Took some time to find Dr. Kim, Nyoman had driven me downtown Denpasar to find a Chinese medicinal herb place where the old guy read my pulses. Bali Bill had indicated where to go. But then later Bill said there's a place nearby down the Bypass, the busy street, an obscure Chinese grocery store, If they don't have it they'll get it from their Chinese pharmacy downtown. Mentioned that to Nyoman and he knew about it, pointed it out. Why didn't they tell me about it before?
Said they opened late and stayed open late. Around the corner from our favorite restaurant music dive, Annapurna. Mentioned it to a woman there who's into acupuncture etc and she said the Wong family lives there and they have the oldest Chinese medicine place in the city - and the most common last name in the world. Now we go there. Dr. Kim doesn't get in till nine at night. He's downtown all day, every day. Leaves home at eight thirty in the morning. Both places open at ten. When he returns he runs the cash register till eleven so his wife can have off. I'd seen her first in the afternoon. In front are a couple of food stands with tables. Walk in and there are cans, bottles, bags, boxes, stuff in fridges, not lit well. Nothing about Chinese medicine. She got on the phone to him to see if they could replace a bottle of little black Chinese herb pills Katrinka had bought for 150,000 rupia [bout $12] from an Aussie acupuncturist here. Kim brought the bottle in with him, his charge 30,000, But when he'd read her pulses and found out what Katrinka wanted it for he gave her something else. When he read my pulses all he said is I don't have trouble sleeping. Last night was talking to him. Said I'd stopped taking low dose aspirin as a blood thinner, the only medicine I took, because Dengue Fever thins the blood - it's called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Asked him if I understood right and if he agreed. Don't know what he knows about that. He just said that it's like your car battery. Don't want the water level too high or too low. Don't want your blood too thin or not thin enough, too much or too little cholesterol, blood pressure too high or too low. Gave me something said will make me feel young. I think he meant sexually. I said I already feel young. He said yes the body follows the mind but that it has an age. He told me not to be competitive in tennis. Just sweat, don't try too hard to get that ball to win. Had a friend who'd died playing basketball.
Said they opened late and stayed open late. Around the corner from our favorite restaurant music dive, Annapurna. Mentioned it to a woman there who's into acupuncture etc and she said the Wong family lives there and they have the oldest Chinese medicine place in the city - and the most common last name in the world. Now we go there. Dr. Kim doesn't get in till nine at night. He's downtown all day, every day. Leaves home at eight thirty in the morning. Both places open at ten. When he returns he runs the cash register till eleven so his wife can have off. I'd seen her first in the afternoon. In front are a couple of food stands with tables. Walk in and there are cans, bottles, bags, boxes, stuff in fridges, not lit well. Nothing about Chinese medicine. She got on the phone to him to see if they could replace a bottle of little black Chinese herb pills Katrinka had bought for 150,000 rupia [bout $12] from an Aussie acupuncturist here. Kim brought the bottle in with him, his charge 30,000, But when he'd read her pulses and found out what Katrinka wanted it for he gave her something else. When he read my pulses all he said is I don't have trouble sleeping. Last night was talking to him. Said I'd stopped taking low dose aspirin as a blood thinner, the only medicine I took, because Dengue Fever thins the blood - it's called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Asked him if I understood right and if he agreed. Don't know what he knows about that. He just said that it's like your car battery. Don't want the water level too high or too low. Don't want your blood too thin or not thin enough, too much or too little cholesterol, blood pressure too high or too low. Gave me something said will make me feel young. I think he meant sexually. I said I already feel young. He said yes the body follows the mind but that it has an age. He told me not to be competitive in tennis. Just sweat, don't try too hard to get that ball to win. Had a friend who'd died playing basketball.