27/05/2026
Day 2 — Volcanoes, Temples & the Art of Getting Pleasantly Lost A Solo Motorcycle Ride Across Indonesia
Morning arrived in the manner that only tropical resorts can manage — shamelessly beautiful and entirely unreasonable about it. What the previous evening's darkness had concealed, daylight now generously revealed. Here's how the day unfolded:
* The resort, unmasked by daylight — Lush green foliage, the sea glittering in the background, and a ferry gliding past as though arranged purely for my viewing pleasure. All admired from the rather civilised comfort of my porch.
* Breakfast, done properly — Fresh fruits, toast, eggs to order, and local coffee. Not luwak.
* The first turn out of the resort was, predictably, the wrong one — And yet it redeemed itself almost immediately with a panoramic view of the sea that no map would have led me to. The road less navigated is simply the road more rewarding.
* Mount Batur, viewed from the sunrise point — An active volcano that last erupted twenty years ago. There is something quietly magnificent about staring down a volcano over your morning itinerary.
* Riding through volcanic ash — A monochromatic sea of grey, punctuated by extraordinary geological formations: hardened lava sculpted over centuries into shapes belonging more to a science fiction film than a Balinese landscape. Eerie, otherworldly, and utterly spectacular.
* The descent into the volcano's foothills and the climb towards Kintamani — The kind of riding that demands both attention and a cheerful disregard for one's comfort.
* Bali takes its rainfall obligations seriously — The heavens opened with considerable enthusiasm just as I found myself riding through a dense forest, en route to the island's most revered Hindu temple.
* A forced but fortuitous pitstop, 3 km short of the temple — At a small shop run by a kind elderly woman, over coffee and through animated hand gestures and generous smiles, we had what I would describe as a rather lovely ten-minute conversation. Neither of us understood a single word the other said, and we both seemed thoroughly satisfied with the outcome.
* Pura Besakih — the Great Temple, the Mother Temple of Bali — It commands its hillside with the quiet authority of something that has been watching civilisations come and go for centuries. My helmet was placed in the conscientious care of a young parking attendant who treated it with a seriousness of purpose I found both touching and faintly amusing.
* A festival day, by the looks of it — The complex was alive with locals, the 700-metre walk to the shrine a full sensory experience — ceremonial colours, chanting filling the air, and shops and restaurants lining either side of the road.
* A noteworthy observation on culinary geography — The restaurants here serve meat with cheerful abandon, which would be considered rather bold positioning within half a mile of any temple back in India. Fascinating, these small cultural negotiations.
* A quiet lunch before departing — Vegetable fried rice and local tea, taken in contemplative silence before pointing the motorcycle toward Padang Bai.
* Indonesian fuel debut at a Pertamina station — A pleasant discovery: petrol here is cheaper than back home. Small victories.
* Arrived at a charming beach resort in Padang Bai — Just enough daylight left for a brief reconnaissance of the shore, which revealed black sand, rocks of every conceivable shape, and a handful of locals having a practically unproductive evening.
* A ship on the horizon, making its way toward Lembar— The very waters I would be crossing the following morning.
* The car park held a rather humbling encounter — An overlander in a Rubicon, who had driven all the way from Dubai. The journey had taken her three and a half years. I suddenly felt considerably less adventurous about my own itinerary.
* Dinner: Nasi Goreng, thoughtfully modified for a largely vegetarian constitution. Then a peaceful night, with the waves performing their nightly duties just outside the window.
Next up: a five-hour ferry across open water, followed by a small boat to an island resort. The sea, apparently, has plans for me.
