Part 3.
Brand new day, or should I say day three of my vacation, I woke up with a massive headache, looking like a roasted turkey, oh and it was my husband’s Birthday. Happy Birthday sweetie! I somehow forest myself to get up from the bed to get ready for a two-hour trip to Ubud on a motorbike (to visit friends and celebrate the birthday). The bike seems to be Bail’s number one form of transportation, however, there’s nothing fun or comfortable about sitting on a bike for two hours with throbbing pain all over my body. To my surprise, getting there wasn’t the worst part, driving in Ubud was what did me in for good. Crazy traffic, crazy driving and no road rules, was a mix for a disaster. Sitting in the back wearing my yellow Despicable Me helmet, I held on tightly to a small piece of metal sticking out from the back of my seat (not much of a handle) and hoped for the best.
I trust my husband to drive carefully, and so he did, but not the trust, nor the helmet or the holding on was ever going to save us from getting cut off by a “lovely” lady. Going about 10 miles an hour (thank god) and driving on the right side of the road, a woman without looking to her right, made a sharp turn. I closed my eyes because I knew I was about to hit the payment and it was going to hurt pretty bad. What seemed ten minutes of flying in the air, was only about four seconds, but that didn’t matter. I hit my head, agents the sidewalk, my right knee slid across the payment like butter on a frying pan, literally creating a bloody marry with shredded pants (on the side), and my ass (my poor ass) was scratched and bruised in all the wrong places. Two men pull me up. I look dazed, upset and about to cry, vomit and do all the things I wanted to do ever since I got here. In all the commotion, the women that caused the accident never seemed to care about if lived or die, she looked like it was her mission in life to run tourist off the road. I guess if I were her (a local), I wouldn’t care either because the tourist is always at fault no matter what. My husband walked away with a leg injury (Happy Birthday, it could have been much worse) and the bike left without any damage. A birthday adventure that we will remember for a long time.
Even though this particular article might seem a bit of a downer, and as if I’m complaining, however, it’s what happened to me, and I see no reason to sugarcoat my experience. I didn’t regret what happened or how everything turned out to be. Maybe I wish I didn’t sustain as many injuries. I did get to see the real Bali and not the picture-perfect postcard image created to attract visitors. I got to see the island, how the locals live, meet new people, interviewed creative individuals (read about it more here) and I go to look at more than one beautiful location.
Travel truly makes you wiser and forces you to make smarter decisions!
