Police Escort

Pulling out of the parking area we could hear a siren and there were flashing lights ahead of the bus in front of the convoy. We suddenly realized that we had a police escort. The “polisi” led our procession of buses through the streets at a hasty rate of speed as other vehicles pulled over for us to pass (or were sometimes just pushed off the road!). Mostly we drove down the middle of the road and often on the wrong side, people and motorists scattering in our wake. Each intersection had police posted, who had stopped the traffic and we whizzed through the red lights, never stopping or even slowing down.  It was a rather frightening drive but one I will always remember. I supposed they were trying to assure us of the maximum security but it more made us feel more like a target of dignitaries!

Our first stop was at Hardy’s Supermarket, which is a 3 story building full of clothing, crafts and groceries. The prices are fixed but they automatically give you a 15% discount and they have almost every item that you see in the streets and shops downtown but all in one location. We found some great shirts for Gord and I picked up a few small baskets.

We were all ushered into a staged area, given Bali coffee and escorted to chairs for the entertainment segment. Several girls with elaborate costumes and makeup danced for us. Their extremely long  fingers moved gracefully and looked like they bent backward, they were so flexible.