Besakih Beach Resort. The water is too warm.

Pretty bad night last night. The pain was up to 9/10 around midnight. I was groaning so much I went and sat outside for 90 mins or so. I took as much Tramadol as I dared and it does work, but it just dulls the pain.

This morning it’s much better. It’s still aching just to remind me but it’s OK. But I’m feeling so woozy! My eyes are not following my head. I  assume this is the hangover from the Tramadol. I just want to go back to bed but they’re cleaning the room and painting part of the ceiling. Not now, please.

A guy is also in the bathroom fixing the safety rail. I hardly put any pressure on it but it just pulled away from the wall. So much for safety.

9pm —  another night in Paradise. If you have to be laid up on the bed, this is not a bad place to be. Still no pain, but lots of blood. Cross fingers.

Sanur at dawn. (C) PJ Croft 2014

Aaaaaarrrrrgh! Kidney stone! Damn. It started this morning about 9am and it’s still going on as I write this at 6pm. Obviously the pain is bearable to be able to sit up, but I’ve taken two Tramadol and they seem to be working to dull the ache. Feeling pretty woozy though. I can take the next two at 7.30pm so I hope they’ll keep me going.

The hotel will call a doctor for me if I need it at a cost of 1 million rupiahs, about A$92, but it’s not intense enough yet. If I have to I’ll go to the Bali International Medical Centre by taxi. But not yet.

We’ve moved hotels to the Besakih Beach Resort. We’re sharing a room again. This hotel feels much nicer than the other one and by sharing, the cost is the same. They are really trying hard here and are very friendly. I told the room boy I was in pain and soon afterwards I had a visit from a woman, who I think was a marketing person. She asked me if the room is OK and enquired about my pain, so word had been passed. That’s good.

So, not much to report today, except that Hardy’s looks as if its been spruced up since 2011. It looks good now instead of the chaos it was. I asked about getting new glasses made but they want a week to make them, so no luck there.

And I looked in on the DVD store and it seems much neater too. I found a DVD of the new SF movie Interstellar and grabbed one excitedly, but they said “It’s not a good transfer, sir”, meaning someone’s pointed a camera at a cinema screen. No thanks. They’re all Rp 10,000 or about $9.20. Seems higher than 2011? (No, Rp10,000 is 92c !)

Then it was to the Guardian chemist nearby to buy pain relief. They had Tramadol no problem at Rp 50,000 for 10, so I bought three strips. It’s in foil and seems to have worked. I asked if they had oxycodone as I was in a lot of pain but they couldn’t supply that one. Not surprising.

Time to try to eat some food – I haven’t eaten all day. Cloudy evening but no rain, I’m afraid. I was really hoping for the daily thunderstorms.

Gunung Agung © PJ Croft 2014

Aaaah, back in beautiful Bali. It feels like coming home. I wish it was home.

As predicted, yesterday Saturday 22 November was a long hard day for me. Up at 5.30am (I woke early) and packed ready by 6.45am for the van to the airport. Saying goodbyes to the lovely staff. This hotel has been excellent.

Ugh, the van to the airport was pretty grubby and old. Bench seats for small Vietnamese. But the drive to the airport was really interesting, seeing much more of Hanoi than I had before. A huge flower market, for example, and buffalo in the fields. Plenty to see, in other words, at 40Kmh in the traffic. Nice drive.

The airport only has one terminal and it was packed. We had a long wait in a queue, the reason seeming to be simply that everything took so long for the computer to respond.

Once finally checked in (my case came in at 19.5Kg) we wondered where to go next. We thought we should go through doors marked B1 something. A woman in army uniform smiled and beckoned us in. We found ourselves in a room with a giant X-ray machine, big enough to put a couple of bodies through at once. I hefted my stuff onto the conveyor, but was then told no, no, and we were shown out again. Why were we in there? Why had she beckoned us in? We’ll never know.

We finally realised that we needed to find Gate 5, and after getting through the crowds, there it was. Immigration and we’re through. Not as friendly this time, no smiles. That’s OK lady, I’m leaving.

More security checks and we’re through into a different world of high class shops and duty free shops. We had a fair while to wait so I bought a bottle of vodka for US$17 to use up my remaining dong (dong!). I still had a wad of about 350,000 left and as it’s useless outside Vietnam, I handed it to the duty free girls and said, “Here, for you, buy a dinner for your family.” That got a surprised and pleased reaction. It made me feel good, so …

Phew, that bottle made my already heavy carry-on bag even heavier. I carry my camera bag with three camera, plus my CPAP equipment in my carry-on. This time I had my laptop in there too, so with the 1litre vodka it really added up. Finally we were past the boarding pass check and down the tunnel. But then it was down four flights of metal steps to a waiting bus! Uuuugh, this is hard for me.

Then we had to climb a stairway into the aircraft. I was last up because I really battle with steps and my heavy bag made it very hard going. I got there, puffing and panting. It was a 3hr 20min flight to Singapore and we got a full meal, very nice too. Airbus A330 I think.

Singapore at 3pm and a rush to the toilet. I was busting! Just made it. Bloody immaculate toilets, Changi Airport class. This has to be the world’s best airport. Everything is just top of its class. It makes Perth look like a country airstrip terminal.

Skytrain to change to terminal 2 (Jan had gone on ahead) and more long walking even to reach a travellator. Bloody hell, these places are big. Got to Gate E11, then found I didn’t have my boarding pass so had to go back again to the transit lounge to check in again. Bought something for my persistent cough and chest gurgles as well.

Finally onto our plane, and it was bloody huge, and crowded. I realised it was a Boeing 777-200. I’ve never been on a 777 before. I can’t say I liked this one, not at all. There are no individual air vents and all the power went off for about 5 mins, aircon and all. Ugh! The seat pitch was noticeably tighter than Vietnam Airlines and both of us felt cramped. We were over the wing and had no window, just a blank wall. Not too happy. At least my seat belt fitted, no extension needed. And I could just get my tray table down. We got a full service meal, even though it was only a 2hr 10min flight. With that number of passengers, 10 across and absolutely full, that was pretty fast work.

The in-seat entertainment device was hopeless again, constantly stopping and going blank. The picture quality is execrable for a digital system. Very poor effort, Singapore Airlines.

Arrived at Bali airport around 9pm and it was into the new terminal building, new since I was last here in about May 2011. Time has flown. My cardio problems have stopped me travelling, but it seems to be a non-issue now. I hardly get any palpitations or flutters, thank goodness. If I didn’t feel so weak, I’d be well OK. But if I could lug that heavy bag up those steps without any chest pains at all, I must be OK. Visa on Arrival is US$35 now. Hmmm.

The hotel is a disappointment. That’s what I get for choosing a cheapie, I guess. It’s A$57 a night, versus A$110 for one I’ve stayed at before and liked a lot. This one is basic, clean but old, no frills, old towels, clunky hand shower that won’t stay in place, only a stool, no chair and so on. Breakfast was basic, a tiny glass of fruit juice, fruit, no choices, two eggs and only one small rasher of bacon. Boring coffee. Not a good start.

Sunrise over Nusa Penida Copyright PJ Croft 2014

And it’s 400m walk to the beach! I thought this place was right on the beach. Bugger. It’s almost enough to make me want to change hotels, but then I think of the packing and lugging of bags again. No, it’ll have to do.

So now it’s our final laid back rest from our big trip before home (next Sunday 30th). This has been a huge trip, an amazing trip, but gee it’s hard going at times. It’ll be easy this week. I must look up my friends in Bali with another surprise visit.

Yudhie’s restaurant. © PJ Croft 2014

Get me to the church on time.

Another quiet day. It’s been very smoggy today, not hot or cold or wet, just smoggy and grey. We’ve had marvellous weather right through this trip and this is no different, cool, dry and pleasant.

See what I mean? There’s just a constant stream of things comin’ at ya, wrong side of the road or not. Jan says just ignore them and walk confidently. Yeah, easy to say.

The food is nice but my taste buds seem to demand chili and spices these day and I’m not getting them. I’m finding the food bland. It’s not that it’s bad, not at all, it’s just Vietnamese food, and although you get a little bowl of dipping sauce, I want chili and I can’t seem to make them understand.

I ordered a starter and a main last night but the starter, fresh (ie non-fried) spring rolls never arrived. That’s OK, I always regret ordering too much. Their gin and tonics are $4 approx and seem to be about 50/50% gin and tonic. Aaaah.

Buildings seem stacked and stacked. Considering this is a flood plain and the freeway to the airport is a dyke … wait until I’m outa here.

We’re off to Bali tomorrow, leaving here at 1045am on Vietnamese Airlines to Singapore, then a three hour wait until a Singapore Airlines flight to Denpasar, getting in about 9pm. It’ll be a long day. Jan meditates, so he’ll be OK in Singapore airport.

We’re staying at a beach hotel up near the top end of Sanur, the Puri Kelapa. We’ve got separate rooms again. Five weeks of sharing a cabin and rooms for two guys who like a bit of solitude. No problems, though.

I spoke to my cousin here about the chest infection he’s had for 6 weeks. It’s streptococcus F apparently, and requires a specific antibiotic. I don’t know the name yet but I hope I’ll be able to obtain some in Bali. On the other hand, I’m already taking the a/b the doc gave me last Monday so I’d better not meddle.

Jan’s arranged hotel transport to the airport at 0730 tomorrow for US$19 for the two of us, so that’s good value. Up at 0600.

Making headstones

The woman above is painstakingly using a scalpel to remove pre-cut sections of the white plastic film on a blank piece of stone/ The sections are in intricate patterns and lines which form the decoration on the gravestone. A photo of the deceased person is put in the middle and sealed with a plastic cover. You can see examples in the background. I assume the stone is acid etched in the areas where the film has been removed.

I watched her for a couple of minutes and she ignored me, even when I took this photo. But when I moved off she tried to grab my attention as if to want to sell me one of her headstones. Aaaah, no thanks, not right at this moment.

Hmmm, a very quiet day today. I’m still suffering a bit with my chest infection and minor tummy rumbles, enough that I didn’t want to go out.

To be honest I’m travel fatigued. This place is fantastic, as I’ve said, but walking on the streets is so difficult and hazardous that I’m afraid to do too much. The footpaths are clogged with bikes so you have to walk on the road, and the rushes of air as another car of scooter goes past put the wind up me, so to speak.

As well, the constant importuning to buy something is like Bali in the old days, except this is high density and high intensity.

Last day tomorrow.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

I’ve spent a very quiet day today, working on this blog (I lost a draft at one stage and wasted time retrieving it). But mainly I’m still feeling very washed out. I’m sleeping poorly – due to my chest, still wheezing and crackling. My cousin said he’s had his infection for six weeks so far.

There’s a set of scales in the room and if they’re to be believed, I’ve lost more than 10Kg. It wouldn’t be surprising, I’m eating less, missing meals and walking more. My hands and arms seem noticeably scrawnier. I know, it’s hard to believe, and I’m having trouble myself.

I’m also working on my ProShow production. I know you don’t want to watch my stuff, but you’ll be missing something. It looks magnificent. I’m just inserting hi-def video clips of the Shanghai Mag-Lev train at the moment. I shot pieces up to 1 min long but I have to chop them up into 5-10 sec segments, only retaining the steady and relevant bits. It’s slow painstaking work. I have hundreds of clips of this trip along with hundreds of still images. All have to be selected, worked over and resized.

One thing I don’t like about Hanoi is the bloody car horns! They blow their horns for any reason at all, loudly, repeatedly, often. It drives me nuts. The noise is virtually constant. They’re loud, too, with specials, obviously tricked up to be trendy. I won’t miss that. There’s a bloody car alarm going off and it’s been going for half an hour! I’ve had to close the window but I can still hear it.

As well there’s an intermittent loudspeaker voice announcement. What about? I have no idea. I saw its source yesterday, it’s a big horn speaker near the lake. And there’s a woman singer faintly repeating a phrase over and over in the distance, every 10 seconds or so. That get’s a bit wearing. It’s not there all the time.

But I do hear roosters crowing. That’s nice, I haven’t heard those in years. And the street vendors’ ting ting ting on their bottle or bell. I know all this because the window’s open. It’s not warm enough to have the air-con running and I like the fresh air.

Dinner now, and TV. They have satellite or cable in the room with 55 channels! Most are in Vietnamese, of course, but there’s an English movie channel and CNN. I have a good book as well.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

I’m a bit tempted to think, “Phew, only 12 days to go”, but I know it’s only the illness talking. Luckily I get enormous enjoyment out of doing this computer work so I don’t mind being a bit confined.

I did go out walking yesterday for nearly an hour, reaching the Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s not far. It’s quite picturesque – it’s a pity I couldn’t do it justice.

I stopped at a lakeside restaurant for lunch and ordered a chicken sandwich. I was surprised to receive a huge triple decker with a fried egg, salad and cheese in the middle, side salad and chips (to which I added salt). It was a full meal. Very nice, although their bread tends to be too white and too sweet for me. Beautiful lime juice, total 120,000 dong or $6.54. Can’t complain about that. (The exchange rate is A$1 = D18,365 approx. There are no coins and the smallest note is 1,000 dong or 5.5c.)

Tyred out before lunch

Then at 6pm it was time for dinner with my cousin who is stationed here. He lives in an obviously better area in a very fine colonial era house with a police guard at the front. I got out of the taxi and approached the gates, expecting to find an intercom. But the guard was having none of me. I couldn’t understand what he was saying but he wouldn’t announce me. I gathered he wanted ID but my passport is in the hotel safe. I pulled out my WA Driver’s Licence. He peered at it in the semi dark and it seemed to pass the test, so he pressed the buzzer and seconds later my cousin was there to let me in.

The first thing I noticed was a massive pair of QUAD electrostatic loudspeakers with matching QUAD amp and CD player. Wow. These are legendary. You can buy stuff like that here, but you wouldn’t find anything even close in Perth.

My cousin was suffering just like me from a chest infection so we walked only 200m to a nearby Italian restaurant where he knows the owner. Neither of us had a big appetite so it was antipasto with Italian cheese and a large mixed aperitif drink that kicked like a horse. It was a little bitter for my taste, but an experience.

Then spaghetti marinara cooked in a kind of pastry crust, full of small clams and prawns. Delicious.

Finally zabaglione – warm, specially made. I tried a bit – too sweet for me but nice. With a couple of hours of good conversation it was a good night. Thanks mate.

Monday 17 November 2014

The hotel made the appointment for me at the Family Medical Practice Hanoi at 11am as requested, called the taxi for me and instructed the driver. No problems.

When I got there I found you have to go up two steep flights of stairs and feeling the way I did, that was hard, but I got there. I had to wait nearly 3/4 hr (just like at home /:( but eventually I got in to see Dr Brian. He’s an Irishman. I described how low I am feeling, weak and washed out. After some talk, I had blood taken (expertly! first go) and another 30 min wait for the results. They have their own lab in the building.

He called me in again – result – chest infection, different antiobiotic to the one I’m taking, and too low sodium level. That was a surprise. I need to eat more salt, add salt to my food. Wow. BP was 137/60, by the way. Pretty good, I reckon.

He prescribed several medications for me, all dispensed from the in-house pharmacy, all looking absolutely kosher in proper packaging, carefully labelled.

All this cost a fair bit – his fee was $60, the lab tests cost $110 and the meds added $90 for a total of US$238. Lucky they took Visa.

See what I mean? This is typical of the streets around here, but in other areas it’s much more open and normal.

So back to the hotel, getting quite an interesting tour from the taxi on the way. This is a great place, a wide range from total chaos, like in the street outside my room, to a Rolls Royce showroom! Huge classy hotels to ultra cheap but nice looking hotels. Sophisticated Italian dining to hawker food. Classy clothes shops to jam packed little crevices. I love it.

And I’m even a little cold. It’s cool and dry, perfect weather.

We ate around the corner with beers at $1.80 for 500ml and a gin and tonic for $4. Jan’s off to Ha Long Bay tomorrow. I can’t go due to my illness but also because I need mains power for my CPAP machine to sleep. Can’t do, I’m afraid.

The view out the room window.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Pretty boring day, I’m afraid, as I can’t remember much except resting and doing this blog. Still feeling pretty crook.

By 8pm I felt awful, weak, tired out and pretty low in mood. I was wondering whether I could keep going. Even to fly home would have needed wheel chairs, I felt. I asked my cousin and he told me the name of the good doctor to go to tomorrow. Will do.

Imagination. Beijing.

Saturday 15 November 2014

Today we left Beijing, not sorry to go. Our flight wasn’t until 1545 but we ordered the taxi for 10am, happy to get going.

We’re flying Vietnam Airlines Beijing to Hanoi. Absolutely amazing – if you’d told me forty years ago I’d be flying between these two cities, I wouldn’t have believed you.

We had a long boring wait to check in but then had to go through the most thorough, intrusive, almost rude bag and body search I’ve ever had. They looked at everything! I had toothpaste – they smelt it. Shampoo? No! And I had to take my cameras out of their bag and put them through the X-ray scanner again. I had coins in my carry on bag – obviously I should have declared them – disapproving look, and so on and on. The guy with the metal detector went over every inch of me, between my legs, everywhere. There was no courtesy. It was cold and rude. Not surprisingly, they didn’t find anything on me, although I’d earlier remembered to move a pair of scissors from carry-on to suitcase, luckily.

Then airside and a loo stop, at last. Then a Starbucks! Maybe I can get a decent coffee and sandwich? Not a chance. The coffee was insipid and the chicken/cheese/tomato sandwich, wrapped in paper, expected to be crisp, was inside wrapped in Glad Wrap and was a soggy mess. It all cost about $8.50. Aaaarrrgh.

When we reached the departure lounge, what a surprise. From our sunny clear morning drive to the airport, it was as if Big Daddy had said, “OK, guys, you can start the factories and power stations up again now. APEC’s over.” The smog had descended and we could hardly see the planes on the tarmac.

So finally onto the near new A330 and I was very pleased to find the seat spacing greater than normal, such that I could nearly get the tray down. But then the guy in front of me, with all his extra space in the exit row, reclined his seat. Bastard. We had a spare seat in the middle so it was OK.

Three and a half hours later and we were going through Hanoi immigration. I’d been warned that Hanoi airport is notorious for being “po faced” but I was delighted when a gorgeous young immigration lady in immaculate green uniform smiled and asked if I was OK. (Obviously, I have been looking quite sick and exhausted.) I said yes, I’m OK, but thanks for asking and got another nice smile. Great introduction.

Our hotel driver was there as promised and we were off on a hairy, scary drive to the city. Wow. Blare your horn. Flash your lights, weave from lane to lane, force the other guy out of the way, never give an inch. This is worse than Jakarta as the speeds are much higher. It became chaotic as we got into the old area and suddenly, surprisingly, we were outside this very narrow white doorway and here we were. The Oriental Central City Hotel, 30 Hang Bac St, Hoah Kiem Old Quarter.

Very modern, but very traditional, with a fabulous greeting and a fruit smoothie, but unfortunately also a long talk about where we were on the map, what to see and do, where to go, what not to do and on and on. Enough, not now.

Then it was up to the room on the top floor, where we got a shock. A Junior Suite with Window included a double bed. We both recoiled. No, no, no, we don’t share a bed. Oh, sir, but that’s what you ordered. Ummm, no.

I’d wanted separate rooms anyway so we asked. Fully booked tonight sir. Have to be a folding bed. OK. Jan is a contortionist so it was no trouble for him, but he got another room for Sunday night. He’s off to Ha Long Bay Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so no problem. I’m too sick to take the trip. Doctor on Monday.