Dwiki
I had just finished doing an hour of yin yoga on my balcony, and was now feeling hungry. I decided on a nice quiet place to eat with rice field, and rainforest views for dinner. I picked up my iPhone, and booked a Grab Bike online for transport. Got changed, and then walked downstairs from my second floor apartment, and out through the family village compound. As I walked through, I was greeted with nods, or hellos, from left and right. One woman doing her laundry, a man washing his motorbike, children, sitting with their mother, yelling “hi” to me and waving. One man was sitting under a Pagola, making small spirit offering baskets. He smiled warmly when he saw me. I passed by a very old woman, with salt and pepper grey hair, and no front teeth. She was sitting in her usual spot, near the family temple. I had wondered, why she never responded, when I called “hi” or “salimat pagi” (good morning) to her, and I had only recently found out that she was almost deaf. I caught her eye, smiled, and nodded to her, and she nodded back, and watched me walk away.
My bike was waiting for me in the street.
“Mr Vinito”?
“Yes”.
“Helmet”? He asked.
I put on the helmet and climbed onto the bike.
“Ready”?
Yes!
Off we rode into the Ubud traffic.
Bali transport riders, both motor bike, or car, must have all been trained to be polite and friendly, in the same way. They always ask the same three questions.
“Where you from”?
“How long you stay”?
“You have business here”?
For some that’s the full extent of their English, because when I try to talk to them, they say “sorry little english”. Others I get to ask them about their family, are they married, do they have children, what ages, and so on, and we often have a friendly conversation as we ride along.
My current rider’s name was Dwiki, and after the run of friendly family questions, he revealed to me that he likes to sing, and has sung in clubs and bars in Jakarta, and here in Bali.
I asked if he would sing me a song. He happily agreed, and began singing as we rode along. Dwiki surprised me at his choice of song. He began to sing the Bob Marley song “No Woman, No Cry” and actually, he sung it well! He was singing loudly, so I could hear him at the back of the bike, above the traffic noise. I knew some of the lyrics to “No Woman, No Cry” and I joined in. Now the two of us are navigating through Ubud traffic, singing loudly together. When we finished that song we started on “Hey Jude”. Such fun!
We had to stop the bike several times, sometimes for a minute or two, because Ubud traffic, on its small roads, was slow. Bike riders stopped on both sides of us. When they heard us singing together they smiled and laughed. One time a tourist woman on a bike, stopped beside us, gave us a big smile, and joined in, now it was three of us singing “Hey Jude” together.
Eventually we were off the busy main road, on a quiet, small, bike only trail, weaving through the rice fields. A few tourists were waking along, stepping to the side whenever a bike needed to pass. There were cafes and restaurants sprinkled along the way. A few busy, many not so busy. It was stunningly beautiful, and peaceful, as we pulled up to the restaurant I had chosen. The fare was $1.20, but I gave Dwiki $2, and his face lit up into a big smile thanking me for the tip. I asked him for his Whatapp number and gave him mine, because I thought maybe I could hire him to sing at an event or party. Dwiki held out his arms for a hug. We had a warm and friendly goodbye.
I love my Bali life!
