MozCam

While I'm waiting for the dreaded result, here are some stories from Indonesia:

• on the way back from Flores (Tini's island), I had to spend a night in Bali, to make sure I didn't miss my flight back from Denpasar due to dodgy local airline timetables. After I had checked into my hotel, I went on a shopping spree in Kuta. This is the touristy area which was bombed in 2002. They have made a big effort in rebuilding it and, at least at night, it looks pretty good. One great advantage over similar streets in Britain is that the road is still very narrow, plus one-way, so it is very pedestrian friendly. It is full of restaurants and shops - from tiny Balinese-run batik shops to massive outlets for global 'surf' brands like Billabong and Quiksilver. Prices for clothes are cheaper than UK and MUCH cheaper than Moz.
  
• Anyway, after several hours of trying to guess which tshirts would fit Nina, and then eating a massive steak (instead of rice, oh joy), I finally was ready to go home. The street is filled with taxis cruising at low speed, so I just walked off the pavement and got into the nearest one. We were soon on the way to Jimbaran, which is south down the peninsula from Kuta. The journey takes a while so we soon got talking. After exchanging some chit-chat in Indonesian the driver cut to the chase. The conversation below was mainly in Indo, with the driver breaking into occasional English for emphasis:
  

"do you want a woman?"
"no thanks, I'm alright"
"are you sure, I can get you a woman right now"
"no really, I have a girlfriend"
"hmm"

• he would not accept defeat, however, and after 5 more mins:

"your girlfriend, is she here?"
"no, she's back at home"
"in Bali?"
"no, in Africa"
"so why don't you let me arrange you a woman, Bali is fully of pretty girls"
"I'm sure it is, but really I don't want a woman"
"I'll find you a really pretty girl and you can jiggy-jiggy all night with her"

• this last was in english, and I burst out laughing:

"who told you to say 'jiggy-jiggy'? that's a rubbish word for sex! was it some australian tourist?"

• the driver gave a look which was a mixture of grumpy and nonplussed. I suggested a few other, more mainstream words for him to use in future but he refused to come out of his huff. The plus side was that he didn't try any more pimping and we got to the hotel in peaceful silence.