Carissa's travels vol. 1

Today was the most unique day of my life. My first official day in Bali had me feeling very out of my element. Fresh off a three month adventure on the East coast of Australia, I was begining to feel pretty good about my travel bearings... then I landed in Indonesia. Wow! Shit! This place is foreign... Obvious, I know, but it REALLY is. Vespas and motorbikes flutter around the streets like swarms of mosquitos. They are lunatics on the road. I saw a family of five on one scooter, it was completely nuts. The villages where I am staying seem to be arranged in nonsensical ways, no city center here. The culture is rich. The colors, the smells, everything is unlike anything I have ever seen. I had an amazing breakfast for less than $4. Strolling on the beach this morning was highlighted by the many religious ceremonies I witnessed. Beautiful costumes and melodies made the pituresque landscape even that much better. As tranquil and lovely as my morning was, my afternoon proved to be anything but that. I have my own apartment and am lucky enough to have a wonderful couple living below me. Struggling with the 1964 vespa that my friend Hai Dai had so kindly offered to me earned the attention of the whole block. Kid giggled and my embarrassment grew. I saw children a quarter of my age fearlessly navigating the busiest streets with ease. And here I am not being able to start the beast. My neighbors came to my rescue and offered me their very posh Vespa for the day, it was so kind. Fast forward a couple of minutes and not only am I driving a Vespa for probably the third time in my whole life, but I am doing it in a third-world country that drives on the opposite side of the road than I am accustomed to. Shit show, thats the name of this episode. I began my trip driving very catiously, basically slow as hell. The packs of riders weaving around cars, pot holes, dogs and people tend not to take a liking to slow westerners. They lay on their horn buttons and whiz around you from all sides. This proves to be very distracting, which probably explains how I got lost for four hours today. I know it sounds dangerous, but I was within a 5k loop the whole time, around and around. Needless to say I got a wicked sunburn. By the time I figured out where my apartment was I realized I was down half a tank of gas. Surely I had to refuel before I returned the bike. Pulling up there were five men sitting in a row and bikes funneled through one by one. I couldn't figure out where the gas went, or how to lift the seat so I got quite a chuckle out of them and the other customers. With smiles they aided me, with smiles they ripped me off. $9000 rupia for 2 liters, cool no problem. I handed them two 50000 bills. He looked at me and chuckled and promptly gave me 1000 change. I pulled off feeling a bit confused. The gas should have cost .90 cents and I happily paid $9 USD. dammit!!! Not too big of a deal but I cannot make a habit of that. I am looking forward to my time here and am quite excited for adventures to come.