To Bali (Thursday 14 July)

A quick dash back to the flash shopping centre to place photos onto the blog. Surabaya as previously explained is a busy industrial city of 2.6 million people. The shopping here ranges from very modern huge shopping centers to the busiest of street markets. All levels of income are accommodated here. An interesting statistic I think is that labour costs per hour are the lowest in Indonesia than any of the Asian countries including China, Indochina, India and even the Phillipines, according to a slick marketing brochure I found on a Garuda flight. That may sound fantastic to some corporation thinking of setting up shop here but I guess not good news for the people receiving the pay. Anyway back to this shopping centre.

It prides itself in being the largest in the Asian world, which is no easy feat. It caters to the high end of the income spectrum and is the biggest shopping centre I’ve ever seen. All the big western brands are here as well the indigenous ones. I get lost every time I enter the place! Despite all of its sophistication it has only one Internet cafe and is fairly slow. After two hours I only get part of what I wanted to achieve with the blog.
After another crazy traffic experience I meet up with Freddy and Agung at the airport. The flight is delayed because of administrative delays so we get to Bali in the dark. I’ve chosen to spend two nights in Ubud, up in the hills and away from the mayhem on the popular coast. There is a price to pay though, a two-hour taxi ride to get there from the airport. Freddy’s friend Arday has organised one for me and after another frantic session on the roads I get to Ubud around 9pm. I will never get used to these roads. The taxi driver asked me in broken English if I drive. ‘Yes I do but not Indonesian driving’. He laughed – I was serious. We came across motorbikes with multi-passengers but no lights at all, just shadows flashing past! Just crazy.