drive up to Ubud. I immediately had to start work on the monthly newsletter that subsidises my lifestyle. Today was also spent on that, and on getting my bearings around town. Something was very active in the rafters last night, which I found quite disturbing. Talked with Sue W, who I'm renting the villa from, briefly last night and again this morning.

Homeground!

Martyn and Joanne came up from Melbourne for my going-away party and weekend. A send-off by them, Therese, Mum, Deb and Steve, and Col and Tracey, at the airport. Lovely brunch out at Burrumbuttock at Di and Brendon's on Saturday. Thanks, everyone, for the well wishes. Stay safe yourselves.

My home away from home in Sydney these days is Australia Street Guest House (www.australiastreetguesthouse.com.au) run by photographer Anne Zahalka and her film producer husband Ian Collie. Last night Anne gave my old friend Chris M and me an artist's talk on her new series, "Homeground!", which is being exhibited outside and in three pubs in Newtown. The works are contemporary, multicultural reinterpretations of the classic old pub posters of the 1930s to 1970s. My friend Rick appears in two of them. They look wonderful. We had drinks, and a huge antipasto platter courtesy of the hotel, at the Union Hotel, where the exhibition opened.

This older work by Anne is called "The Bathers".