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| Denpasar |
There are a number of things worse than trying to navigate a new city at night time on foot. One of those things is navigating a new city at night time on foot with a scooter which has just stopped working.
I was returning to central Denpasar after driving around rather aimlessly around the countryside near Ubud. It was approximately 18:00 and I was on my way back to the hostel, driving along one of the arterial routes when I noticed the power of my Suzuki Skywave was starting to diminish rapidly. I stop at a red light. Two minutes pass.
Green!
I hit the accelerator.
Nothing.
It dies on me.
Hordes of riders overtake me as I quickly dismount and push the bike to the other end of the intersection and into a small bike park on the side of the road.
“Fuck fuck fuck, why now”.
I immediately put the problem down to overheating. I could feel the warmth air being emitted from the engine. ‘Maybe if I wait 10 minutes, it would have cooled down enough to get me back to the hostel. It’s only 5km away’ I thought.
10 minutes had passed and it had now become dark. Time to test it once again.
I pulled the brake and pushed the start button.
The scooter splurts back to life
“Fucking A”
I travel 10 meters.
It was becoming clear this scooter was out of action. All the nearby mechanics had closed for the day. There was only one option - we’re pushing this fucker back to the hostel. Walking is slow, so i decide to run there.
There I was, running on the side of the road, in the dark, through intersections, wearing a motorcycle helmet and a hoodie, in 25 ℃. It’s hot.
I turn down a quiet road where there are no shops and the lighting is sparse. I’ve covered about 150m by foot and I’m becoming less enthusiastic about running with this scooter. High humidity it seems is not conducive to long distance running.
The absence of light brings clarity to the dashboard interface. The fuel guage catches my eye. The fuel pointer points to ‘empty’.
I thought I’d been running around with ¾ of a tank full of gas.
This is great fucking news.
In Bali, you can find petrol for sale every bloody 100m. A lot of people purchase large quantities of petrol and sell it on the side of the road for convenience. Look out for the glass ‘Absolut Vodka’ bottles or something similar.
I approach a ‘warung’ which appears to sell petrol on the side. A bunch of men are sitting on a bench smoking and just chilling (No1 Indonesian past-time).
I point to the bottles
“Bensin! 1 Litre, harga?”
1 Litre cost me 10,000 IDR which is around $1 NZD. I don't know exactly what type of petrol it is but it works.
By now it’s approaching 19:30 and all I’ve eaten for lunch is an ice cream and a canned latte. Turning down a random street i approach a food stall (basically a wheeled benchtop with a sign and a bbq) in some like of bazaar-like area with long tables and plastic chairs. I used to find them somewhat intimidating as most of the time it's just words on a board.
Buying local food gets a whole lot easier once you know what the words mean.
The fastest way to learn the language is to purchase food.
“Nasi Goreng, Ayam, telur….two… Duo”
Harga?- 24,900 IDR
I was returning to central Denpasar after driving around rather aimlessly around the countryside near Ubud. It was approximately 18:00 and I was on my way back to the hostel, driving along one of the arterial routes when I noticed the power of my Suzuki Skywave was starting to diminish rapidly. I stop at a red light. Two minutes pass.
Green!
I hit the accelerator.
Nothing.
It dies on me.
Hordes of riders overtake me as I quickly dismount and push the bike to the other end of the intersection and into a small bike park on the side of the road.
“Fuck fuck fuck, why now”.
I immediately put the problem down to overheating. I could feel the warmth air being emitted from the engine. ‘Maybe if I wait 10 minutes, it would have cooled down enough to get me back to the hostel. It’s only 5km away’ I thought.
10 minutes had passed and it had now become dark. Time to test it once again.
I pulled the brake and pushed the start button.
The scooter splurts back to life
“Fucking A”
I travel 10 meters.
It was becoming clear this scooter was out of action. All the nearby mechanics had closed for the day. There was only one option - we’re pushing this fucker back to the hostel. Walking is slow, so i decide to run there.
There I was, running on the side of the road, in the dark, through intersections, wearing a motorcycle helmet and a hoodie, in 25 ℃. It’s hot.
I turn down a quiet road where there are no shops and the lighting is sparse. I’ve covered about 150m by foot and I’m becoming less enthusiastic about running with this scooter. High humidity it seems is not conducive to long distance running.
The absence of light brings clarity to the dashboard interface. The fuel guage catches my eye. The fuel pointer points to ‘empty’.
I thought I’d been running around with ¾ of a tank full of gas.
This is great fucking news.
In Bali, you can find petrol for sale every bloody 100m. A lot of people purchase large quantities of petrol and sell it on the side of the road for convenience. Look out for the glass ‘Absolut Vodka’ bottles or something similar.
I approach a ‘warung’ which appears to sell petrol on the side. A bunch of men are sitting on a bench smoking and just chilling (No1 Indonesian past-time).
I point to the bottles
“Bensin! 1 Litre, harga?”
1 Litre cost me 10,000 IDR which is around $1 NZD. I don't know exactly what type of petrol it is but it works.
By now it’s approaching 19:30 and all I’ve eaten for lunch is an ice cream and a canned latte. Turning down a random street i approach a food stall (basically a wheeled benchtop with a sign and a bbq) in some like of bazaar-like area with long tables and plastic chairs. I used to find them somewhat intimidating as most of the time it's just words on a board.
Buying local food gets a whole lot easier once you know what the words mean.
The fastest way to learn the language is to purchase food.
“Nasi Goreng, Ayam, telur….two… Duo”
Harga?- 24,900 IDR
Oh dear...not such a great time, you poor guy! But really interesting reading. I didn't know you used the f*** word so frequently, Sean! (I do, privately, I'll have to admit! Hope nobody is listening outside my door sometimes. Poor crazy cat lady who lives by herself, swearing because she can't find something she had only two seconds ago.) My clutter is starting to diminish, believe it or not. Got sick of living in chaos. Now aiming for space and serenity. Anyway,hope you have it better with the scooter from now on, and more interesting sights and experiences ahead of you. Im :)
ReplyDeleteIt's all part of the fun we call life.
ReplyDeleteI never expected it to be all smooth sailing.
Christchurch and really New Zealand in general is actually the perfect place to find space and serenity.