Balimorra

it's a little difficult not to state the obvious when trying to describe Bali, because the verdict seems to be unanimous: it is a singularly beautiful place full of people who are possibly the world's easiest smilers. we wasted no time planting ourselves in the town of Ubud , a place where you're either an artist or a tourist (sometimes both). contrary to what it sounds like, it's not a bad mix: rather, a tidy little ecosystem which sees planeloads of tourists departing under the weight of many lovely things, while the locals stay on in paradise, making more lovely things. Cue smiling. the boys are now firmly ensconced in a new school, which seems to spring directly out of a rice paddy. it's such an appealing place that i've yet to begrudge the three daily bike runs (5k each way), or the more 'challenging' start time of 8.30. and i'm proud of our little fellas. they took to the place without so much as a backward glance (see the missus' post on the state of supa-happiness). in terms of housing, it seems to have worked out pretty well, what with ample space, a swimming pool that's nearly too close (i didn't realise such a thing existed), and a lovely local family who have already taken us in as their own. once again, Tash has covered it better than i ever could, leaving me to do what i do best: post embarrassing photos with silly captions. till next time.... you see what i mean about the smiling haircutting can be hazardous too, folks ready to rumble... sports day guaranteed a police escort in north america fish. they're not just for dinner anymore even martians need orange juice... i wonder how long it will take for him to crawl all the way out...? the new gaff. a bit of a steal at roughly one fifth of London rental rates a word…

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i spam corrected…

thanks to Cory for pointing out, in that inimitable way of his, that i've used the country code for Oz and not Indo. that's now been updated in the original post. allow me to register contrition for my floppy-headed ways....

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Indonesian(ish) Phones

so, in a transaction taking 60-odd seconds and costing four of your english pounds, we have availed ourselves of two local sim cards with the following numbers: jay +62 (0) 858 5754 1865 & nis +62 (0) 858 5754 1866 we will no doubt recommence the rounds of telephony, starting today with a birthday call to Aunty Ba (Happy Birthday, Aunty Ba!), but if you feel like getting in touch, unburdening yourselves, or just shooting the breeze, then by all means pick up the phone and give us a bell . incoming calls are free.... for us. :) p.s. calling from Skype looks to be reasonable, at something around 8p per minute. terima kasih!

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Palola Lumpur

i'm quite fond of Dumps' designation for Kuala Lumpur. Despite being told the correct pronunciation, he politely replied that he would rather say it his way. Which is another way of saying that we made it here safely, with only the usual hurdles of car sickness, wrestling matches, switched currencies, luggage limits, queues for queues and tipping protocols to overcome. Even more encouraging, it looks as though the Indonesian government may see fit to issue a visa to our little band of cage fighters, processing the social visa required for more than a 30 day stay despite what looked like some potentially daunting circumstances (tickets to Bali already booked for Friday, Indonesian embassy closed tomorrow, being sent round the houses at the Embassy to a lot of shaking heads, being told by one person that we all needed to apply in person - did they know what they were letting themselves in for?). Finally, a kindly lady took pity on me, and we went through the labyrinth of forms together, asking some very unrelated questions in the process. With a bit of luck, our passports will be up in a few hours, and sighs of relief can become official. KL itself reminds me of a sort of Tropical Toronto: large boulevards, laid out fairly griddish, and jammed with cars, a skyline featuring some monstrous skyscrapers (both the Petronas and KL tower are visible from half an hour away), a forest of condominium buildings, many under construction, and a general open friendliness on the part of the locals (gleaned, albeit hastily, from experiences with taxi, hotel, and street vendors). And (good lord) there is air conditioning everywhere. My feet nearly left the ground for sheer optimism on the way back from the embassy. Then i saw something very worrying: Deep Purple concert posters. Massive ones. Everywhere. the long-suffering Bacon rinses off another coat of sick Egg tries to improvise a bed…

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Dumps sings the classics….

i was treated to a rare medley of tunes from his royal Dumps, including the classics "1,2,3,4,5", "Etikatinova", and a new updated version of "Old Macdonald". watch your back, Manilow, there's a new kid in town....

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April Abridged

...we're continuing to feed shambolic one month at a time. Here be the pics for April As ever, would be interested to know your favourites. suggested captions also encouraged. A big shout to Fleur for last month's Giant Straw suggestion. It's a print and hot beverage of your choice if (when?) we get back to London, young lady. here is my #1 contender: Dumpede

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