Riding on Bikes with Strangers

This day was filled with a variety of different methods of transportation. I started off on Gili Trawangan and ended in Lovina, North Bali.  The first vehicle of the day was a fast boat that took me from Gili T to Padang Bai, Bali. Once I landed in Bali, there was the task of finding transportation to North Bali. As my friends and colleagues here in Indonesia will tell you, arguing with taxi drivers is the worst. Most taxis here aren't metered and the advantage is always theirs as the bule or foreigners, are usually unaware or naive about the actual cost of services. Lucky for me, my Indonesian has been coming along well and I was able to bargain with a driver and get the cost down to 350,000 rupiah from the original 600,000 he had demanded. While I waited for him to retrieve the car, I purchased an ice cream and some water from a nearby stand and chatted with some of the locals using what little Indonesian I do know. Word to the wise folks, I don't care where you're traveling or how long you're there, it's polite to learn at least some rudimentary phrases in the language of the land. Terima kasih. (Thank you) For the final Gili post, here are some random pictures.

LOOK. AT. THAT. WATER.

Some local kids asked for a photo and with those faces how could I say no?

The three hour drive along the coast to Lovina was absolutely stunning. I nearly killed my camera battery in my attempt to get as many pictures of the scenery as possible. On top of the beautiful scenery, I had a fully charged iPod, and after asking my driver's permission, proceeded to belt out such great tunes as "You Can't Hurry Love", "Paper Airplanes", and "Another One Bites the Dust". Did I seem crazy? Yes. Did people stare? Yes. Would I do it again? YOU BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR. 

"Are you ready? Hey, are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?"

We pulled into Lovina and Wayan, a man who works at my hotel, was waiting on his motorcycle to escort us down the road to the hotel. As Bali is the capital of Indonesia's tourism, everyone is extremely helpful when it comes to getting the tourists to spend their money. Once I dropped my bags in my room, Wayan lost no time in asking me which activities I would like to do in the area,(dolphin watching and scuba diving) and then volunteered to drive me to his friend's shop to sign up for scuba diving. Many times during my stay in Indonesia I have had to disobey one standard rule that my mom told me while I was growing up: Don't take rides from strangers. Nonetheless, moments after I arrived in Lovina, I found myself on the back of a stranger's motorcycle, riding through crazy Indonesian traffic, to an unknown destination. I guess you only live once. I signed up for a scuba diving trip bright and early the next morning, and wandered around the village until a few consecutive yawns told me it was time to catch another ojek or motorcycle taxi, back to my hotel for a good night's sleep. I could get used to this.