My first morning in Indonesia, 21st April, got off to a slow start – breakfast (for want of a better word) was included with the room rate. I went to investigate motorbike rental, and nearby was a helpful guy with motorbikes for hire, who said that unfortunately I would first need to pass the Indonesian driving test (consisting of a written exam) even though I have an International Driving Permit. The local licence, he said, was a bureaucratic formality which I could get done the next day, Monday.

I went for a long wander which got me as far as the nearest beach where surfers were in action. Over lunch I read my guide book more thoroughly, now that it seemed that I would be able to get around Bali independently on a rented motorbike at reasonable cost. I went back out to the airport to see if there was any sign of a message from Will Tappe, but there was none, so I got a motorbike taxi back into Denpasar. I was getting used to the much lower costs of travelling in Indonesia compared with Australia and New Zealand.

I saw the motorbike rental guy again, and had a look at the bike that I was hoping to rent. It was a Honda 100, very similar to one that I rented in Northern Thailand with my ex-girlfriend a couple of years ago in 1989. Then I went back to my room and got my diary up to date – it was several days behind.

On 22nd April I was up and off by 8:30 to get the licence. I had been told to wear decent clothes – not shorts and T shirt – so I put on my one and only collared short sleeve shirt, and hoped for the best. Before doing the driving test I had to buy the insurance for the motorbike rental (this seemed the wrong way round!).

Then the “guide” who had been assigned to help me get the licence took me to the police station in time for the exam – there were a dozen other people taking the driving test. The guide proceeded to sit next to me and tell me the answers even though the exam was in English and seemed quite easy! He seemed to be telling me the wrong answers, but in the end nobody seemed to care what I’d put on the paper and after some money had changed hands I was issued with the temporary permit.

I headed back to check out of the hotel – I decided to leave my sleeping bag with the owner for the duration of my motorbike trip, since I really don’t expect to need it. Then I climbed on my Honda 100, and was off! On the way through the busy streets of Denpasar, for the sake of due diligence, I checked at the main post office for any message from Will, but there was none – I left one for him just in case, since I’d said I would when we said goodbye back in Guatemala.

Then, I headed out of town to the north, with the wind in my face! It was great fun, and the roads were reasonably good. I headed uphill through a series of small villages – riding was so enjoyable that I only stopped once to drink a bottle of Coke. I thus reached my destination for the day: the lakeside village of Bedugal, which seemed rather cool and humid. I found a cheap losmen (lodging) where I met 3 girls from New Zealand – 2 nurses and a psychologist. We all headed out for noodles down by the lake.

After late start on 23rd April and long sociable breakfast it was finally time to go and see the town’s main attraction – the lakeside temple of Ulun Danu Beratan.

The main part of the temple appeared to be below the level of the lake and was being pumped out – perhaps the lake was a lot higher than normal. Round the corner at another part of the temple complex there was some kind of worship ceremony going on. The smell of incense was everywhere. The three Kiwi girls suddenly turned up by boat which they had apparently contracted from closer to the lodging – probably a better way to arrive than motorbike.

A chat with the gardener led to a recommendation to go and see the nearby botanical gardens which were very peaceful. Then I collected my backpack and headed north once more, up along a very scenic road above the second lake – Danau Buyan.

I was now quite high up in the centre of the Island, and as I started descending to the west the heavens opened and I had to stop and shelter in a shop front. The wet road had a lot of curves to negotiate as it zig zagged down, so I took it slowly. The scenery was all very green – a huge contrast from the constant red of Australia.

The light was starting to fail when I reached the village of Pupuan, and asked for a losmen to stay the night, but was told there wasn’t one. So I had to continue down the winding road to the south in darkness to the only nearby place that my book mentioned, which was down on the south coast – the Balian Beach hotel. I was relieved to reach it – the people were friendly and there was Irish music being played!