Tuesday 10 March 2020

I don’t know where I am but I think it’s Paradise

Tuesday 10th March
Actually I have now found out where Bali is by looking at a map on my phone, so I have a better idea of where I am. It is truly beautiful, and where we are is all jungle from which emanate strange bird and animal noises. We both had a good sleep last night, and feel nicely rested. It was so good to lie horizontally instead of trying to doze on the plane. When we set off from our room for breakfast in the Club Lounge, our “butler” Pandé suddenly appeared out of nowhere and escorted us along the corridor to explain the breakfast routine. Coincidence? Or was he waiting for us? Breakfast was predictably lavish, the menu seemed to cover every Indonesian and European option imaginable. I chose black rice pancakes with jackfruit, berries and caramel sauce. I won’t go on about all the different foods that I try here, I just mention it to demonstrate the exotic choices.
We had already decided what we would do today - relax at the infinity pool. The hotel doesn’t seem to be too busy so we had a great choice of sunloungers and we were soon swimming, reading, chatting, and I started listening to a podcast recommended by Jamie and his crime loving housemate Louis. I mean that Louis enjoys true crime podcasts, not that he commits crimes - he’s a highly respectable doctor. The podcast is called Black Hands and it’s about the murder of a family in Dunedin in the 1990s; it had a huge impact on the community. So far it’s fascinating. 
After lunch we wended our way down the “jogging track” to the river in the valley; we really were deep in the jungle now and it was extremely humid. It was all fine while we descended but of course we then had to make our way up steep steps and meandering paths to get back to the hotel. I felt very clammy, and we had to revive ourselves with cool drinks on the balcony.

By the way James and I have been keeping up with the news and are well aware of the way that Covid-19 is spreading around the world, with many countries affected as well as China, where it originated. I first blogged about it on 8th February. The whole of Italy is now completely in quarantine, and the people there have been told to stay at home. Worldwide confirmed cases of Coronavirus are at over 114,000 and there have been over 4000 deaths. The UK is still in the “contain” phase of response with 319 confirmed cases (as of yesterday) and sadly five deaths, but the government is preparing to move to “delay” if the spread of the virus becomes wider, which would mean stronger measures such as schools shutting down. Airlines around the world are cancelling flights as more and more people opt not to travel. The WHO are not yet calling it a pandemic but it is having a huge impact. I have felt quite vulnerable because of our recent air travel. Let’s hope that it can be controlled and eradicated soon. 

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