Gasoline and Elephants

Before I move onto my next story, I'd like to thank those of you who've been commenting and to respond to a fascinating set of questions that just came in. The questions (and I quote): "Do they drive Chevy trucks down there at all? How much is a gallon of gas?"

Downhill cycling in Bali

This struck me as terribly interesting, because the answer has changed so much in my last few days of traveling. First things first: No, I'm afraid I haven't seen any Chevy trucks down here. In Bali it's mostly motorbikes, which makes sense considering that all but a few main roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass side by side. Strangely, however, the cars that do exist are almost exclusively huge mini-vans. A friend of mine rented a car for us for the day -- just the TWO of us, mind you -- and that's what he showed up with. When I commented on it, he noted that that's all he could get. (Incidentally, it cost me all of about $16 for the rental.) My only explanation: Balinese families tend to be big, so maybe they figure if they're going to get a car, might as well get one that can fit all the kids, even if it can't fit on the roads! Gas price in Bali: I can't remember, but it cost me about $1.10 to fill my motorbike's tank, which I think was about a liter. (For those of you who have no idea how many liters are in a gallon -- like me -- I looked it up for you. :-) It's 3.79, meaning that if my approximation of my bike's tank is correct, gas costs about $4.17 a gallon.)

Ferries to Brunei's famed "water village"

On my way from Bali to Thailand (where I am now), I passed through Brunei. Now, let's be honest: how many of you had ever heard of Brunei before I wrote that? Actually, even though I pride myself on my geographical knowledge, I would have guessed it was somewhere in the Middle East if I hadn't transitted there. In fact, it's a tiny nation of 400,000 people on the island of Borneo, which is also shared by Malaysia and Indonesia. It's ruled by a very wealthy sultan, whose palace apparently has somewhere over 1000 rooms. But nobody resents him for it, since there's free education and health care for all, no income tax, and cars cheap enough that the average family owns about four of them. Or so says the guide on our free "transit tour," anyway. Brunei gets its wealth from oil, so gas prices are particularly low: about $0.37 per liter or $1.40 per gallon, if my calculations are correct. But before you all start packing your bags to emigrate to Brunei, be aware that alcohol or gambling of any kind is illegal, and drug dealing carries a mandatory death penalty.

Crazy transport boat (click for more)

In Thailand, to tell you the truth, I haven't really noticed what people drive. I did happen to notice the gas prices -- about 33 baht per liter, which calculates to roughly the same rate as Bali. I didn't notice the vehicles, though, because for my first three days here I've been living at an elephant park. Strangely, the Thais seem to think that foreigners prefer elephants over Chevy trucks, since there are a plethora of places specializing in elephant riding and not one offering a ride in a Chevy. This is quite odd, being as elephants don't move very fast (unless they're trying to catch another elephant, in which case you probably don't want to be on them) and the ride is particularly bumpy. Unfortunately, it turns out that these rides are even more uncomfortable for the elephant, whose body isn't designed to bear weight on its spine. And while you may think that riding an elephant saves on gas, keep in mind that elephants eat about 10% of their body weight each day!

Island transport

Any more questions, please send 'em my way.

Bali's favorite mode of transport

Boat near Bedugul, Bali