My day with Ina

Ina and I

Let me start by saying, not only is Ina my landlady, but she's a total sweetheart. I met her on my second day in town. She immediately took me under her wing, made me feel so welcome, rented me a scooter for half the cost of the original one I got in town with poncho included, gave me a cell phone to use while here and got me a Bali sim card, and then proceeded to show me around town! Her mantra is: Don't Worry.

Randomly I went over to her place (right next door) one morning to ask a question and she invite me out for a day on the town! First she brought me to her husbands favorite restaurant: Bali Buddha. It's reasonably priced, beautifully indoor/outdoor  decorated with red and purple against the natural wood.

Bali Buddha

I ate the BEST food I've had on my journey so far. Can't wait to go back and eat it again!

Crispy Sprouts/nuts, Tempeh and Tofu, Sweet Onions, peanut sauce, red rice, spinach and local greens, and toasted young coconut served on a banana leaf and some other leaf! YUM

Ina showed me where the best supermarket is: Bintang! These are quail eggs.

After we went to the supermarket and brought home all our goodies, Ina wanted to show me her favorite market in Sukawati. So we geared up and took the 45 minute drive on our scooters down to the market. Ina was a great resource to have there! She told me about what prices she can get on items I was interested in, and she showed me how she bargains. Whenever I bargained she gave me space, and I did pretty well for myself! (see earlier post on the art of bargaining)

Ina performing "the Walk-Away", to her success.

A view of the street in front of Sukawati Market. Everywhere in Bali that there is any hint of traffic or parking problems there's usually one or two of these guys lingering around to help direct the flow.

Go Parking Dudes!

After we got home from Sukawati, Ina and I made dinner together. She taught me how to cook Indonesian BBQ fish and chicken wrapped in banana leaves and spices, and I showed her how to make a California-style salad with Feta, avocado, bell peppers, mushrooms, crazins, cucumber, and my special caramelized nuts. She said she's excited to learn things to cook for her husband that aren't spicy!

After dinner Ina wanted to make "cake". So I'm super confused as to why we're boiling potatoes and the batter we're making is super thin and full of eggs and milk and sugar. Sometimes there's a language gap that's hard to bridge, so I just go along. Then we're grating the potato into the batter. In the end we pour it into cupcake tins and steam it in a boiling pot. Add some raisins and presto. Here's the result:

...Cake

Ina's cat, the new Jesse in my life ;)

Thanks Ina, for talking me into your heart and home and giving me one of the best days of my journey. You're beautiful!

Final Days in Thailand

 Raman, Rikke, Mads, and I. The rest of my all too short time in Thailand, 

I spent relaxing and enjoying the company of my 3 friends. They are such easy company. 

Some bazaar fruit.

Hand carved soaps at the night market. They smell so nice.

Every night we’d go to the night market, sight see, bargain, and eat great food. On my final day we went sunbathing at a pool and ate lots of exotic ice cream. My flight to Bali was broken up in 2 sections: Chiang Mai to Phuket, sleep in a hotel, then 6:20am Phuket to Bali. Before needing to get on my flight to Phuket, I had a few hours to kill. So what did I do? What any sane person with time to kill in Thailand would do: get a massage! This was my 3^rd massage in Thailand. I’ve had foot massage (which unadvertised is just mostly feet, and always includes arms legs shoulders and head), Thai massage (prepare to become a pretzel), and this one was back/shoulders/head/face. Oh man, this one was the best one yet. At first I was a bit worried because I was waiting 20 minutes with Mads who was receiving massage next to me before the therapist showed up.  Then 2 guys came in. I wasn’t expecting this. This is the first time I’ve ever seen male massage therapists in Thailand, and I was a little uncomfortable with the idea at first, but soon my fears were put to rest.  At first this guy was going soooo soft like he was afraid I’d break. But I was finally able to communicate “more pressure” to him and after that it was the best massage I’d had in Thailand. And talk about the best way to send me off from the country.

That night I flew into phuket and had a short 4 hour sleep at Dee’s Bungalows, th sister hous to Naiyang Cottage. They are very good quality for 800B /night in the beach area. Big cozy bed, AC, hot shower, kitchenette… if only I had more than 4 hours there.

This is why I'm excited about my toilet:

 The standard Thai toilet. Squat and aim, folks.

Oh and the hose is your toilet paper.

 All too soon the taxi driver was knocking on my door. Thank God for this, as my alarm had failed to go off and I would have missed my flight! So I gave my driver a good tip for that.

And now here I am, flying out of Thailand and eating chips that Lays should make in the States. It makes me sad. This country is so wonderful. I can’t wait to come back. I feel like I was just starting to get the hang of it all. 10 days is way too short, but it was so worth it. I am excited for my new adventures, and I can’t wait to come back.

PS. check out the Ko Phi Phi post again, I added pictures. And make sure to watch the link to the Muay Thai Boxing.