A new beginning in Bali

I took a last look at the two huge maps I had stuck to the wall above my bed. The first was a map of Australia showing my route and the second a map of the world. I’d deliberately put them up as a visual reminder of how far I had come and where I was going. It was hard to believe I was finally packing up my bike and gear to fly to Indonesia.

Packing for a world cycling adventure isn’t easy. I’ve read many times about how people invariably end up taking things they don’t need or will never use. I had the luxury of cycling for a few months in my home country of Australia and figuring out what I could offload whilst my arm was healing. There were a few items that I’d decided I wouldn’t be needing for the rest of the trip including my camping chair (a lovely luxury to have in the Australian bush) and solar panel (never used).

I felt a surge of excitement at the airport check-in desk. It was finally happening – I was getting back on the road! I had been back home in Melbourne for long enough that leaving again was hard but I knew I needed to continue my adventure.

I hadn’t been overseas since before the pandemic. What better place to drop back into international travel than the sensory overload that is South-East Asia. I’d never been to Indonesia and outside of Bali I had zero expectations.

I was slammed by heat and humidity as I stepped out of the airport. Time to start getting used to it, I would be in the tropics for the next six months or so. My Dad had given me the number of a taxi driver he’d met during a previous trip to Bali. It was great to have my bike and heavy box of gear picked up from the airport. Tude was super chill and responded to my question about the best local food by taking me to a restaurant serving up satay kambing. It was the first of many times that I would eat this delicious meal.

I’d booked the cheapest hotel I could find – $6 for my own room with air conditioning. Not bad going! I needed to get my visa extended which meant staying close to the immigration office whilst my application was processed.

I enjoyed a relaxing couple of days eating delicious food and getting a feel for the place. Kuta Beach was as I’d expected – overdeveloped with lots of Australians and comparatively expensive. Yet the friendliness of the Balinese people and Hindu culture with countless puras (temples) shone through the tourist development.

I reassembled my bike and cycled down to the southern tip of the island. It was great to get away from Kuta. The pristine Green Bowl Beach was a gem and the many steps down from the sea cliff meant it wasn’t too crowded.

There was plenty of traffic on the roads but many more mopeds than cars or trucks which generally gave me a wide berth.

I also spent a couple of days in Ubud which was still quite touristy but very beautiful. It was a pleasure to cycle up through the rice paddies and villages. The streets were lined with decorated bamboo poles known as penjor. The Balinese take their spirituality seriously.

It took about five days for my visa extension to be approved but I now had sixty days to explore Indonesia. I contacted a local Wayan on Warmshowers. He lived in a small village on the east side of the island called Sibetan.

It felt good to be back on my fully loaded bicycle but I was also a little nervous about the steep roads of Bali. I had rented a stationary bike trainer whilst my arm was healing and had finally gotten out on the road a few weeks before leaving Melbourne. However, there was no doubt that I had lost much of the cycling fitness I’d built up over 7,000 Kms through the centre of Australia.

It had been dry during my first week in Bali despite it being the wet season. The heavens finally opened during my ride to Sibetan. I opted to cycle through the rain having been drenched in sweat from the get go.

It wasn’t long before I’d left the throngs of tourists and it felt nice to start to get off the beaten path. There were some killer pinches as the road east crossed numerous streams coming down from the volcanoes in the centre of the island.

I had some amazing views as I got close to Wayan’s home. It looked like the whole planet had been tilted by a few degrees as I observed the lower gradient slopes of Gunung Agung – an active volcano and the highest peak on Bali.

I arrived at Wayan’s home just after dark. The address I’d plugged into Google Maps led me down a narrow path lined with dense jungle. I messaged Wayan on WhatsApp to confirm I was in the right spot and he emerged from the darkness with a big smile on his face.

Wayan was super nice and stoked to have me stay with him and his family. I was also stoked, he was my first international host and I was excited to see what life was like for Balinese people.

There was no shortage of tasty snacks and rice fuelled meals. As Wayan said “No rice, no power”. This became a mantra for me in Indonesia. The following morning we hiked along terraced rice paddies to the oldest village in Bali. I marvelled at the lush tropical scenery, not noticing how much I was sweating until I could feel the beads of sweat dripping off my elbows.

It was also Siwa Ratri ‘the night of Siwa’. This is a time that Hindus pray for forgiveness and for support from the god Siwa (Shiva). Wayan and his family, like most Balinese are practising Hindus. That evening, Wayan took me to the Besakih Mother Temple high up on the slopes of Gunung Agung. The road appeared to go up indefinitely and I thought about what it might be like to ride up with my heavy bike. It was a wet, drizzly evening with dense clouds but that did not prevent the crowds of devout followers from visiting the temple.

I followed Wayan’s lead as he performed various rituals and said prayers. It was a truly amazing experience to sit in the pouring rain with hundreds of others as the prayers were crecited in a temple on the slopes of an active volcano.

The next day I said farewell to Wayan and headed to Ahmed Beach on the east coast of Bali. I’d opted for the flat coastal road instead of going up and over the volcanoes in the centre of the island. I was a little disappointed in myself for not tackling the mountains but I knew there were plenty of long steep roads ahead of me in Java. Little did I know just how steep or how long they would be.

I enjoyed a rest day at a small backpackers near Singaraja. It was an interesting experience hanging out with the other travellers. I didn’t feel like the ‘normal’ backpacker I had been in the past. I was still a tourist in a foreign country but I was here for a different type of travel.

Arriving at the ferry terminal, I was glad to say goodbye to the relative familiarity of Bali and looked forward to the unknown that Java would bring. It was great to get a few hundred kilometres under my belt and be overseas once again. Roll on the next stage of Indonesia!