The Map

This is the map of Bali we used for our trips. We also carried a compass which was affixed to our bike by carabiner to the side mirror. There are two things of note I want to share. One, on showing a map to a local in a remote location and gesturing to the ground and then to the map while saying, "here" in Indonesian you will more often than not get a nod, a smile, and a yes, but no information as to your actual location on the map. The first time this occurred I was a bit stumped, the second and following times I realized that, more likely than not, they have never looked at a map with any interest or possible use and so may not know where their village lays upon it. That is to say that a map is not much use. The island is small, asking directions is simple enough if you speak the language and knowing ones location on a piece of paper probably has limited value.

I remember reading once that some Native American tribes had maps which were of lines, at certain distances upon the line another line would branch out either left or right and this may continue depending upon the path. The maps in this way resembled a two-dimensional drawing of a tree trunk and its branches. The length of the line represented the distance to travel upon the path, while the side branched from represented which way to go once the distance was reached. At the same time that European cartographers would enlist the help of Native guides to furnish their own maps they would dismiss these "primitive" maps as being useless. Yet without the knowledge contained in such maps their own desire to interpret the world would have failed or taken much longer to complete. It is important to remember that the only true map of the world is the world itself, all else is nothing but representations which vary according to use.

Second; the map was missing many roads. Not just the small ones that you would expect either. Major roads which had been built as much as five years ago were missing. This is where the compass came in. When you were "off the map" and at night or at noon, times when you couldn't take a bearing by the sun, I would unclip the compass from the side mirror, holding it away from the interference of the bike and determine which way was home. Then we would just drive till we found something we knew. It was probably one of the most useful purchases we made.

Tattered and torn, there she is.