2nd June - 3rd Day

Met a fellow Aussie traveller at the hotel breakfast named Michael. He's from Adelaide and was there with his buddy Gary. They are both staying at Flora Beach with me. He took me to the big shopping centre with air conditioning & fixed prices. I will go back there tomorrow and buy some stuff, but couldn't really shop with him... just looking, browsing things pretty quickly.

Iketut SMS'd me about 8 times before 10am. I sent him an SMS saying that I didn't want to go on his bike to Nusa Dua, which was what he was trying to get me to do (I was expecting to go to the local markets with him but he has a selective memory).

I then walked to Papa's Cafe which is along the beach. It took nearly an hour to get there. On the way, I met a guy named Made (may-dee).
He apparently was speaking to me the other day, but I don't remember him. He walked with me there after asking if it was ok.. I said yes, and joked that as long as he doesn't ask for money (which he didn't).
I was to meet Ama (local from Denpasar) there and his friends, but only Ama turned up. While waiting for Ama, I asked Made if he would like a drink. When Ama showed, we both asked him (Made) to stay for lunch, both intending to pay for him. Ama ended up paying for all of us! We all had the same thing - Nasi Campur (cham-pour)- Boiled Rice, Veg (mm), Tempeh, Tofu, Chicken in Satay sauce, beef, shrimp - it was delicious.

Ama is a cool guy. He gets paid Australian wage from a job he found via the internet (he has a masters degree) and lives in Bali, so he's wealthy compared to most of the locals. I will stay with him in Denpasar in his village for a couple of days.

We took a cab back to Bemo corner and Made & I walked back to my hotel. I tried to offer some money to Ama but he wouldn't hear of it - he said "Give me 1 million US dollars or nothing". He's funny and cheeky and more "himself" than others here. I gave Made my email address. He was eager to catch up again, but I don't see how it will be possible as I'm pretty booked up for the rest of my time in Kuta now and no idea whether I'll be coming back to Kuta before I go back to Australia.

I'm so tired.
I tried to have a rest when I got back to the hotel, but then I realised I didn't have long to go before the cruise, so I got ready for that instead. It took about 25 minutes to drive to the dock. I'm sitting at the dock now waiting for boarding. Tony piked out on the cruise, so I am sitting here alone for the first time since I got here. It should be a good chance to relax for a couple of hours. There doesn't seem to be any Aussies yet. Just Japanese? There are white faces, but not sure of ethnic group.

The cruise was definitely worth the money. The dinner was nice, it was a buffet of all sorts of food. I had boiled rice, beans, potatoes, chicken curry, chinese beef, roasted pepper salad, olives, etc. There wasn't any Indonesian dishes available. (?!)

They had an Indonesian singer to start the night off while we ate (singing Dido, Norah Jones, and Japanese songs). She got people up and dancing, and was very "personable".

It was supposed to be a "Sunset" dinner cruise, but we didn't see the sunset. One minute it was light, the next it was dark.

I spoke with Japanese passengers all night. None could speak English. They were all very friendly. I took their photos with their camera, and they took mine with each other.

I also spoke with a group of Aussies, although mainly one guy. I didn't get any of their names. He was there with his wife and 7-9month old baby, and a few friends.

After the Indonesian singer had finished, they had a live Cabaret show who were fantastic. 7 dancers wearing very colourful (reggae colours) clothing, bopping away to cabaret songs and Madonna. There was one who was an absolute hoot, she was filled with confidence and was always picking on one poor shy Japanese guy, she was hilarious and got everyone in tears with her lip syncing and choice of songs and actions.
After they had finished, I went to the top deck to a Trio band of electric guitar player/singers. Imagine a Spanish act of guitar players like Guantameleo, those that would normally serenade couples, and you'll picture the right type of band.

The drive back to the hotel was daunting. The driver can't speak English - he was a bloody maniac on the road with zero consideration to the safety of others on the road. I left claw marks in his seats.

Tomorrow morning I have to leave at 8am for my cooking class, so I'm having an early one tonight.

It's approx 9:30.