Our Sales Manager Jamie is passionate about travel and is always delighted to share his stories. On a recent trip to Bali in Indonesia he experienced the natural beauty of this exotic island by taking a cycling tour of the countryside. In this short blog he describes his experience.
Riding through the lush green rice paddy fields of beautiful Bali, it’s easy to see why people call this island paradise on earth. The road wound its way through small villages, rushing streams, and some of the greenest fields I had ever seen.
The day had started with a morning visit to a village temple, so that I could wish for a safe journey from the resident gods. Thankfully my guide had an inkling that I might not be dressed properly for a temple visit and brought with him a sarong for which he helped wrap around my waist, so that I could enter respectfully. He showed me how to lay the offering and after that, we were ready to head off, knowing that we could be assured we had the gods on our side.
As we rode along the quiet trail, surrounded by thick amber fields of rice on either side I was taken aback as to how stunning the scenery was. I couldn’t help but stop every few meters to take photo after photo. We passed through small farming villages and witnessed locals going about their busy lives. Whether it be women washing their clothes in the nearby stream, or children walking to school. Interestingly each one of the children was carrying a broom and I was told that they bring the brooms with them to school so that they can help sweep up at the end of the day, helping to keep their classrooms neat and tidy. Pretty much every child we saw seemed so excited to see us and they yelled “hello” at the top of their voices as we cycled past, bringing a smile to my face.
Continuing with the ride we had just reached the crest of a hill when our guide stopped. He pulled his bike to the side of the road and started to search through the tall grass. I caught up and pulled alongside him and waited to see what he was looking for him. He reached down and pulled out of the long grass a large durian fruit, covered in sharp prongs. Durian is one of my favorite fruits, and the guide knew this as I had been commenting along the way about how many fruit trees we were passing, and much to my excitement, I now had my very own to try. Not wasting any time, the guide threw the durian onto the hard pavement so that it would crack open and we could get to the middle of its sweet and stinky fruit. I took a big bite of the sweet, scented flesh in the middle and straight away felt energized for our onward journey.
From then on the rest of the ride was mainly a gradual breezy descent through picturesque forested areas until we finished at the water’s edge of a picturesque reservoir. The area was full of local fisherman returning from their day’s work out on the water. While the bikes were being loaded up into the van for the journey back, I stood in the shade under the trees feeling tired after the day’s excursion but also thinking what an enthralling yet peaceful day I had experienced and what a unique Island Bali is.
Bicycle trips can be included as part of a tour in all of Backyard Travel’s countries and so feel free to contact our locally based experts who will happily tailor you perfect vacation based on your very own specifications.
