17th February, 2019
OK, I appreciate it is NOT 17/2 (it is actually 20/2), but if I don’t post this now, I suspect it will be a long time before I do, I will cover the intervening time soon, I promise.
The good news is that Val is feeling a great deal better and is on the move again. No major exercise yet, but she is walking OK and it does mean that she is no longer confined to barracks. Admittedly she has suffered some horrendous pain and is still distinctly sore, but but we are hopeful we can continue with the trip, though we might see about an MRI scan in Bali.
While she was still laid up I managed a round of golf at the Els Club on the north of the island. This was a little unexpected as it is the most expensive club out of the three on the island, but by dint of a bit of googling for deals, I managed to get a wonderful discount which made it doable and affordable. So I set off and arrived, checked in, was escorted to my buggy, where the hired clubs were and, armed with 6 golf balls (you can’t be too careful), I drove off to the first tee. The course is fabulous and with very few people on it.
So, let me talk you through the round. On the first tee I thought I would try the driver….. Only kidding (though I did use a driver – and nearly lost one of my precious balls!). Let me summarise by saying that considering I was playing a course I had never played before with clubs I had never used before, I reckon I did OK with 29 Stableford points playing off 18 handicap. I did go round in under 100! And as you can get you electronic scorecard emailed to you from the buggy, if anyone would like to have that as a memento, just let me know!
Just to mention – it was the sort of course where one is very close to nature. First encounter was with the ants in the rough, the stinging kind (but I did find the ball!). The second was nearly a lot more serious. I had parked the buggy and went off to play the next shot from the fairway only to find, on my return to the buggy, a monkey rifling through my stuff. As this consisted almost exclusively of my camera bag, I had a moment of serious panic, as it had emptied the contents (camera, spare battery, various cables and my phone) out and, disgusted that there was no food, was sauntering off. I could not see the camera initially, so you can appreciate my language for a second or two. Thereafter, the bag went with me wherever I went.
The next day Val felt well enough for a drive around the island. We headed north and stopped for a coconut (yes, we still try to have one a day) at a beach, where it transpired the Malaysian Inter-State Petanque championships were being held. All slightly surreal!
We did stop by the Kraft Komplex, but nothing special and we are certainly not in the market for more purchases.
We have had dinner in various venues from some quite up-market Western restaurants to stall food and have largely enjoyed it all. Val is, of course, on the look out for various dishes and treats from her youth (kuey or traditional Malay sweets seem particularly elusive). The price difference is astonishing, ranging from about £40 for the two of us (Val did have crabs) to £3 for 3 dishes and a couple of cokes at the stalls. It is not too far to get to either of the two main centres. Kuah on the south-east side is more traditional and less touristy and we found a good Chinese restaurant there. The west side of the island features the very touristy Pantai Cenanag, with lots and lots of all sorts of restaurants and, of course, the beach. We finally turned up in time for a sunset – I am sure you have all been wondering why the sunset photos have been so lacking, but worry not, the waiting is over!!
OK, time to post this and start on the next one – work, work, work!!!
More soon.
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