Back to Life, back to reality

Yep as the song goes, I am back to life and back to reality. Hitting the ground running as Tony Blair once said and dived head first into work and teaching and all things routine.
Trying to diet (as in cut out beer, chocolate, sugar etc) to get rid of the belly and some fat here and there as I look far too healthy for an expat, I am sure that it will happen in time.
Some things have gone rather well for me; I decided to get a netbook and so bought an Acer One for not a lot of money and this thing is rather good and fast and nice small enough to carry and easy enough to use everywhere.

On Monday I had to get back on the bike and to my delight, not only did no one steal the mirror or fuel but after 3 weeks it started up straight away which was great. Mind it covered in dust and I have yet had an opportunity to clean it, I have been hoping for rain, but there has been none since I have been back when the bike has been parked in the open.
My staff at the center have also been behaving and so there were no nasty shocks on my arrival back to work. The credit cards were not over spent, the pln bill was pretty much in line so everything is and remain pretty peachy.

On Friday  last week, I was flown back to Bali for the EF Indonesia annual conference, this year being held in Benoa, Bali. Benoa is an tourist resort spot on the east coast, almost in the opposite direction from Kuta. The area looks interesting enough for me to return and explore and the beach is golden sand with bays and coves and flat seas. Sadly it is under the flight path into the airport but even in paradise we can find something wrong if we have to find something.

Some views of the hotel

Sunrise over the pool

The beach at 7.30am 

The Ramada Resort was great, the conference stimulating and the entertainment enjoyable. Dinner on the beach the first night with free beer and then into Kuta the second night in torrential rain and power cuts. So it was hot, dark and wet. The Indian restaurant however was great and the company better and the beer cold so there was no complaints there. Sunday morning was spent shopping for souvenirs (oleh oleh) and then we took a City Link flight back from Bali. City Link is Garuda's attempt at low cost budget airline and it was ok. The plane was small and old but on time and with out stress. With all heavy rain both in Bali and Jakarta the views of both flying out and then in were the best I have ever witnessed. You could see far into Bali and tops of some of the volcanoes and then getting into Jakarta, the Thousand Islands were very clear as was the lines in the ocean between currents and colours. The clarity of the view has to be perfect. The rain must have washed the pollution away. Its back now, mind but for that short period of time it was absent.

From the airport, I took a taxi to Semanngi to visit my fiancee. Sounds simple enough but with a taxi driver who seemed  a little lost and the closure of the gap at the Tebet Toll 1 or where it is, we ended up driving around the Crown Hotel being watched by Armed guards but eventually we got there. From there to FX for dinner and a great way to wrap up the weekend.

Monday was again back to reality but with a break from it almost immediately as I had to go back to the airport to pick a new teacher up. I have been to the airport 6 times so far this year, flown to Bali twice, been on 6 aeroplanes and its not even the 20th of January!!!

I should mention that the water was again cut off at the apartment due to my landlady doing something to annoy the management I am sure and so a few strong words at reception seemed to remedy that and life is its normal status quo for the moment.

Its been rather a busy month all in all and there is no sign of it abaiting. I would like to that you all for your kinds words of congratulations and I will keep you updated on the wedding plans once I have some set in stone, but that is still a while off I am sure.