I’m takin’ a sickie today. I’ve got a note from my doctor.

Seriously, I had emailed my GP in Perth asking if it would do me any good to come back early, or whether I’d be better off staying here. I got her very comprehensive reply this morning and she confirms – stay, get bed rest but importantly, do the pool water walking. That’s good because I think that’s what’s fixing me up.

She also suggests a gel called diclofenac. By coincidence, I have a tube with me, it’s Voltaren. I brought it because my right shoulder and arm are painful, so it’s a happy outcome. I’ll have a hunt at the Apotek round the corner. She also recommends Tramadol for pain relief. I know about that one and I need some more, so … Looks like things will be OK.

More water walking soon, but I’m engrossed in a program on NHK TV about a Japanese motor mechanic, getting right into the mechanical stuff. This is interesting.

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From my mate with the sense of humour:

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 Well well well, interesting day today.

First, I caught the KK bus to Galeria and had another look at the bag I saw – when? Yesterday? Anyway, to cut it short, I bought it.

Nice, eh? Price was A$122.  This is what it’s replacing.

I bought that at Tangs in Singapore in 1990 or ’91. I still like it, but I like the new one better at the moment. We’ll see how it works out.

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Then I caught the KK bus back, intending to get off at the Oasis Lagoon hotel next door to Hardys. But they weren’t going to stop there, and nothing I said would persuade them otherwise. I said, “Why can’t you just stop outside Hardys and let me off, then go on?” Sorry sir, we don’t stop there. Bloody hell, their minds work in mysterious ways here at times. So I just came all the way back to Taksu.

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But ………..  on the bus I got talking to a woman – we were the only passengers.

Well, we talked and talked and talked. It turned out that she’s from Austria, and lives in Bali most of the year, at a village near Lovina. She rents a villa and has a car here. She’s got to know a family and is quite involved with them. She was in Sanur to meet them, and they were going back to Lovina this afternoon. But she had to wait, so we continued our conversation in the coffee lounge.

Cutting it short, she’s from Vienna and has done quite a bit of work overseas. She’s retired now and on her own. I think we found quite a lot in common and when it came time to part, I had no hesitation in hugging her. She’s very nice. I got strong vibes that she’d like to meet again, so … Ya never know in the big city.

Her name’s Veronika, by the way.

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I can’t find the one on the right, but the one on the left is available for about A$120. Just window shopping. It’s web mail order anyway.

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I did another 20 laps of water-walking in the pool today. Back still hurts but it feels more like a muscle pain now.