moto [Shannon]

This is Jon's last weekend in Bali. He's going home early for his father's funeral. I'm staying another week before we meet up in California to start the South America leg of the trip.

We decided to have one last Bali beach day, a journey since Ubud, where we're staying, is 2 hours' drive from any coast. Bali is bigger than it seems, with long, twisty roads that feel endless, even if you're not lost. Maybe it's the crazy traffic.

Someone, probably Wayan's mother, started putting an offering on the seat of our motorbike every morning. This is a really nice thing. She leaves them on our walkways, patio table and steps also. They're little trays made of coconut leaves, woven and kind of pinned together, piled with different colored flowers in a nice design, topped with a little leaf sleeve of cooked rice and yellow coconut shavings, and often a stick of burning incense. It's really nice to wake up and see that someone has already been to your house, is thinking of you and has your back, spiritually. Whether we believe it or not, it's touching, and uniquely Balinese.

The last beach was the best one. It was a great day. We saw Ulu Watu temple on the sea cliff before sunset, but it was already dark before we made it home. This is something I like so much about being in Bali. Riding on back of the bike at night when it's cool and we're zooming down empty roads through the scents of flowering trees, seeing the moon reflected in the rice paddies. Last evening we passed a man on his moto with his wife on the back. They were coming toward us in the opposite lane, heading out of town, and he had a huge bundle of long incense sticks on his handlebars, all burning. He was smudging the town, making it safe for everyone. I broke into this big smile and so did he. It was one of those moments. When you really see someone, appreciate what they're doing. They see you seeing them, and you both crack up.