Our driver Made, who had already picked us up from the speedboat to take us up to Ubud, was ready on time to take us to Canggu further south.
This little beach town had been recommended to us by friends several times. It's a hipster meeting point for tourists, surfers, yogis and dropouts. You'll find almost everything a Western tourist's heart desires here, in the middle of the typical rice fields. On the main roads there's the scooter chaos that has become classic for us by now; pavements and footpaths are, as always, completely missing. In return, you can go for a jog or stretch your legs in the side streets and outskirts when the sun and temperature allow.
In the centre you're welcomed by cafés, restaurants and bars. You'll also find boutiques, tattoo studios, riding stables, hairdressers, co-working spaces and hub cafés. Simply everything a tourist or Western dropout could like.
After all the adventures, we planned a somewhat longer stay here to simply do nothing for once, go out to eat a lot – good and varied food – and maybe do a bit of sport. We haven't quite managed the sport part yet, and my usually athletic figure is currently giving way to a slightly more classic tourist one.
On the very first day we arranged to have dinner with acquaintances, and the next day we bumped into newly made friends on the beach for a beer and a coconut.
But unfortunately it didn't stay as relaxed as it seemed.
Chris developed a temperature, which turned into a fever of over 39 degrees Celsius. Stomach pain and diarrhoea followed. When this lasted all day and his temperature kept rising, we decided to go to a clinic straight away. So far from home we didn't want to take any risks, and the words dengue and malaria were buzzing around in our heads alongside what's known here as "Bali belly" (a gut infection). You never know.
As you know, Chris is the scooter driver, so unfortunately he had to bravely ride the long way there himself on the Yamaha N-Max. Luckily this time we weren't in the middle of nowhere, but in a place where we could get everything we needed within half an hour's ride at most.
At the clinic, after the examination, the doctor diagnosed a gastrointestinal infection. Chris was immediately put on a drip and we spent the next 1.5 hours waiting for electrolytes, antibiotics, painkillers and fever reducers to drip through the tube.
Right afterwards he felt noticeably better – only to get much worse again on the way home from the clinic. 2 terrible days followed for poor Chris. I stayed in contact with the clinic via WhatsApp so we could go to a hospital in an emergency. (Here in Indonesia almost everything runs via WhatsApp. Drivers, hotels, clinics and above all restaurants all communicate via the green chat app.)
Luckily, the antibiotics kicked in after those 2 days. I can't put into words how I felt when, after 2 to 3 days, the fever went down by half a degree for the first time. I had kept watch the whole first night, stirring electrolytes and giving medication as instructed. But then I was fairly sure we'd survived this adventure too, and I finally felt a very strong urge to sleep.
We spent the following 3 days in our – luckily very cosy and clean – accommodation. One of the few that had a good hot shower and a small kitchenette. So my job as a nurse was to cook mild dishes from food I scraped together from our suitcases and from shops and restaurants within walking distance – which isn't easy in a country where chilli is in almost everything. And anyone who knows Chris well and knows how picky he is about food will understand my other problem, especially as he had no appetite because of the infection. Luckily, young coconuts are easy to get anywhere here – they're the best and simplest organic electrolyte drink in the world. The staff at our accommodation were super kind and offered to help me with the shopping. Once again I experienced the great helpfulness of the Indonesian people. When Chris felt like pizza again after a few days, I knew that everything really was all right again. Unfortunately, after this ordeal Chris is now a few kilos short – which I currently have extra :)