Bandung: Let's Rent Mopeds in the Second Largest City on Java and Go to a Volcano!

In the morning I said goodbye to Roxanne and Guy, Keith, and I, armed with a map and helmets set off to find a volcano and some hot springs.

Bob told us to get there we needed to drive out of town and go "straight, straight, straight," then we would reach the volcano. Seemed straightforward enough (ha ha, see what I did there?). Well, the directions were easy enough to follow, but what I didn't think about was the traffic. In Indonesia-- actually, all over Asia-- motorbikes tend to be the preferred method of travel because they can squeeze into little gaps and zip in and out of the congestion caused by cars. "Swangin' and bangin'" as my soon-to-be friend Derek says. Right. That's all fine and dandy if the driver is confident and comfortable enough doing that. I was not. Nor was Guy, really.

I had driven mopeds before, but only in the US or on islands with very little competition on the roads. Guy had never before driven a moped. Furthermore, I really didn't feel like I had a lot of control over my bike. At one point I tried to pass a car, over-corrected, and just barely missed crashing into another car. The bike was heavy and it felt like it might fly out from under me if I hit a pebble or bump wrong. It didn't help that I've had some pretty serious bicycle crashes in the past and am a little extra cautious now as a result. Keith had no such qualms and shot out ahead of Guy and me. I think Guy was comfortable enough with his bike, but he was making an effort to stay with me.

Well, we got out of the worst of the traffic, but Guy and Keith were still a way's ahead of me, out of my sight. I was winding down a mountain road, clipping along at a decent speed and I saw Guy stopped on the side of the road, poring over the map. I couldn't stop immediately because I was going to fast, so I pulled over farther down the road. Only where I stopped there were big flat stones not ideal for motorbike driving and then a ditch just after them. When I stopped my bike's front tire got caught between to stones and tipped over. Fortunately I was able to jump off in time. Unfortunately due to the angle of the mountain road and the weight of my bike, whenever I tried to pick up my bike it slipped closer and closer to the ditch. The ditch was only about a meter deep, but I knew it would be hopeless if my bike fell down it. Guy hadn't come down the road yet, so I figured he didn't know I had passed him or maybe we had missed a turn and needed to turn around. I thought about going back to seek Guy's help, but it would be at least ten minutes on foot and I wasn't even sure he would still be there. So there I stood, defeated in my leggings, hot pink shirt, and helmet, simply staring at my bike. A few locals slowed down to look (gape, gawk, stare, whatever), but probably because I was unhurt (physically) they didn't stop. About a hundred meters back were two men sitting on the side of the road eating lunch. I was about to ask for their help when a couple men and a woman stopped and I asked if I was OK. I said yes, but I couldn't lift up my bike. As the kind man was helping me, the men who were eating lunch had come over to make sure I was OK, too. The man who stopped, bless his soul, righted my bike and even turned it on. Brushing aside tears caused by frustration and embarrassment I turned my moped around and set out to meet Guy.

I was correct in that we had taken a wrong turn, but Guy had it figured out. Keith, on the other hand, had been so far ahead of Guy that he didn't know we'd stopped and hadn't come back. Guy and I waited at the turn for a few minutes then went on to the volcano without Keith.

The volcano was cool even if it did smell like farts. Farts can be cool, too.

The volcano smelled like sulfur (AKA rotten eggs or farts), but it was pretty cool. Like at Monas some people wanted their photos taken with me and I couldn't disappoint my fans, so I obliged. Guy and I walked around a bit, half-heartedly searched for Keith but to no avail, then set out to find the hot springs.

Super cute girls asked for my photo

Guy and I got roped into a group pic. They were ecstatic. Seriously.

 On our way to the hot springs we did pass Keith. He had totally missed the turn for the volcano and just continued to the hot springs. He gave us directions on how to get there. Keith told us he went to a resort where they had funneled the springs into a swimming pool. I suppose there were natural springs somewhere not far, but Guy and I went to the resort anyway. Basically it was like swimming in a big hot tub. Without the jets. Although technically I think that's a Jacuzzi. I have been to hot springs before in Ecuador and the onsen in Japan. Here was a similar set up in Ecuador where the springs were funneled into a large pool, but Ecuador was more intimate because it was like a community pool. Also, at the resort people-- children-- were swimming around and in Ecuador everyone was just sitting on little benches lining the walls of the pool. It was still nice.

Tea plantation we stopped to admire on the way back

On the way back to Bandung Guy and I stopped for a couple minutes to admire a beautiful tea plantation. The above photo was taken just before the journey back to Bandung got really stressful. For me anyway. First of all, we had to drive downhill for a while and the gravel made me nervous. Then when we got back into town the traffic was horrendous. Worse than when we left in the morning. I got separated from Guy. The road that went "straight, straight, straight" to the volcano was a one-way and I was forced to take a detour. Only the detour(s) kept turning and leading me away from where I needed to go. Thank goodness I had my iPhone and was able to use the GPS to get back to Hunny. 

When I arrived at the hostel I just wanted to put as much distance between myself and that blasted motorbike as I could. Guy beat me back by about ten minutes. We went to have dinner at the night market and I felt better.