<!–:de–>Sebastians Trennungsgeschichte<!–:–><!–:en–>Sebastian's separation story<!–:–>

Sebastian: So, finally it happens that we are seperated for the first time in many months: Martin took his flight early in the morning after a night without sleeping and I am sitting in the plain to Bali. At the arrival everything works out without problems, with my last Dollars I buy the visa and after yeeears I meet Muscho, a high-school mate, again. On the way to his place he asks me if I am hungry and as always I am :). Expecting to go to a local Indonesian restaurant a few moments later I find myself with a grilled sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes – the most typical AUSTRIAN food you could find… in fact Muscho brought me to his favorite place which happens to be a Swiss restaurant. In the end, having a good old „like at home“ bite is not that bad at all :).

After arriving at his place I also get to know his charming wife Maria and his extraordinary son, plan the next couple of days and find out that Muscho already rented a small motorcycle for me (my lady already being on the ship direction Chile)! For the next morning I book a surf lesson at Paul”s place (friend of Muscho) which turns out to be great. In spite the disgustingly dirty water I really enjoy over one hour in the water making it to stand up a couple of times – what a nice surprise 🙂

Driving Bali

The same afternoon I am online casino already driving along on my new girlfriend. She”s definitely not as well “equipped” as my true lady but skinny and agile which turns out to be perfect for Bali”s narrow and curvy streets. My first stop is the active Gunung Batur volcano, direction north of Denpasar in the middle of the island. The next morning I even decide to hike up the volcano for sunrise. The hike is easy and short and the view spectacular. You can see all around the island over the sea an even to Lombok that looks like a dragon island out of story books for children. At the top we even get served with volcano steamed eggs and banana sandwich which seems to be a bit touristy cheesy but has something to it :).

The hike is over after a half day and I instantly sit on the bike again to reach the north coast. Unfortunately in all the enthusiasm I completely forget about the fact that it is rainy season and ignore the black clouds covering the sky – a mistake as I should realize only minutes later. It starts to rain heavily and even though I find shelter in a small shop fast I am soaked. But thanks to the guys who also wait there for the end of the rain and who share their food and coffee with me, the situation is not that bad at all. As it stops raining I continue my ride and to reach the coast which is a much nicer sight then the from tourism destroyed south coast around Denpasar.

The next couple of days I only spend on my bike and only take breaks to eat and drink. After 5 days and 900 km I crossed Bali in every direction to see a beautiful island that has nothing to do with the touristic south coast and that is worthwhile a much longer visit then my speedride. As highlights I will not only remember the volcano or the wonderful rice cascades but also a place called the Art Zoo – a house being used as a constant art project. Over 12 years they are working it and it”s far from being finished. The whole place is full of paintings, sculptures and the like and really an interesting place to visit to change a little bit from jungle and beaches :).

After this trip I spend a nice evening at the beach enjoying the sunset with a cold beer in my hand chatting with Muscho just to be brought down by stomach problems the night after. One day in a feverish delirium and I am fine again :). The last night another ex-school mate that was in the same class like Muscho and me and that I haven”t seen for 20 years joins us as he was coincidentally on Bali at the same time as I was. Even though I am still feeling weak and am sweating from the day of fever we spend a nice night chatting about what had happened in our lives during the last 2 decades :).

Stopover in NYC

It has only a bit more than a week and I already have to leave. My flight to Bogota has a stop over which is why I decided to visit one of my best friends from Vienna. Betty moved to NYC 2 years ago with her husband and we haven”t seen each other for quite a while. The journey takes me from Bali to Singapore to Hongkong to NYC… I can”t remember how many hours it took but I do remember very well how hard it is to carry on with a 12 hours time difference jet lag… Thanks god I get through the passport control without problems, otherwise I would have fallen asleep while standing there.

When I finally arrive at Betty”s and her husbands (Tim) place, I take a short shower and on we go. I only have 3 days to visit as much as possible of the big apple. The first thing I noticed was the weather which was once again just great. Sunshine and up to 17°C while Europe was freezing at -20°C… well, I wasn”t unhappy with this surprise. The next days we spend walking all around the city – Broad Way, Brooklyn, Wall Street, Central Park, 5^th Ave, Time Square (check out the pics for TS !) and all the other nice places we could fit into the tight schedule. At night we mostly had drinks or dinner with friends and I enjoyed thoroughly to spend a good time with Betty and Tim.

Time goes by way to fast to really see all of what this impressive city has to offer. The day of my flight to Bogota I decide to spend 30 more Dollars to go up the Rockefeller center. The sky is deep blue and the view is breathtaking – it definitely paid off :). In the early afternoon it”s time to say goodbye and I am on the road again. After a bit more than 2 weeks I will meet Martin and a good friend from Paris in Bogota. How it will be? You will know soon in our next story!

Bali

NYC