Water Buffalos and Mopeds Don't Mix

Note to self: next time you ride a moped a.) make absolute certain there are no farmers pulling out around blind curves and b.) that there are no water buffalos in your path once the farmer has hit your moped.

I'm not feeling so well, as I have a couple of bruised ribs today and a mild concussion. (Yes, I went to the doctor: no internal injuries and no broken bones.) So, I will be out of commission for a few days as I lay in bed, read Herodotus and Thucydides and watch my iPod whilst recuperating; I have several shows of the Boondocks and Metalocalypse to catch up on.

Needless to say, I am glad I was driving well below the speed limit (not that there really is one here in Indonesia) and, oddly enough, that the water buffalo was there to break my fall, had he not been I would have landed straight into a rock fence. On an angrier note: the farmer who crashed into me didn't even stop to see if I was okay and several people here on the island are looking for him. (There were several witnesses.)

All that being said, water-buffalos, even at 15 miles per hour feel very much like a brick wall. Although I did learn that the human body and that of a water buffalo make a great cushion for a camera. My Nikon D50 came through the accident without a scratch. I guess my ribs and the hide of the water buffalo absorbed most of the force. (The water buffalo walked away without a scratch as well.)

Here are some photos from yesterday.

I'm sure I will look back at this incident in a few weeks and laugh. At least, as soon as the headache goes away.