Leaving Bali

Sadly, our time in Bali has come to an end. We have that weird time dilation where because we’ve been out of routine and packed so much into our time here, it seems like months have gone by since we arrived. But really, it’s a bit over two weeks. We’ve seen all four points of Bali: the east on our way to Amed, the North near Lovina, the west at Gilimanuk and the South at Melasti beach. The bikes and Dalma and I have ridden 615 km (not including the short ride to the airport today). Our longest day was 19 July, when we rode 106 km from Permuteran Beach to Pulukum. We’ve stayed in a wide range of accommodations, from a traditional Balinese stilt house in Jalni Beach to a luxury beachfront in Lovina.

Our tough little scooters have held up beautifully. Although there’s one last ride to do, they have (touch wood) started every time we’ve twisted the key, gone what we wanted them to, and been enormously tough and capable little machines. We’ve ridden on tarmac, broken concrete, dirt, gravel, up and down steep mountain roads, burned along the freeway, splashed through waterlogged roads, skirted traffic on the sidewalk … you name it, we’ve ridden it. And we’ve only had to turn back once. In all honesty, the nMaxs 155s that were recommended would have been very nice bikes, but the rugged Honda Vario 125 and Yamaha Lexi 125 now hold a special place in our memories.

Dalma is off getting one last massage. I’m sitting out the front of our bungalow, which they’ve kindly let us use until 3 pm. Somewhere someone is smoking pot, and the skunky, pungent smell fuses with other Bali: the quiet of a backstreet guesthouse, the wind, the bubbling sound of the infinity pool, the distant hum of motorcycles, the spicy aftertaste of sambal matah and hot food on the tongue. The Indonesians we’ve met have been to a person kindly and welcoming to strangers traveling in their land. They’ve been a bit bemused by a couple of bule-bule riding motorcycles longish distances, but they’ve also been supportive. They are the most wonderful people.

We’re a bit melancholy about going home, particularly as we know the workload waiting for us. But Indonesia isn’t going anywhere, and we’ll be back. Maybe next time, we’ll be in Java. Who knows? There’s a world out there that needs exploring.