Driving is a bit harder now that I am actually keeping my eyes open!
But I am learning some new tricks. When turning right onto a main road, I now manouevre myself into a gap between other motorbikes, and just accelerate when they do…. It’s not pretty, but it works!
I can’t help talking about the driving here, because it really is so amazing.
The times when I still become frightened though, are when I see a truck coming towards me on a narrow road out amongst the rice fields. I have worked out that there is usually just enough room for me to squeeze past, without falling off the edge of the road and into the ditch.
But what looks like enough space for only one motorbike through my eyes, is actually enough room for 3 or 4 locals, riding side by side!! People say that the Balinese are bad drivers. I disagree. I think they are very skilful………
It seems that whenever there is a truck coming towards me, there will inevitably be a tightly packed group of motorcyclists hiding behind that truck, waiting to appear just as I get close. Without fail, out they come. And I just want to close my eyes again, convinced that we are going to crash! But amazingly, their timing always seems to be perfect, and the bikes just seem to ‘flow’ into whatever space their riders saw; and I open my eyes to find that I am still vertical, and continuing to move in my intended direction…..
The area where I do most of my driving, doesn’t see many westerners, so I stick out like a sore thumb. I am happy about this, and it’s a good thing, because the other drivers usually smile (laugh) at me, and give me a very wide berth!
Since coming to live in Bali, I have also slowly been learning about the WC’s – water closets. More like swimming pools than water closets much of the time, as everything seems to be soaking wet, including the floor! To us westerners, we assume that’s a bad thing, and probably the result of an ‘accident’ - in fact, it’s most likely because the users of the toilet have washed them afterwards. So if you find yourself walking into a toilet where the floor is awash, and the toilet seat is soaking wet, don’t worry – it will most likely be fresh, clean water!
Next to each toilet will usually be a large tub of water, and a plastic ladle about the size of a saucepan. This is the water to be used for flushing – and is the reason why the toilets and floors always seem to be wet. It’s from sloshing pans of water into and over the toilet after use. In some cases there will be a hose attached to the toilet which can also be used for flushing.
A word of warning here… Be very careful if you choose to use one of these hoses for ‘personal hygiene’ – a friend of mine thought she may have done herself permanent damage, when the water pressure was similar to that of a fire extinguisher! It is a good idea though, to take tissues or toilet paper with you when traveling, or away from the central areas or more upmarket establishments – toilet paper isn’t provided in many local facilities.
In the more low key or traditional restaurants, bars and cafes, there will usually be a small plastic bin next to the toilet. This is for used toilet paper. The older or more basic sewage systems simply cannot cope with paper being disposed of in the toilets. At first it feels strange not just flushing away all the ‘evidence’, but after a while you get used to it. I guess it isn’t really fair to try to impose our western ways, onto a system that will be damaged by those actions.
Interestingly, smells and flies don’t seem to be much of a problem in the toilets here, in spite of the lack of sophisticated plumbing? Coming from Western Australia, where flies are a real public menace, I find that absolutely fascinating…..
That, and the ability to squeeze past those trucks in formation! It’s often the small things in life that are the most interesting, don’t you think.
