an hour of boxing this morning, wow, i'm feeling good. move fast and punch hard, i feel confident enough to handle myself in a fight now. especially ready for londonistan where it appears violence is the currency. obviously if it's an acid attack i will be in deep trouble but knives, fists and any sort of punch up i am ready. i'm going to punch like a concrete block and sting like a man o war jellyfish. but only if i have to. i am aligned with mars for london

on the flip side i'm emotionally filled with love and peace, good vibrations cruise from my body in erotic pulsing waves of creativity, sensuality and charm. strange, i have not felt this energy in a while, it's been dormant or awaiting a moment where the body, heart and mind are aligned with venus for asia.

i awake again after a very long 24 hours, how do they stretch it out into what feels like 48? i'm pottering around, this and that, expanding into that strange inertia variation as i always do before life changing events. everything looks jammed packed, no space as the walls close in upon me. i do live in a suitcase.

the adventure beckons, the lure of sirens singing and shrieking enchantments, i throw a couple of books in my bag.  david zindell's 'neverness' light reading, heavy story which can be dis-guarded after reading as i have another copy. smart travel. a pair of swimmers and two shorts, old church t shirts that are falling apart. their last voyage out. men always find it hard letting go of old t shirts, it's a strange relationship.
the flight to bali occurs with my head in a book, i hardly notice the journey. on arrival there's a lot of waiting around but eventually i meet my driver whom i employ as a tour driver later in the week. 
oh no! the hotel is not quite what i wanted, it's in the heart of legian, and nowhere near as glamourous as my previous stays. i kick myself for not returning to sanur which is further north and less touristy. the town is filled with tourists, restaurants and bars. i make friends with a guy from mullumbimbi, we share a lot in common both having worked in youth work and homelessness. i tell him about some lovely weed i smoked a few weeks ago and he says, 'that's silver widow right?' 
he is right. 

after a chat he tells me his neighbour has a supply and suggests he may be able to acquire some for me. unfortunately we never meet again and like all transient things i am left wondering if it was all a dream. others in the hotel are dogy aussies, tattooed up, alcohol fuelled and chain smoking with their oversized girls friends who burst out of bikini's and talk far to loudly about getting their hair done. i hot tail it to ubud where i hang out with the monkeys who are slightly more cultured than the australian tourists.

i have lunch over the rice fields as a storm comes in, it's quite dramatic and beautiful. outside of time.

udud is a bit touristy as well and somewhat filled with modern shops, restaurants and spas. i ask my driver to take me somewhere where are not many people and i can get a massage.

we end up in some temple, it's stunning traditional architecture and gardens are almost japanese, although with a huge hindu influence. the women wear traditional sarongs and the building is hidden along a long walkway.

two hours later i'm floating on air.

we stop at a place i always visit to pick up a couple of sarongs, i end up buying a shirt as well. then off to the local chocolate factory where they have taste testing but the only thing i want is the coffee flavoured one. it's good but not brilliant. at least, not as good as european chocolate. 

another day i walk along the beach, it's very different from the beach i wandered along 10 years ago when i bumped into my friend from sydney who was holidaying with her husband. now there's a trail of litter, plastic bottles and bags. it's disturbing. part of me wants to clean it up, it would take about two years and i wonder why the local authority doesn't just ban plastic at the beach. there are plenty of locals selling fresh coconuts which they machete open for you to drink. 

it's a long walk but i get to the infamous 'mr. potato head' where i grab a tonic water and lunch. surrounded by exotic women in bikinis, sipping cocktails while taking a dip in the infinity pool. they lounge around looking glamourous on the lounges and comfortable recliners, while some very deep chill out music plays across the whole place. i could stay here all day, and i do.

getting a moter scooter back i feel the cool breeze cut through the hot heavy air, dodging oncoming bikes and cars, the traffic system here is chaos but it works perfectly unless you are a westerner. i guess there's some sort of telepathic communication going on, some instinctive understanding of finding order within chaos. 

there's a lot of lounging around, eating nice salads, reading and sleeping and then i'm heading to london.