Daddy granted our wish and made it drizzle for a couple of hours. So we started on the ride north of Senggigi. It was beeeaauuuttiiffuuul! :) We could see the beach most of the time and we kept taking detours to check out the empty beaches every few minutes. Every beach I went to, I would think, “This it is! I have seen every kind of beach now! There can’t be another beach equally beautiful.” But then, the next beach would be equally beautiful but different. Just when you think you have been awed enough, daddy awes you again and again and again! After a couple of times the ‘thinking’ about the beauty melts away and the “ enjoying” starts. :) I think I am slowly falling in love with the idea of biking. After a couple of hours, the drizzle turned into a proper downpour and we had to come back riding in the rain. We were soaked! And it was one of the best drives that I have experienced in the last few years! :) It was a little disappointing to reach the hotel so soon. I secretly wished the road (and the day) had stretched a bit longer. But it was getting late and to come back home was unfortunately the right thing to do! Doing the right thing can be a bit of a joy kill sometimes, don’t you think?

Tomorrow we plan to drive to a nearby town called Mataram (about 25kms from Senggigi) where we will meet a new friend from Romania for lunch. And maybe explore a bit more of the northern coastline or maybe drive down to Kuta beach in the south. But one never knows. Tomorrow could bring something entirely different! Let’s see what happens.

The whole affair of us driving in the rain, despite the ridiculousness of it, the time of the year that we picked to travel to Indonesia, the kind of deserted beaches that we visited, didn’t really make sense to me for a second. But it all came into focus at some point while I was driving. It all suddenly made sense! Ofcourse I opted for the worse time to go to Indonesia. Ofcourse I chose the worse day to go motor-biking and ofcourse I chose the emptiest beach to go gap at the ocean! That’s how we Babuji’s people roll! :) Think about it. We went to Kedarnath and Gangotri when the towns were closed and empty. We zip to Poondi in the middle of the night and we sit at the Sannidhanam at 2 in the morning! It’s just the way we are! We do the most ridiculous things imaginable and come out the other end with the best experiences of grace and excitement. The best part is, we do it all over again! :) So I suppose I was simply keeping the tradition alive!

I realise that there is great beauty in this kind of a collective identity that we Gurubandhus share. I knew it existed but one becomes more keenly aware of this sense of belonging when one is away from ones familiar surroundings. It reminds me of an example that daddy once gave. If you light an incense in the room and you remain in the room for too long, after a while you don’t smell the incense anymore. But you know that the smell exists. You just don’t experience it. But if you go out of the room once and come in again, one immediately notices the smell of the incense again. So I knew that that sense of belonging existed but now that I am away from home, I can experience it.

I sleep tonight with heart-felt namaskarams to my Sadguru for giving me the opportunity to experience this rare and precious bond.