Day 465:
Last night, after my noodles and beer, I met Dan from Connecticut who told me of his plan to rent a moped the next day and ride all over the region – and seeing how he had already figured out all the details about where, when, how much and I had no plans, I invited myself along. We got to the shop and the owner showed us what was available – he had either semi-automatic two-stroke bikes (no clutch, but still a foot shifter) for US$8/day or a full auto four-stroke for US$10/day. The only problem with the four-stroke bike was the giant Powerpuff Girl sticker on the front of the lime green bike.
Dan wanted to save a couple bucks so he went with the cheaper option, but I love the idea of more power for less work (I don’t have to shift!) and threw down the extra $2 for my Buttercup-emblazoned ride. We got on and it was then that Dan informed me he had never ridden a motorcycle of any type before and inquired about shifting… I gave him a quick primer and told him to go into the next roundabout and we’ll meet going the opposite direction on the same street… I turned the throttle of this beast and whipped into the roundabout coming out on the other side in a matter of seconds. And that was the last I saw of Dan.
I waited on the roadside for 10 minutes but he never showed and I had no way to get a hold of him. Finally I decided, to head into the jungle to the North without him and hoped we would catch up later. That never happened, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the thrill of the road as the Powerpuffy little beast pushed it’s way up to 60+ MPH. I wandered through the untouristed sections of jungle and beach alone taking a few pictures and enjoying the perfect day.
That evening when I returned to the hostel (slightly sunburnt), I eventually caught up with Dan and he told me about his day, which ended up being very similar to mine. We made plans to meet up the next morning to ride out and see some Orang Utans at the nearby nature reserve and I spent the evening drinking a few cheap beers and indulging in some local food.
Following the blood red trail markers through the dense jungle.
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