Scene in a Bali internet cafe

Sitting in an internet cafe on Jl. Benesari, loud music is blaring outside. Many of the new style internet cafes have several terminals inside and 2 or 3 outside, in case you enjoy the occassional motorbike with your email.

My internet cafe has the desk outside too, with the young guy working here jamming top 40 hits. Five machines along from me is a stoic Aussie surfer, and across from him a Japanse guy using Skype. Certain things catch on fast and Skype is one of them. It allows VOIP (talking over the internet) with a set of special headphones. I once sat and listened to a bule woman tell the whole internet cafe where she lives, what goods she sells, where she gets it and boasted how little she pays her staff.

Most things are back to normal now after Nyepi. I talked to Balinese people who have come back from villages around the island, and the story is the same, ‘I slept a lot and ate a lot’. My friend Mick is in town tonight so I might meet up with him later.