Ejected

 Got kicked out of my first mall today. Well, not actually kicked out, because I didn't even get through the front door. I didn't get through the front door because I have no vaccine app on my phone. I have no vaccine app because I've not been vaccinated. I've not been vaccinated because Moderna is not yet available in Bali. I have to wait for Moderna because I have MS. The guard at the door muttered something about an official letter of excuse, but I don't know what that letter is or where one might get it. Certainly not from my doctor, who has already told me that he doesn't know anything about it. Lol. 

So at this point Louis has advised that we just f--k the Moderna and get Sinovac, which is readily available. Sinovac is the original Chinese vaksin that was the first to come here to Indonesia, I believe. 

So whatever. It's a quality of life issue, right? Also, I don't know how I'm supposed to survive if I can't go to a supermarket, for instance. Although I could certainly do without the mall. Trouble is, a lot of the supermarkets here are inside of malls. 

Anyway, here's the news of the week, per the Sanur Weekly: 

Bali has now decreased to Level III COVID restrictions. Not sure what that means. As I've mentioned, the beaches are open, for one thing. And I suppose that dining restrictions and operating hours may be relaxed (although, as far as I can tell, they are already pretty relaxed here, at least at local establishments). As always, the government is hoping for a swift decrease in restrictions so that tourism can reopen and the island can revive. However, in the past weeks, Bali has been the province with the most COVID-19 red zones in the country. So that don't sound so great. 

A 30 year old Balinese man who snatched a phone in Karangasem regency has been arrested and is facing a few years behind bars for theft. Moral of the story: Don't steal things in Bali. 

There Javanese men, temporarily employed as construction workers in Bali, have been apprehended on their way back to Java after stealing seven air-conditioning units from residents in and around Ubud. The units were were dismantled and sold for around 2 million Rupiah (140 dollars). They face up to 7 years in prison. Moral of the story: Don't steal things in Bali. 

Hundreds of sparrows dropped to the ground in Bali's Gianyar regency on Thursday of last week. Local authorities initially believed that heavy rainfall was the culprit, but apparently it was eventually pointed out to them that birds have been dealing with heavy rainfall throughout the ages and it was later determined that pesticide poisoning was at fault. The newspaper adds, somewhat oddly, that this is "certainly not the best news for all the organic-vegan-yoga community members in an around Ubud as it shows that living in the area is anything but healthy." Hmm. Do I detect a prejudice here? 

In closing, I will mention that while I have been typing this, a couple of friends have advised against Sinovac in favor of good 'ol AstraZeneka, as Sinovac is not recognized by some of the Asian countries and not accepted for travel. So AstraZeneka it is, for now.