Grace (BikeHedonia)

Oh that makes more sense now - you're not exactly a guest. Legit ?

Until my luck runs out or I find another way to live. I'm keeping an open mind.

Nah I think they were mostly just curious. Lone white girl repairing spotlight wiring on 690 Enduro at 2.30am on a dock in Larantuka... seat off, tools out. The police chief showed up with his homies, toting semi automatic weapons, asked some fierce questions.... and then asked for a selfie. Still, when you're female and on your own in the middle of the night, you don't want too much attention from 5 armed men who are used to getting their own way. So I said thanks and legged it. My experience of tipping in Indonesia seems to have been a little different. In nearly a year in Indonesia, I never paid a "tip" or a bribe to any police officer or official, and none ever insinuated that I should. The sole exception were the port police (I'm not sure if they're actually real police even, they have a different uniform etc). Two of them asked me if I had "permission" for my bike and I just smiled and said yes of course I do, all my paper's legit. ? And off I went. But in general, Indonesian police have turned out to be friends and generous hosts - people who bought me lunch, went dirtbiking with me, invited me for karaoke, offered me free accommodation. They'd have been offended if I'd tried to give them money, as I think would the kepala desa of the various villages where I spent time. To be honest, I think people mostly felt sorry for me because I was alone and didn't have a husband to look after me. Of course it's different in the more touristy areas - especially Bali, where everyone's out for a commission - but I stayed away from those areas as much as possible.

You are also fortunate, though, to have something to stay home for - to have something to lose. ? However if I makes you feel any better, here's a photo of me trying to sleep under my motorbike in a hotel carpark because I couldn't afford the hotel and it was the only safe, well lit place I could in a dodgy eastern Indonesia port town after my ferry docked at 2.30am and the police took a bit too much interest ? I don't think I'm really going to be much of a lifestyle influencer at this rate haha

Thanks guys! Nice to meet you all, always happy to talk motorbikes. I have a KTM 690 Enduro R which I've been riding around the world for the last three years - although to be fair, I've only gotten from Sydney to south east Asia so far. What can I say, there are a lot roads to explore between Sydney and the subcontinent. So anyway, I'm basically a homeless person with a motorcycle and machete these days, and that suits me fine. Obviously covid19 has made my rootless existence a little difficult at the moment, with all the borders throughout south-east Asia having pretty much slammed shut overnight. So for the moment I've gone to ground in Thailand (roof over my head, food in my belly) and reverted to cockroach mode while I wait for the borders to reopen and life to resume. Nothing else to do now but keep sharing all the ridiculous stuff that I didn't write about before because I was too busy riding my motorbike. You can google BikeHedonia if you're in lockdown and bored out of your tree. There are some good stories, like the one about the crazy guy with the machete in the middle of the night in East Timor (good times) or that time I broke down in the Gulf of Carpentaria (a region of crocodiles, barramundi, and Darwinism, for the non-Australians). And more to come. Cheers, Grace