Motorbikes

Nusa Lembongan is a rather small place with no cars. However, there are plenty of motorbikes to help you get around. Mostly I walk 15 minutes down the beach to get to the dive shop every day. But last week I encountered a snake along my travels. That, combined with very volitile and rapidly changing tides makes it very hard to walk the beach at some times during the day. The divemasters at the shop very kindly give me rides to and from "work."

I negotiated an exchange of motorbike lessons for English lessons with Made M. Yesterday was my first go at driving a motorbike. He took me to a field where the locals play volleyball. He showed me how to work the pedals and the gears. He had me prctice in the field. I was pretty confident in my skills and wanted to drive on the road. So Made got on and we headed for the road. Well, with him screaming in my ear and pulling my shoulders where he thought I should be steering, the attempt did not end so well..... especially for the short tree I ran over. Everyone on the vololeyball court heard the "accident" and I was completely mortified. We went back and practiced A LOT more. I did manage to drive us back to the dive shop on the road.

Well now the divemasters are quite amused and make fun of me oh so often. They ride their bikes into me and pretend to crash into things while walking next to me. I am not sure when I will give this another go.... maybe in a few days.