I got to sleep around 9pm last night and slept through until 9 this morning. Most of today was spent on trying to sort out my Sumatra visit. I had thought that my Sumatran friend's family live near Medan. They don't - they live a couple of days by bus south, in Padang and Pekanbaru. So I tried to find direct flights from Singapore to Pekanbaru (this is maybe 100 miles!), where the relatives who speak english live. No joy:
So I would have to to get to Singapore and then bugger around getting a flight to Pekanbaru, then phone my friend so she can tell her rellies when I'll arrive. The fall-back was to get a boat to an Indonesian island and then another boat up the Batang Hari river to Pekanbaru. This hds some appeal but getting me and my grot to a friendly place appealed more.
Of course, this meant spending time in the hotel's cybercafe, venting my guts into my blog and chatting with Mrs Khan, her daughter and sister. Mrs Khan told me she is also a social worker, mostly concerned with crimes against women. She starts the day here. Then her son and daughter take over and she goes on to her social work.
After blogging and getting as much of my adminstrivia as possible done, I called John, Suriya's friend who has a cellphone. His english, combined with the vagaries of cellphones, meant that I could only make out something about Suriya having been in hospital (or maybe still being there) and that I should visit tomorrow. I pondered this over a couple of masala dosas at the Kamat hotel and decided 'sod it. Even if Suriya isn't about, her daughters and neighbours will tell me what's been going on and if I need to go elsewhere to visit her. So I'm going now!'
The bus to Colva was fun - usual overcrowding ameliorated by rock and roll in Konkani. I asked if the music was on CD and was told that it was from a casette. I then asked the conductor if he'd sell me the cassette. So now I have some konkani rock and roll/party music and am quite pleased.
There was a light at Suriya's house and she came out to greet me as I approached. It turns out she'd been in hospital the previous night but was now home, feeling OK. She gave me some sweeties that Gautami, her grand-daughter, had insisted were kept for me from Gautami's birthday. I had sent a card but it hadn't arrived so I'm choked with emotion that Gautami wanted to give me something. Suriya, Priya and I chatted for an hour or so and arranged to meet up with Bobby (her oldest daughter) and Bobby's family the next day, after her church service.
I took an auto back to Margao. Margao autos have passenger doors which prevented most of the soaking I'd have got if I'd been riding a Keralan auto. I think I was in bed and asleep by 10pm.
© (except the blatantly ripped-off bits) Random Bozo 2006