In Reply to: motorbike tourist licence posted by sparky on Saturday, 3. September 2005 at 12:23 Bali Time:
Both me and kev hired bikes and rode around when we were in Bali.
We got pulled up on the Beach road just before Jl Melasti on our way to Sammies Bar. it was the tourist police that had flagged us down.
We just produced the ever reliable international drivers licence and the only question thay had for us was wether we had drunk any bintangs. Are you nuts?? With that traffic the last thing you need is helicopterhead.
No donations were asked for, no tickets to the policemens ball was sold to us.
Mind you we were hanging with some surfie dudes, one aussie and one yank, both of whom had no licences and the tickets to the ball cost the aussie Rp 150,000 and the yank Rp 250,000 each time they got pulled up.
Now for the serious part.
If you know the right people (ie local) You can get the local licence but your main danger lies not with having a licence but with your travel insurance (surprise surprise) which requires you to have an international licence as well as a valid aussie licence with a motorcyle endorsement on it.
Big deal you might say , but if you stack it or get cleaned up on the bike , your insurance will say stiff cheddar, you pay your own bills and find your own way home.
you say you ride at home but havent been bothered to get a licence. Buggered if I know why but that is no concern of mine or anyone else, but it would have made life a heap easier if you done it tho.
Anyway , you weigh your risks and you make your decisions from there.
But I reckon it is the best way to get around, I allways have a ball when I do.
Just as a byline but not shooting at you, it is amazing at the amount of retarded aussies who have never even ridden a bike in their life and then when they get to bali, they suddenly think they have magical bike riding powers. Retards the lot of them eh!! LOL
Cheers PD
ps Just dont get all macho when you get passed by a girl rider passing you when they have three other passengers on board.