DREAM : A Bike Adventure

I left my bike next to the roadside to examine this hut for the possibility of staying the night. The owner greeted me and showed me around, and eventually to a room that I would pay for. I took my time to rest in the room. Little did I realise that my bike was left outside on the roadside for hours! I went back out to the road to find my bicycle. Only to discovered that it wasn’t there where I parked it. I panicked. I walked further down the road and was surprised to find the bicycle laid down on the ground. It was no longer supported on the kickstand. One of the pannier bags is missing!

I was a victim of a theft crime!

I felt hopeless that my most important piece of equipment, the laptop, was stolen. Now I could not write down my journal. The thief happens to steal the bag with the most valuable items. I was too immersed in my surroundings that I forgot that my bike was parked outside, vulnerable. How could I? The pannier bags were not secured against each other, so any strangers could lift the pannier bags from their position and walk away with them.

The youth gang responsible for the theft committed the crime together. They were all young kids, around the age of 12. Once they saw me coming towards the bicycle, all of them ran away. It seemed to me that they were trying to return to the bike to get more items, but they knew that I was the bike owner and ran away to avoid being caught. The pannier bag that remains is one single red pannier bag containing most of my clothes, non-essential stuff. I felt helpless to chase after these kids, so I gave up.

I remember walking back to my accommodation and reporting the case to the owner. I launched a police report and was hopeful that my losses would be reimbursed by the insurance company.

I went to visit my family abroad, I think. And I also told them about the case. And they encouraged me to do something about my passport. For example, visiting the local Malaysian embassy to get a temporary passport. But eventually, I was able to find my passport tucked safely inside of my bags. Therefore, I was able to travel back to that country. Upon returning, a village boy came to me and asked me to follow him. Upon returning to the accommodation, I found all my items neatly placed on a low coffee table. And there, the young boy told me that all items that were stolen are returned, and no further explanation was given. I felt delighted by the dramatic change in circumstances. I didn’t expect this to happen. In fact, I didn’t plan this in my dream. It just happened. I wasn’t sure what happened behind the scene, but it didn’t matter to me so much. I thanked him and proceeded to pack all my belongings into my pannier bag to continue my journey.

Thus, I remember continuing the cycling journey on my own until I reached a brightly lit restaurant in the middle of a sleepy village in the late evening. There were people in that restaurant, and it was bustling — a normal scene in Asian restaurants. I proceeded to ask the locals there for help in directions. The group that I approached was a gang of youth, children around 12 again. They all looked Indonesian. I still have no idea where I am in the world. I told them where I wanted to go by pointing at the map. The map showed that I am actually on an island, at the southern tip of it. And my plan is to go up north and traverse to the West, to join the bigger continental island. One of the boys, who I presume to be the gang leader, gave me direction and told me to head up north until I join the main highway leading to the West. He was able to mix a few Chinese words in his description, and I was impressed by that. All of his peers surrounded us both and listened on curiously. I zoomed my map outwards on my device, and I was able to see the highway on the map as he indicated. I thanked him and the group and left the restaurant. This time Tasmin appeared. It was very dark, and the only light available to illuminate the road ahead of us is my dynamo powered front-lights. Tasmin’s bike didn’t have a light equipped. So it was a thrilling experience. We found ourselves cycling through narrow roads in the villages in complete darkness.

We ended up in the wilderness. There was a path, not a gravel road. But just a dirt road that is very straight and flat. On our left are mountain ranges. And on our right are forests that we could see over the horizon. We can see the horizon because our altitude is pretty high. The space around us is very vast. So vast that it makes us very small. So it was a fantastic sight.

There were fog and mist over the forest. We found a resting area that is illuminated with lights. We stopped to take a hot shower in the open, without a roof. The only thing that makes the shower is unpainted concrete walls and an incandescent lightbulb. The ambient temperature was freezing. We were both enjoying the hot stream of water on our naked bodies. ‘I feel so good with the hot water on my body, but I feel freezing without the hot water; this is bliss’, I said to Tasmin.

I lifted Tasmin up with my arms so that she could see what’s beyond the shower walls. I asked her to do the same for me; she lifted me up by wrapping my lower body with her arms and then standing up. What I saw was something magnificent. Darkness lurks everywhere, around us. The steam that our hot shower generates creates a mysterious effect on the view. It obscures what can be seen. I could see the silhouette of the mountains on my right (I am looking towards the direction where we came). The aura of mystery send me chills and also a thrill.

I was so excited that I woke myself up just to document this. Ending the adventure forever.