Feeling the tug back towards materialism

Last days....

I am peaceful, resigned, ready and even looking forward my return to Europe. Perhaps that is because I look forward to a change and I know deep in my heart that I will be back soon. I just hope that my memory retains the map and extent of this feeling so that I will always know the way back to this home. I hope it doesn't get too washed up along the way with all the new and old experiences that I will face on my return in two weeks....

I've surfed to a point of exhaustion and have recently replaced surfing with the activity of shopping. I suddenly thought this morning, as I left to go shopping (again), that my shopping trips of late resembled an inventory of stuff required back in the west. All this 'stuff' that I suddenly 'felt' I would need back in the west... yes that nice kaftan, the beautiful bikini and list goes on, on and on.... I can tell you, we've all been gobbled up at one point or another by the Bali shopping monster that bestows the most fervent shopping fever on any likely female here. The shops are just that good but the best thing of my trip so far was the minimalist lifestyle it required to backpack. ...OK one had to have a bikini, so you bought a pretty bikini but I fear a Western fever has gripped me now and its not just the one or two bikini's that I'm buying, its the 10 bikinis because they are all so pretty.... And believe or not, the excuse is ...'I'll need them'. Or perhaps is it that I am secretly, previously unknown to myself, trying to surround myself with the little bits of Bali that I can actually take with me? Oh dear its off to West I smile. And of course I will enjoy those tiny bits of material pleasure that I accumulate but did I need all of them? ;)

Thoughts of today.

SURPRISE! ....Home Sweet Home

Ive been back home in Bali for two weeks now. I didn't tell anybody except Nina that I was coming back. Instead I choose to surprise them by knocking on their door! It was fun. It is great to be back. Nina, Carrie, Christian, Ambra, Yip are all here and Emile has just arrived back too!


Then I got down to business, I've surfed, surfed and surfed again. My eyes have also turned into an extension of my camera. They are on constant record and I'm not constricted by battery life. Day & night they record images that are burning on my memory film. Images of Bali, the landscape, the people, the food, the ceremonies.... the list goes on. I've gone ahead and enrolled in a surf safari camp. It's been AMAZING apart from one French guy called Cedric who lives in London..... He rather annoyingly doesn't have any manners.


He has a reputation at the camp for dropping in on anyone's wave which is ok but perhaps the reason as to why I don't like him much, is because he did that to me today and whilst doing so he fell on my head.... the dummy, it really hurt, he could've broken my neck.... Anyway not to worry, apart from that the swell is up and we are having a blast.

Also news just in, Marianne's heading back too!! Fantastic!

BTW Ive been asked on many an occasion how my leg healed after the scrap in Tana Toraja...

I'm glad to say, as you can see from the pic above, Ive been lucky, it's healed really well!