Running Around Day (Mar. 23, 2015)

Mar. 23, 2015

Today I got up and did yoga, then FT’d with family and friends. It was great to catch a few people before they went to bed. It’s always a nice way to start my day. Then I had a number of little errands to run so I got ready and left to take care of them.

First I went to the Central Kuta Money Exchanger to get Euro for the diving tomorrow. Yulia’s friend who runs the dive shop in Ahmed, likes to paid in Euro and it’s a lot better rate from the Central Money Exchanger than it is from other, smaller ones in the dive shop area. So I got the location from Yulia yesterday, and GPS’d my way there. I got a little bit lost, but nothing serious and by checking my map and asking some kind people, I made my way there. I got the Euro, and then asked if they charged to exchange the money. There is no commission there, but they charge a tiny bit more than is listed on the XE Currency website. When I say a little, it’s not even 1% more, which is great. So I got the Euro, and then thought it might be a good idea to get some Malaysian Ringet before leaving Bali. I’m sure they have ATM’s at the airport, but it’s always a great idea to arrive in a new country with some of their currency. Even if it’s late at night, and you just want to buy a coffee while waiting in the airport, it’s handy. So I went to get some money from a nearby ATM, then went back and got some Ringet. 

I went to the Apotek, which is the name for a pharmacy here, to get some antihistamines to take with me to Borneo, in case I get bug bites or Fire Coral burns again. It is incredibly itchy and only allowed me to sleep when I doused it with an antihistamine. I have enough now to get me through, as well as Ibuprofen and Paracetamol as it’s called here. I made sure I have enough sunscreen and bug spray, though I have found that the best repellant is my Tiger Balm. 

After those errands, I decided to go to the Post Office to get some stamps and send some cards, but they were out of stamps so I will have to go back another day. It’s not that far, so it will be nice easy errand the day before I leave. I dropped by the Air Asia office on my way to the Money Exchanger because I drove right by it on route. No news about the fixing of the error regarding my credit and applying it to my ticket to Bangkok. Oh well, perhaps it will get fixed before I leave. I sure hope so.

Then I went to Mall Bali Galleria, to buy some items to make a potato salad, buy some water and munchies for our drive tomorrow, and find a little gift and card for Reza and Yulia. They have both been so sweet while I have been here and made my visit so comfy. I ended up finding two nice cards, and bought Yulia a loaded card for the TimeZone Game place we went to the other day. She and Reza love to go there, so I thought that would be a nice gift for her. For Reza, I think I will just write him a poem, and leave some money for him to use for a massage, or some scuba item that he needs. I think he could use the money more than anything, though I tried really hard to think of a ‘thing’ for him. Anyway, I know he’ll appreciate it, as much as I have appreciated his generosity and kindness regarding his place, and all the things he’s arranged for me while I visited Bali. He really did go out of his way to make me feel welcome and appreciated.

Then I came back, made the potato salad and popped some popcorn for our trip tomorrow. I am all packed and ready to go. Yulia will come over tonight once the rental car is delivered to her place. She will sleep here so that we can get an early start and return in good time tomorrow. We will do two dives in Ahmed and then come back. I am excited to go diving and I think she is too. It’s been a really long time since she has gone diving and she wants to do it before she starts another new job at the beginning of April. Reza can’t join us as he’s crazy busy with many guests that he is organizing tours, hotels and trips for, not to mention airport pick ups. It’s a very busy season for him this month, so he’s kind of tied up though happy because it means he's making some money.

While I was making the potato salad, my cell rang. It was the nice woman from Air Asia, calling to tell me that Head Office had fixed the refund and that all I had to do was to go onto the site, pay the little bit that wasn’t covered by the credit, and I would have the situation solved and the flight to Bangkok confirmed. I did that, without issue, and now have all my flights arranged and was able to apply the refund for the last ticket, to the new one, with only $3 above the cost, to pay. I was so happy to have this resolved as now I can rest easily that I won’t have to run around near to my departure, wondering if I will get it sorted before leaving. Yeah! I’m so lucky.

So now I am just waiting for Yulia to come over, then we’ll probably go to bed early and get up early to be on our way diving. I haven’t got a clue when Reza will return, as he’s got many things on the go today. I hope he had a good day.

Talk to you tomorrow or the next day, to tell you about diving.