Voogs travelling Blog for all my family and friends and
fellow diabetics.
Sorry peoples I have tried to add some photos but they wont, download, will have to wait for better internet connection. Am at a internet cafe....Drinking expresso in an Italian/Balinese cafe....
So at least I can add the text, I'll see how it uploads, crossing fingers!!!
Friday 31st May 2013 Gold Coast Queensland Australia
to Denpasar Bali Indonesia
I had a shuttle bus booked at 5.45 a.m (still dark) to pick
me up at my place and that was great, no fuss, no stress (effects my bsl’s) to
the Brisbane airport, checking in (my bag was over the weight limits and I had
to take out all the books I was taking over for Robyns lil Bali children she
teaches) Dam! And then going thro customs wasn’t a problem
(with me carrying meds/sharps) till I got to unpacking my back pack and
computer, put my phone and wallet in the tray to go thro the scanner, when I
realised my blood sugar level machine was gone!
I had gone to the ladies (checked my blood sugar lvls) (Oh and it was
good) and then got a coffee and only had my back turned for maybe 30 seconds
and it was either taken or it was dropped (I don’t think so, my BSL machine and
I are attached at the hip). So I left customs
and back tracked my steps, even looking in bins, no meter, yes I did notify the
airport security/office but it never turned up.
Luckily I had taken 2 (kits) and the other was in my luggage. Phew!
Good advice to have 2 sets of everything, insulins/meds/bsl kits…..Cos
you need them!
Leaving Australia to Bali Indonesia is about a 6 hour
flight, and it dragged a bit, (no inflight movies) luckily I had a book. Oh and of course there was a baby on the
flight and YES she (mother) had the seat next to me (just my luck!) , the baby
only fussed a couple of times I mean it was so long that I wanted to fuss! Mum
was so stressed worried what people would think/act that her flight was a
misery. I could eat the light lunch (curry = no sugar/carbs) and chocolate
(saved for later if I have a hypo (low blood sugar levels) = bsl
We circled a few times before landing, and the views (I had
a window seat) are just spectacular, the Island Uluwatu just under Bali has
souring cliffs and terraced rice fields, the most amazing emerald green waters
I have ever seen! ( Im going to go to a tour for half day there soon)!
So getting thro customs, (gosh what a rickety old place) even
tho I had declared that I had foodstuffs /meds on me was just waved thro, and
those poor people who hadn’t declared anything where all being searched and
probably still stuck there!
My driver was waiting for me with a card held up that said
‘Vicki Hayes’ I thought it looked familiar and realised it was me! Ha ha ha was
looking for a Voogs. Its like papparatzi
all the taxis and drivers there with there haggling for passengers! Your brain just goes into shock! Just like
BAM your in bali! My driver just whooshed me thro it all (he deserved the tip I
gave him) His fee was only $15 so I gave him an extra $5! Oh and the traffic was just nearly at standstill
bludy bumper to bumper, I went into another yaw dropping shock at the all the
cars that drive thro red lights and just stay in the middle of the
intersection, the huge amount of traffic and the hundreds of gazillions of
motor scooters that weave in and out and even up on the footpaths, whole
familys on one lil bike! No helmets, even saw one girl on the back of a bile
with 2 dining chairs. Mums and babies
just casually sittin on the back, lah lah lah…swerving in and out of the
traffic!
My lil villa is really quite sweet, a mix of Balianese and
Western, its nice and cool with aircon/fan (its 32 deg outside) (feels like 42) but
bearable as used to hot muggy weather in Queensland. My little 1 bedroom bungalow has a lovely
little garden with a plunge pool and Balinese out door settings and finishes, kitchen
(with a sink that is 500 years old and never seen a scourer) the bed is hard
foam and the pillow is a rock! Nice cane
furniture and some old Balinese furniture and carved mirrors and wall art. I thought I was having cable t.v but no the
dish is broken, thought I was getting fast free wifi, but no that is down thos
can get a dribble of it getting up before dawn outside. Internet is a government run thing here not private
company providers that we get, so your at the mercy of gov. workers ect. It is always a holiday here and I may get a
technician here in 2 ..24 hours (a couple of days) but Im not really thinking
they will come soon after all it is bali!
Ive been venturing
out into the local street, walking (jalan jalan) its so amazing, a huge culture
shock! There is just shop after shop as
far as you can see! The hussle an bustle of all the people and scooters and
guys all sit on the side of the road urging you to go into the shops, rent
their motor cycle or taxi. Its bedlam! Theres
1000’s of small shops, mostly small nooks selling souvenirs, shoes and bags and
clothing and cheap dvd’s ($1 each) and carvings, everything Balinese. Ive bought a few bead necklaces (about $4
each) (oh and one that cost $20 as I gave him the wrong note and he didn’t tell
me) (more on money mistakes later) and some sarongs, the fabrics are just
gorgeous, the foods looks amazing thos I have to be really careful what I eat
and was recommended a place by the ‘boss lady’ who looks after all the little
villas here. (more on foods later).
The heady smell of the incense and Hindi music and traffic
noise and just the richness, humidity, heat and ‘differentness’ has me with a headache! I have to find a chemist (drugstore) to get
some test strips for the other machine (blood sugarl lvl test kit) I had in my
luggage. As I only had spare strips for
the machine that got ‘lost’. A Balinese
chemist doesn’t look like a western one here, theres no advertising or window
display of our popular brands, the ones that I thought looked like chemists
have Chinese medicines and eventually I found a ‘Farma’ (from pharmacy western
type chemist) that the chemist spoke perfect English, she even kept the brand
of meter that I had (Accu-chek) and I could order in the test strips. ( maybe
in 2 days time as is a ‘holiday’ here)… In Australia we get all our diabetes
bits and pieces/meds ect free. Not so in Bali, cost me $90 odd for 2 small
boxes of 50 strips. Luckily I had some
sense to go look for the strips on the first day here and make sure I had
enough to get me through the wait till she can get me some new ones, plus
having kept aside a few dollars for ‘emergency’. I did get some head ache tablets too ($12 for
10 capsules iboprofin), they come in the foil, no boxes! So anyone with buying Balinese meds would
really have to label them themselves. To
all and any Diabetics reading this….Be prepared, yes take two whole kits of
your injections/meds/any other meds you may take with spare test strips and with
splitting your insulin into 2 sets, one in your luggage and one on you in your
bag. I used the small plastic ice packs
you put in the freezer in a lunchbox with my insulin and into the fridge when I
arrived to my rooms. Never let your bag out of your sight, not for one
second. My bsl meter looks like a wallet
(black zip up) from a bit in my bag, maybe someone thought it was my travelling
‘cash’ and then just dumped it in a bin when they saw the kit, baaaaaad karma
to that person is what they say here!
Finding food is, or could be a worry for anyone here, let
alone a diabetic. We hear that street
food can give you ‘bali belly’ with visiting diarrhea ect. It is also nil to mouth that you don’t check,
like NO of their water at all, don’t even brush your teeth with their
water! So I packed a couple of days
supply of ‘my’ food just incase like tinned tuna, my fave diet biscuits,
musellli bars, juice boxes, nuts, tea and coffee. This proved to be a life saver, as it was
late and getting dark when I finaly worked up the courage to head out on to the
main street to look for some dinner, hoping just to get some takeaway (was
tired just wanted to eat at home)……No theres no ‘take away’ as we know. There are restaurants sure but I didn’t know
at the time that they do take away but you have to ask. They can also be expensive and charge
‘western’ prices but you do get to know which ones (they look western and very
ultra modern) and the local ones, they look Balinese and the dead give away is
they are full of western looking people who have already heard of them. So the first night I went back to my lil
villa and yes had my ‘supplies’ to get a good nights dinner. Venturing out the next day to explore my food
options and find a ‘bitang’ supermarket.
The thing is here is to talk to people, I just ‘hello’ to a
few western looking people (there are loads of single women here (like me) and
if they answer in English you can ask directions. If they seem knowledgeable ask them a few
more! So I know know where the western
style ‘bitang’ supermarket is and yes there is fresh veggies, cold meats, milk,
yogurts, cheese, eggs ect. Plus I know
how much to pay a ‘bemo’ taxi driver to get to Denpasar market when I want to
go, plus a good place to get some lunch.
The supermarket is another ‘jaw dropper’ it has a huge array of Asian
items which are so much fun to try and work out what they are plus also the
western products, all the staff speak basic English and the checkout girls will
help you with the money, which is hard to get used to as it has so many 0’s
like 4 extra you have to take off to get it to an approximate AUD amount. So my shopping came to $250, 000 rupia which is about $25 when you
take all the 0’s off, but then you have to count out about 10 different notes
to all add up to the 1000’s, so easy to get confused, so brush up on your math
skills as not all Balinese will tell you your handing them a $100 you think is
a $10. Like one bead necklace I handed him the wrong note and he didn’t tell
me….Bad Karma as they say here about him.
My ‘kitchen’ thos it has a small gas camping stove and fridge and water cooler (that also has
boiling water too (what a bonus)) has no cooking implements and only a wee fry
pan, but ist does have a microwave. I
have to find a good source of prepared foods for dinner. I am asking a few people but they are still
directing me to the café (went to the Seminyak café for an egg omelette the
first day but charge you western prices) I cant afford to go to restaurants
every day, Ill run out of money. My
‘boss lady’ Sari who manages all the villas here told me of a place that is
just up the road past the supermarket, so I venture off again to explore. Im lost so I ask in a shop the girl who Im
chatting with about a top I just love (may still buy) tells me its even further
up. Oh am thinking, we say ‘just up the
road’ is a few minutes to us, to them its like half an hour, he he he he. I find the restaurant and oh nooooo’s its
food in bay maries (trays sitting in hot water)! I just stood and watched for a bit just could
not get my head around this odd looking Balinese food, its tags are in English but theres no way
that looks like chicken to me! They are selling it so fast the trays are being
re plenished constantly ( the place is full of western people) so I know It
hasn’t been sitting there all day getting toxic. So I buy some, some noodles
and the ‘chicken’ ($2) If I get ‘bali belly’ well I have the drugs for it I
purchased before I left home. So I
‘nuked’ it in the microwave for dinner and boy oh boy was it delicious! No I didn’t get sick and am heading back for
more tomorrow, I’ll buy enough different things for the whole day…..YUM Im happy I have my food organised. Oh and after testing my bsl’s after eating
they where fine, no spike, no extra insulin, I am very happy!
Im sitting out in my lil garden, its 3am hoping to get some
internet, (plus its cool) well its 5 am my time but its 2 hours behind
here. I bought some candles (very cheap
not even $1 for 2 big ones) thought I’d be a bit ‘exotic’ he he he he. Well no internet (why am I not
surprised). Im having a coffee and had
to buy a coffee mug yesday at the ‘bitang’ and thought how pretty, they all
have lids! So am typing away and look at
my coffee and theres sawdust all over the table, little mounds of it, so I look
up and theres geckos (lizards) on the roof!
Its gecko poo!!!! All in my
coffee and now I know why there are lids! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!
Gosh I want my internet so bad, I’ll try to find an internet
café this morning. I want to post this
long message on my blog with some photos and my family must be a bit worried as
I am trying to keep in contact with them as much as I can….Single female (plus
a diabetic type 1) in a foreign county. But its all good and learning new
things all the time …….
RULES
To always double check/count your money when purchasing, * Always
have emergency foods on hand, * Have 2 full sets of meds/injects/kits, learn
not to rely on your bsl meter in case you don’t have one so be ‘body
aware’, *Never
ever turn your back on your hand bag!!!!! Even in
a ‘western’ airport! Thieves are thieves
any place and get loads of bad Karma! * To
source out a chemist/’Farma’/doctor soon as you arrive, * Find reliable food supplies
(supermarket), *Find
a ‘safe’ source of ‘take away’ foods and get enough for the whole day, *Never
drink their water, remember to even
brush your teeth with bottled water, and for god sakes don’t stand under the
shower gargling the water! *Wash
your socks and undies out each morning, they take 2 days to dry in this
humidity and theres no department store to go buy some more, *Our few minutes’ is more like their half an hour, so wear
comphy shoes, your in for a long walk! *BYO headachache pills, *Always
carry some tissues (toilet paper) *see picture UGGGGG!, *You
will need 3 power point adapters, not 1!!!! *‘2
… 24 hours’ till the internet technician comes to fix my internet may be a
week. * Oh and never leave your coffee cup without
its lid off outside.
Travelling tips and guide for everyone. Useful ideas to make your journey less stressful and more enjoyable.
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