Thursday, October 17, 2013

Biking through the Rice Fields in Bali (by Jacob)

Last week we went on a bike tour through the rice fields of Bali. The bike ride started at the top of Mt. Batur (a volcano in the middle of Bali.)  We started by riding down the side of the volcano. The volcano was really steep so we had to press the brakes all the way down. Once we were all the way down, we passed through a small village that was unlike neighborhoods at home. There were chickens and dogs running around, the dogs were running up to your bike and it was pretty nerve racking. Then we took a sharp left and went through the rice fields. My mom said it was her Eat Pray Love moment. I was amazed that you go through villages and the next thing you know you are biking through the rice fields. After biking through the rice fields we stopped at a family compound. Family compounds are amazing.  They have small buildings for each part of their house.  For example, the parents bedroom and the kids bedroom are in the same building. In a separate building is where the grandparents sleep.

In Balinese society in the 1st,2nd and 3rd classes the oldest son takes care of the grandparents and in the 4th class the youngest son takes care of the parents. The daughters go off and lives with her husband's family. At the family compound we went to there were chicks running around and the kids that lived there played catch with the chicks and picked them up. The kids let us pick up the chicks.


Not long after we left the compound, we got to a busy street and it was kind of scary because if you fall,  a moped or car would run over you.  After 6-8 more miles of biking, we were finished, and having lunch. At lunch we were all talking about how fun the bike ride was. I said it was the first time I have ever went on a 25 mile bike ride and my hands hurt more then my legs, because pretty much the entire ride I was pressing the hand brakes because it was all down hill.

Here is a video my dad took while we were biking:


7 comments:

  1. I love that picture of you with the chick on your shoulder. It sounds like you all are having a wonderful time. Thanks for writing up your adventures... it's fun to hear about all the cool places you guys are going.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jacob great blog post. I am so jealous of your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That little chick is so cute! Can you keep it? :-P I wish I could be there , it sounds like a lot of fun.
    -Carter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thx Carter
      I wish I could keep the chick to, so I could put it on people's shoulder so I could scare them. The reason why I made such a weird face was because it pecked me.

      Delete
  4. That's a great picture of you and the chick, Jacob! Jack thought it was hilarious. Thanks for sharing all the stories.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Are you laughing here??? I think I would cry!! Do they eat the chickens???

    Are your hands still sore??

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jacob , keep up the good work on the bike , it will get you ready for the Tour de France. Auntie Jeanne & Bill

    ReplyDelete

Would love to hear from people - please leave your name, though, so we know who you are!