Damn You, Sia
As Isaac Newton famously said: "What goes up must come down". And like the apple falling on his head, it was my turn to let gravity do the work and take me back down Mt Agung.
It doesn't bode well when your trekking guide, whose main responsibility is to ensure you make it up and down the mountain safely, is half your size. This I realized the hard way when, upon heading back down Mt Agung, a misplaced step had me stumbling forward. I grabbed onto my guide, Wayan, for support. But instead of steadying both of us, he began to collapse like a wet taco under my weight. With some quick thinking (and a lot of luck), I managed to catch a small tree in the crook of my elbow and, holding on to him, was able to save us from a painful (albeit quick) tumble to the bottom of the 10,000 foot volcano.
Luckily, after 6 grueling hours of fighting gravity's force to bring us down, we made it safely onto firm, even land.
Wayan and I safe on flat ground on the steps of Pasar Agung Temple, 12 hours after going up them.
When recently telling this story to a friend, they replied, "Be honest, do you think there is a Balinese person who isn't half your size?". Touché.
The whole journey down Mt Agung I had Sia's "Chandelier" stuck in my head. But not the whole song, mind you, just the most screachingly annoying part of the chorus: "IIIIIIIIIII'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelieeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!". Over and over again. For. Six. Straight. Hours. And now, like a gypsy curse, I have passed this on to you.
You're welcome.
