We are home. Paul is much better. The kindly doctors who visited the house and took blood didn't commit to a diagnosis but said it was likely dengue fever. (Yes there is a vaccine.)

Unlike the real doctors, our property manager, a graduate of Internet Medical School, was quick to share her diagnosis, one based on a rigorous email-based examination. Me: He has a headache, high fever, and severe body aches. Property manager: Paul needs a vitamin and mineral drip. I declined. She followed up with several more emails re-stating the offer, all of which I declined.

Oh, and in the course of our back and forth I sunk myself when I let slip the words flu shot. This elicited a lecture on how vaccines work and why I shouldn't which tempted me to ask whether she flew on planes piloted by random people pulled off the street.

Our last day of travel was spent getting home. Made (pronounced ma-day, with the accent on day) drove us to the airport. We got used to his driving, it is as relaxing as driving in Bali can be. Made drives a small, late-model, air conditioned van, like everyone in Bali who isn't on a scooter. And like every driver in Bali he keeps one hand on the wheel/handlebar and one on the horn beeping here I am. He calmly weaves around other vehicles, dodging dogs and pedestrians, all the while he is swimming in a sea of motorbikes. It's like he has some little force field around his car, he gets oh so close but never touches, and he flips his mirrors in and out constantly. Electric in-and-out mirrors were made for places like this.

The road from Ubud to the airport in Denpasar takes about 90 minutes unless you go in the middle of the night, then it takes half that. The road isn't highway, it's narrow lanes and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Both sides of the road are hemmed in by a succession of shops, home stays, resorts, and temples which at some point start to look alike, and here I especially mean the temples. The temples are blocky structures, built out of something like grey legos but sparkled with the occasional fantastical statue. Like a big blue elephant with a golden sash and red eyes. Occasionally there's a break and you get a glimpse of a lush green rice paddy.

The five-hour flight to Taiwan was uneventful. But the ten-hour flight on to Vancouver came with lots of turbulence that went on way too long. Through it all the EVA crew was all calm and collected. They'd made a good impression on the flight over when we missed a connection; they rerouted us without our having to ask and held a plane to ensure our luggage accompanied us.

The final leg, the drive home from Victoria airport, was on another two lane road though otherwise it resembled Bali not at all. We arrived to a freezing cold house but our friend Marcus left us with an appreciated gift, a ready-to-light wood stove. Thanks Marcus!

I'm listening to Bob Marley's Legend album.