Two weeks ago was our program’s spring break, an event that most of our program group has been thinking about since the day we arrived in Sydney. For most study abroad students, the main prospective spring break destinations are New Zealand and Bali. For those who don’t know, Bali is a relatively small island in Indonesia that has become extremely popular with tourists for its insane affordability, rich culture, and natural beauty. It came at a high recommendation from a longtime friend who had studied in Sydney the previous semester. In our conversation, he gave me what might be the best piece of advice for the entire experience so far: download Grab. Grab is an app similar to Uber in the US, with food delivery, car rides, and bike rides to get around different countries in Southeast Asia.
During the first night in Bali, I figured it was time to see why my friend had raved so much about the Grab bikes in Bali. I ordered a bike back to our villa from where we had gone out for dinner. The ride cost about 7,000 Indonesian Rupiah, or about 41 cents USD. Similar to Uber, an icon appears showing the driver approaching. When he pulled up next to me, he handed me a helmet, and we went off.
One of the most transformative moments of my life was my first ride on a bike in Southeast Asia. When your driver zips through traffic, the breeze lifts away the oftentimes oppressive tropical heat, and other tourists sing their hearts out beside you on their own journeys, you can’t help but feel like you’re on an amusement park ride. You seamlessly (if your driver is good) zip through a clutter of other bikes going every which way at every intersection.
I was hooked and rarely took a car anywhere during my spring break. It was more expensive and less efficient. When we went from Bali to Saigon, it was the same story. In the modern era, there is one way to really experience the controlled chaos and beauty in Southeast Asia. As Anthony Bourdain said, “One of the great joys of life is riding a scooter through Vietnam; to be part of this mysterious, thrilling, beautiful choreography.”
“As you ride, you not only see but overhear a hundred intimate moments in miniature. You smell wonderful, unnamed things cooking, issuing from storefronts and food stalls. The sounds of beeping, laughing… the putt-putt and roar of a million tiny engines.”