Monday 16 May 2016

I am now There

Well, strictly speaking, I am Here....but Here is sitting away from  the pouring rain in a Starbucks in Bali. Why?? Well, its a long story but I am in Bali in transit to Ende in Flores to join David and Sue Richardson, of Asian Textile Studies website, for a textile tour around the lesser Sunda Islands on the Ombak Putih, or "White Wave" boat to visit remote weavers and dyers in the Indonesian archipelago. There is a pre-cruise tour which starts tomorrow from Ende.
So why am I sitting in Starbucks instead of some authentic warung eating sarapan (breakfast)? Well a short version of the long story is that I got up at 5am this morning to catch the early morning flight and it was pouring with rain, the taxi was late and I was sitting in the back of it with my eyes closed as he sped to the airport, weaving in and out of traffic faster than I felt comfortable with. I got to the airport on time, very pleased with myself, negotiated customs, got to the check in counter .....and was told my flight was tomorrow!    
Haha! Thank god for the internet. Got my ipad out, found a new hotel very close to the airport for tomorrow morning, found another taxi, managed to explain and have a laugh about it with the driver in Bahasa and arrived at the hotel....far quicker than it took for Booking.com to send them through the transaction. So, parked my luggage there, and the heavens opened up for about the third time this morning. Desperately in need of kopi hitam and because my umbrella was still packed in my luggage at the hotel, I ran into a Starbucks on the first corner I came to.
Anyway, it has been pleasant, the sun is now out, all the men are busily trying to get rid of the deluge on the roads. My coffee is almost finished and it is safe to venture out again until the next downpour.
Anyway, i am still working out how to use the Blogger app on my ipad and I don't really like it as you don't have all the assets you have when using a computer. So if my posts on my trip look bad, that's the reason. And also posting will depend on our internet connections on our travels, but I will keep you as informed as I can.
Sampai nanti!

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