Bali

A hint of winter crept into the air here at home while I was away in Bali and, oh, how I would have appreciated just a touch of it while I was there.  

Along with learning a lot about growing rice, I learned that humidity changes the perceived heat, that air loaded with water prevents our body's sweat from functioning and it clogs the pores of our skin.  The more humidity increases, the less our body sweats.   When there is no sweating, there is simply no cooling system for our body to rely on, so we quickly overheat.  I didn't know that.  I do know I often felt overheated and I started to suspect that they measured temperature differently to us here in NZ.  31°C (87°F) felt more like 41°C (105°F).

I wonder if the humidity has anything to do with the way all the trees and flowers I recognised grew taller but sparser than here at home.  Like these Bird of Paradise which would have been 8 feet high but allowed light in amongst the leaves.

I will post more in the coming days.  For now, I am recovering from a severe dose of Bali Belly.  I have no idea how I got it, I was super careful around what I ate and drank.  I avoided ice in all drinks until the night before I came home when a cocktail in a very popular restaurant came with a large ball of ice. I was told Indonesia now has a national standard for edible ice, and food sanitation guidance requires ice used with food and drinks to be made from water that meets drinking water standards. There is also a formal hygiene sanitation framework for restaurants.  

I was in Bali for my grandson's wedding and we stayed the first few days with the bride's family in Sanur.  It was a lovely time of two families coming together.  One of the bride's sisters had been in Bali for a week and was recovering from the same thing.  It must be hard to avoid for those of us who come from countries with high sanitation standards and few opportunities to develop resistance to those bugs.

 The groom relaxing with two sleeps to go before the big day.