Bali - must do, a trip with the Bemo

The word bemo comes from the words becak (bicycle rickshaw) and mobil (car).

A bemo - which does not indulge in such nonsense as first and second class - still offers the passenger a choice of seats.

Firstly, you can sit up front in segregated splendor with the driver. This is highly recommended for the nature-lover, as it is one of the few seats from where he can view the scenery, which is usually spectacular. The wisdom of this choice depends on the number of other passengers eventually crammed into the cabin and whether one or all are smoking the powerful local clove-scented cigarettes, with the windows sealed against the dust.

If this fails to appeal, then there is the body of the bemo, where two parallel seats run lengthways. Here again there is a choice. For those wishing to soften the bumps and jolts caused by the unsurfaced roads, then the idea is to pick an inside seat as close as possible to the cabin partition. In order to secure this seat it is, of course, desirable that you have an elementary training in athletics, so you can safely negotiate any obstacles in the way. Once seated in an inside position, there is, naturally, no view except of your fellow travelers.

But, for the hardy soul not averse to a bit of bone bruising, then the very end seat nearest the door is well worthy of consideration. Your anatomy will be able to accurately register every undulation in the road, you will have ample oxygen, and more important, you can enjoy the view. On the bemo route, the view usually includes a great number of passengers, all eager to share your bemo, and all toting baskets, bundles, offerings, fighting cocks and an assortment of babies which being translated means that part of the view will soon be sitting on your lap and standing on your feet.

Of course, when the bemo gets really crowded, then there is nothing for it but to grab a toehold on the back step. Here you stand completely outside, with your hair whipping wildly in the wind, your knuckles clenched to the top edge of the roof, your head poking up some 18-inches above it. You are therefore in a magnificent position to view the scenery. But for fun and friendship and good humor, a bemo leaves a jet stranded mid-air without a propeller.

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