Magic water

Mon 6 Nov

picture - Thomas and Alice

First thing, well after breakfast of porridge and coffee is batches of bike riding, must remember to use clutch when changing gear and to cancel indicator lights after making a turn. At 10.00 drive to ATM cash machine which sits outside the technical college. Poster there advertising a one day event and demonstration next week “hacking with linux”. No new money in my account though so drive off frustrated to little old lady down the road who makes a fresh lemon and ice drink for 2,000 Rupiah (10p), leaving me with 700. send a text to finance officer at vso Bali asking him to ring me if any problem. Then more motorcycling around the nearby suburbs, manage to stall in middle of a crossroads but, like China there must be some law about not running people over so I get to the side and a passerby helps me to re-plug the sparkplug lead and restart the engine. By the way, would you believe it? In Java with nearly three times the population density of the uk and where there are so many m’bikes there are 3.8 road deaths each year for every 100,000 people compared to over 5 in the uk (how do they do it?)
Alice cooks chips, well French fries anyway for lunch to cheer me up and I take my siesta with the fan cooling me down. 2pm walk round to the ATM but zilch still and no phone call from Bali – my phone credit balance not enough to call vsoso wait for Pak Biwa and Thomas to return for help with money and phoning from a ‘wartel’ shop which is cheaper than a mobile. Eventually, with a loan from Alice we manage to ring just before the Bali office closes (there is a one hour time difference) to be told that ‘no’ the money has not yet been transferred. I point out that I emailed the details of my account a week ago and was now reduced to borrowing money from friends. He is sorry but has been busy, will sort it out in the morning.
T and I then drive out to the farm in daylight through the busy traffic. Pak TO is not at home but his wife and henchmen are so we get to do some printing on the office computer of my initial house plan proposals and my ‘who’s who’ photo gallery though the colour cartridge needs replacing (make a note of its No.). We are given glass each of some wonder water being prepared and marketed by the village. It has been heated allegedly to 200C and gone through a process of molecule modification to produce a water capable of amazing restorative healing and strength giving. It will make people strong, alleviate heart problems and probably erectile dysfunction as well. It is bottled and labelled and sells for 20,000 Rph for a litre bottle although they could not say how many bottles are produced or sold each month. At any event Thomas and I are pressed to accept a bottle each to take home. While Thomas is doing some of his own printing I wander out into the village to see if Antok the English speaking student is at home, everybody waves and greets me like a long lost friend but Antok is elsewhere so back to the office. (Antok later texts to apologise for not being there and to say that he is free on Wednesday to come with us to Tembi - so much for Pak TO saying he wouldn’t be available!)
Back to Jogya in the dark, we have rear light but virtually no headlight which seems more serious on the unlit country lanes but we make it and with a diversion to see Pak Ajikusumo’s new multi-million (billion?) house, still unfinished and in a guarded executive compound, possibly the largest house there and with 2-3 storey high windows to the palatial foyer, no view but clearly for outsiders to look in and marvel at the luxurious fitting out. It seems strange that Thomas should be so concerned that I only have a photocopy of my bike’s registration document when the police seem oblivious to so many road users not having lights at night.