I told you I was chilling out here. Rocky, the mad dog from reception, needs walked quite a bit as he’s young and energetic – two boxes I really no longer tick myself. The staff are busy and have posters up asking guests to take him with them on walks, which I’ve been all too happy to do. He’s great fun and so many people in town know him.

The reactions he gets are mixed, though. Many Indians are scared of him, adults and children alike literally jumping away when he comes near. The Chinese children seem a little wary while the adults are fine. Tourists love him. I’m not sure how much of this is cultural, religious or just personal. He doesn’t seem to take it personally himself. Which is good.

I took him for a walk up one of the side streets and into the hills yesterday morning, and then all the way to some strawberry farms in the afternoon. Sasha and Emma were heading up there to get some strawberry ice cream, but I couldn’t take Rocky in the taxi. I arranged to meet them at a particular farm, but it was shut when I got there, as were the two nearby. I walked back to the hostel and sat down to read my book… and Emma appeared with a large bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice cream! Star 🙂

A bunch of us went out for dinner to one of the local Indian places that night, and then on to the Jungle Bar to sit round the fire and chill out over a few beers. A good night.

Sasha and Emma left for Taman Nagara this morning, and Emma kindly left me a couple of cans as thanks for lending her my sleeping bag. She’d been feeling the cold more than most and I wasn’t using it so it made some sense. I spent the day with Maria from Denmark and Steffie from Switzerland, out walking with Rocky. We trudged up to the strawberry farms that had been closed yesterday and had some very nice strawberry ice cream. With strawberries.

Exercise, nice weather and good company. This is why I’ve stayed here too long. Maybe I’ll move on tomorrow. Or the day after. Hmm.