We take another run at the motorcycle in Bali today. We’re going out for lunch after training Pencak Silat. All is well in the house until we realize we’re one hour behind schedule.

It’s my fault. Well, I guess you probably already knew that, but anyway…
Turned out my phone is not automatically set for new time zones. I seem to be stuck in Hanoi for some reason. We don’t realize this right away, but have our normal breakfast and pack the bags. When Katja look at her watch she exclaims:”Is it 8:45?” Yes it is, unfortunately. We’re supposed to be at Bakti Negara HQ in fifteen minutes, but it’s at least forty minutes ride from here. Luckily the bags are packed so we grab and run. Those who know Katja well knows this drives her insane. Not being on time is worse than most crimes that get news coverage. I have to give it to her, she’s remarkably calm this morning. Is seven months on the tour winding her down in some clock wise way?
No police to be seen and we drive unhindered to the training. Katja got off a message to Bagus before we left so he knew we ran late. We found him in the training hall stretching when we arrived.
We started this morning with some takedowns. Different reactions to punches that included both pulling, pushing and circular movements. The last hour we spent on weapons with sticks and some nice sensitivity drills. Bagus also gave us a lesson in Hindu spirits and the link between this world and the spirit world. A very interesting talk that made more sense out of the offering that are put out here on Bali.

Time always fly when you do something interesting, and we had to leave to go to Ubud. We have an appointment with Regi and Leona. We spent time with Regi during our last stay on Bali, and he and his wife are on a long training tour. They study yoga, massage, NLP and more for the business they will set up on return. He’s Dutch, she’s Czech and they lived in UK. Hard to tell where they’ll settle down next. They have both worked as instructors and quality control in the spa industry and are now breaking out and making a business for themselves. This will include a lot of different offerings and they will spend more than a year in study around the world.

Leona was in India and Nepal while we spent time with Regi so it’s the first time we meet her. She turns out to be what we expect after getting to know Regi. They’re both great people with an open mind, eager to learn and happy to teach. We spent close to three hours together at the cafe, I think, before we needed to head back home. It’s more than an hours drive from Ubud to where we live and the traffic is not easier to navigate once it gets dark.
We get home without a hitch, but my arms and thighs are more than as little red from the sun. The Balinese sun is really burning into me even though I use sunscreen with a factor of fifty. Hopefully it’ll turn to a less bright colour after a while.
We try to organize dinner with Mike, but seems to have lost contact before we concluded. We go out and have steaks and mashed potatoes. After yesterday’s vegan dinner, oatmeal for breakfast, and vegetarian for lunch- I’m craving meat. I got it and some of Katja’s to so I’m happy while walking back home.
Back home I make sure the clocks are aligned with the sun so we get up in time tomorrow.

Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.

– William Shakespeare