Trouble in the Hen House

This is my fourth small group tour with G Adventures. While it isn’t my preferred way of travel, there are many advantages, and I have seen and experienced things that would have been difficult or impossible to organize on my own.

But there is a down side. There are many personalities with which to contend, and sometimes things break down. This happened last night. A fight broke out on the dance floor of a cool little bar across the street from our beach bungalows. Two women. Canadian. Apparently, the days when we can be smug about our reputation as being “nice” are gone.

As these two older women who should know better hurled insults at each other, the younger crowd of Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians tried to calm things down. The reggae-influenced band members played on, likely all too familiar with the ugly effects of too much alcohol. This sober and embarrassed Canadian woman called it an early night.

Balinese people, on the other hand, seem to have cornered the market on sweetness. Take for example the doctor from the clinic down the road. Instead of me going to her, she made a house call! Turns out that one of the blisters sustained on my first walk on the beach more than a week ago is now infected which accounts for the swelling, pain and redness. So I’m grounded today and banned from the water for the next few. Sigh.