2011
Toni the Tourist
13 October 2011
Now Thursday pm. Sally has just reported by sms that she has seen Cathy this afternoon and she is much better and will be going home tomorrow by the night flight - organised by the insurers. Don't know any more details yet. She was not walking when I sms-ed her this morning though. It will be a great relief to her. The insurance people rang me today - and Cathy later- to say the cover has been passed. Good thing to have it confirmed, as they have done so many tests and she has been in the hospital for four nights at US$550 a night. I don't think they have fully confirmed the back problem.
She asked me to contact her family and friends as in the end the wi-fi at the hospital was not working in her room, though she said today it is. I sent a version of the description of the accident to her list of email contacts, which I had to type out (made lots of tiny errors and many bounced back which meant a lot more re-sendings!) - got some replies on her behalf which I have put on my flash drive to take to her tomorrow morning. Maybe you heard on the news that there was a 6.3 earthquake near here this morning which we all felt (I was in the pool) but it was over very quickly. They say there are some minor injuries and damage round town but I’ve not been out today to see. Will get more news later I guess. Tiles crashed off the roof here - heard the crashing sound and did not know what it was. Big clean-up round the hotel quickly done and tiles replaced.
A real pleasure not to dash out anywhere today. With Sally and Vivienne going to see Cathy I had time off! Had the sort of day that real tourists have - early morning walk- at 6.45 am along the beach with Melinda, breakfast at the front of the hotel overlooking the beach, morning by the pool, then, when Josh and Jasmin arrived, we went next door to where Melinda, etc. are staying and spent the whole afternoon by the huge lagoon pool with a bridge over it - adults at the cafe table eating lunch while the kids played for hours - us dipping in and out of the water at intervals. Jasmin and Zak took to each other in seconds, and they played with another little 5-year old girl staying at their hotel. Arif played with the kids - male rough and tumble - in the water, and there were shrieks of delight. I swam some more with Anne in our pool after they had left, napped on a pool-side lounge, and now we are sipping a G and T on our verandah. Anne spent the morning having a pedicure and manicure, and the others are out shopping some more I guess, after seeing Cathy. Not back yet.
She asked me to contact her family and friends as in the end the wi-fi at the hospital was not working in her room, though she said today it is. I sent a version of the description of the accident to her list of email contacts, which I had to type out (made lots of tiny errors and many bounced back which meant a lot more re-sendings!) - got some replies on her behalf which I have put on my flash drive to take to her tomorrow morning. Maybe you heard on the news that there was a 6.3 earthquake near here this morning which we all felt (I was in the pool) but it was over very quickly. They say there are some minor injuries and damage round town but I’ve not been out today to see. Will get more news later I guess. Tiles crashed off the roof here - heard the crashing sound and did not know what it was. Big clean-up round the hotel quickly done and tiles replaced.
A real pleasure not to dash out anywhere today. With Sally and Vivienne going to see Cathy I had time off! Had the sort of day that real tourists have - early morning walk- at 6.45 am along the beach with Melinda, breakfast at the front of the hotel overlooking the beach, morning by the pool, then, when Josh and Jasmin arrived, we went next door to where Melinda, etc. are staying and spent the whole afternoon by the huge lagoon pool with a bridge over it - adults at the cafe table eating lunch while the kids played for hours - us dipping in and out of the water at intervals. Jasmin and Zak took to each other in seconds, and they played with another little 5-year old girl staying at their hotel. Arif played with the kids - male rough and tumble - in the water, and there were shrieks of delight. I swam some more with Anne in our pool after they had left, napped on a pool-side lounge, and now we are sipping a G and T on our verandah. Anne spent the morning having a pedicure and manicure, and the others are out shopping some more I guess, after seeing Cathy. Not back yet.
After our visit to Cathy yesterday morning - it was 12th October - we went to the Bali Bombing Monument to pay our respects on the 9th anniversary. There were several wreaths laid, though none identifiably Australian. There was a big Australian event for families at the Consulate in Denpasar. A Channel 9 news cameraman was there filming. In the attached photo the first two columns of names are the Australians who died at the two clubs adjacent to the monument on either side of the road. The next biggest number of those who died are the Indonesians, many of them drivers outside on the roads and staff in the clubs. We spent a sad and angry-making few moments there reading the long lists. Of the two club sites, one is now a huge Quicksilver surf store, the other, the former Sari Club, a scruffy parking lot which is supposed to become a beautiful Peace Park Garden with a little museum by this time next year for the 10th anniversary. There have been huge fights over the use of this land over the last nine years, but at least it has not been built on - and I believe it has finally been secured for a park.
The afternoon was a treat - actually a treat we had planned for Cathy's birthday- High Tea at Biku, owned by an Australian woman Asri (married to a member of the royal family in Ubud) – I have known them a long time. Asri was a classmate of Cathy's 40 years ago when she was Jane Gillespie. She was there yesterday and we had a chat - she was going to try to see Cathy. We had three tiers of scones and delicate sandwiches, mini quiches and cakes and shortbreads. Excellent choice of Indonesian highest quality teas served in Royal Albert china. I brought home a lot of left-over goodies that were polished off by the kids this afternoon! It was a most pleasurable experience - but definitely not a Balinese one!! We raised our tea cups to Cathy!
Afterwards when the others headed off to hit the high-end shops of Seminyak, I found myself in the area where our old family friend Ron, originally from Melbourne, lives - now 82. I try to see him whenever I am down this way on trips to Bali. He was in exactly the same chair as I last saw him and we took up the same conversations over the regular evening G and T (though god knows where I found the room for it.) Lovely to see him again - he's doing well.
Cathy has just sent another sms - more tests to check if the fluid that shows on her lungs is just that or blood!! Waiting for clearance but hopes to get home tomorrow night on the same Garuda flight as Anne. Will be taken to hospital from the flight when she arrives in Sydney. Must all be very distressing to her.
I’ll go over by myself and see Cathy again in the morning then we four are going out to lunch together. I will go back to Ubud after lunch, and the others all fly out tomorrow night on different flights. Really looking forward to getting back to Ubud - this is certainly not my world down here!
Cathy has just sent another sms - more tests to check if the fluid that shows on her lungs is just that or blood!! Waiting for clearance but hopes to get home tomorrow night on the same Garuda flight as Anne. Will be taken to hospital from the flight when she arrives in Sydney. Must all be very distressing to her.
I’ll go over by myself and see Cathy again in the morning then we four are going out to lunch together. I will go back to Ubud after lunch, and the others all fly out tomorrow night on different flights. Really looking forward to getting back to Ubud - this is certainly not my world down here!