We waved goodbye to Nyoman, who stood nervously at the edge of a gas station watching us waiting for an opening for a crazy right hand turn into Kuta traffic mayhem. He couldn’t take it anymore and ran out into the oncoming rush and stopped cars and motorbikes while we burst out onto the street. Nyoman had rented us a fifteen year old Suzuki Katana for our stay in Bali. The car is a two door SUV that is smaller than my Scion at home. It’s right hand drive like everything here. Until I actually drove it, I kept thinking that driving on the left side of the road would be the tricky part. For me, though, it’s shifting with my left hand and signaling with my right, but down is right and up is left. Thankfully, the pedals are in the same order. It is also hard to be the passenger when the driver drives so close to the edge of the road and motorbikes whiz by on both sides in both directions. There’s a guy texting while driving a motorbike with three passengers including a toddler and a baby! There are two people on a motorbike carrying two 30-foot long pieces of PVC pipe on their shoulders driving on the wrong side of the road! There’s a dump truck that says “I love you full!” on the windshield pulling out in front of us without looking to the right! We’re getting the hang of it and it’s mostly hilarious.

We arrived in Bingin and within a few hours had negotiated a home in a homestay with three gorgeous buildings, beautiful gardens and a very sweet family who owns the place. The town skirts a cliff and accommodations and warungs (restaurants) sit along the cliff edge and down the cliff. It’s a surf mecca with Impossibles break right below us and Dreamland just down the beach. Opulent villas, hotels and lodges are becoming common here and are definitely changing the tourist culture and experience. We found photos of Kuta, Bingin and other spots from the mid-70s and it’s shocking to see the change that’s happened in our lifetimes. Made and Susie who own the homestay where we are living have decided to keep their place accessible to surfers (and by default, paraglider pilots) in a place where there are lodges charging 70-100 Euro / night right down the road.

The wind has been strong for a couple days, so no flying yet. We drove to Timbis the other day to check out the launch. As we drove on a faint two-track through a hilly, rocky field spotted with cows and old women collecting something, we met up with Ketut who led us on his motorbike to the launch. It’s breath-takingly beautiful on a grassy hill above the shoreline. The wind is supposed to be good starting tomorrow.

Last night we drove to Jimbaran to do a few errands and try the famous grilled fish on the beach. Driving there was “exciting” and we had a good time negotiating things like getting a car key copied and making a photocopy. On our walk, a kid drove by on a bicycle cart that had a sewing machine and every color of thread; a roving tailor. It was a full moon and a Balinese holiday, so people were dressed up and holding ceremonies in the temples everywhere. The sounds of gamalan mixed with the rush of motorbikes, street business, Muslim prayer calls and laughing ushered us everywhere we went.

It’s raining today. Tomorrow, with any luck, we fly!