Soon after my lunch i decided to take a left turn and explore. Within 30 seconds I was on a quiet lane with a Balinese temple in front of me. lines of young school kids in brown shorts and orange shirts were on thero way home and yelled to me as I passed. After a couple of snaps I asked a local lady how far Jatiluwh was. She said 5km, so I rejoined the main road. Its always worth checking out the quieter lanes, as you never know who / what you’ll find.
Right after I climbed a hill (felt like I was at Kintamani) and swung round a corner, past a bus shelter, a street sign pointed the left turn to Jatiluwih. Literally 1 minute after I took this turn I was on a quiet road, riding through lovely scenery. A woman carrying a large banten of fruit on her head passed by and I grabbed a blurry photo. It occured to me that when I go exploring in Bali, for every decent photo I take, 20 other possiblities go floating by. Windows of opportunity open and close 3-4 seconds later. I’m riding a motorbike, so there’s not much I can do about it.
Fertile valleys were to the left and right of the ridgeline I travelled and local houses were visible just below the road on the right side. I could see people lounging under bales in their dirt yards.
Stopping at a village called Soko, a group of local people surrounded me and were very friendly. They launched inot the ‘are you married, where is your wife from?’ routine and i gave them 2 photos of Ika and Jevon. “Ganteng sekali” (very handsome) they all said. Surprisngly one lady told me she was Muslim, that would account for the mosque (masjid) at Soko. Apparently many of the locals are Bugis, from Sulawesi, just how they got to the highlands of Bali is a mystery. One girl wore a Muslim headcovering, while an older lady walked around in just her bra. So obviously there is a mixture of Muslims and Balinese Hindus.
After a Pocari Sweat (5,000rp) I said farewell and rode off. My scanty Bahasa Indonesia, easily enoguh to have a conversation with those present.
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