In Reply to: Can be done no problems.... posted by Baldie on Monday, 19. April 2010 at 16:25 Bali Time:
Last year I rode around Bali for 28 days.
In Kuta, I hired a motorcycle from a fellow operating from the footpath near the Bombing Monument in Jalan Legian. He even had proper business stationery listing his place of business as the footpath!
Before accepting the bike I checked that there was:
* no more than 1 inch slack in the chain
* sufficient tread on the tyres.
I also put my foot on the rear brake pedal and pushed hard, the bike did not move, and I squeezed the front brake lever and pushed, again the bike did not move.
I paid Rp 20,000 per day as the bike was a 2005 model Honda stepthrough with a semi-automatic gearbox. I did not bother buying insurance from the hirer. An automatic scooter would have cost me Rp 25,000 per day.
On this trip, petrol was Rp 4,500 per litre from service stations. It cost me Rp 5,000 per litre from a bottle, when I purchased petrol from a roadside.
I brought my own helmet and gloves from Australia. I wore lots of suncreen on my face and neck. I also wore elastic sided boots and a thick long sleeved shirt.
I had memorised from a map, the ring road around Denpasar and took off for Ubud. After taking a wrong turn I ended up lost in Denpasar!
Traffic was like bumper cars in Sideshow Alley. I kept following the signs pointing to Gianyar and eventually escaped Denpasar.
It was raining when I reached Ubud and my favourite losmen had closed. I found another losmen in Jalan Hanoman.
I did not find eight nights in Ubud to be too long. In fact, it is a paradise for lotus eaters. I had to tear myself away to experience the other places in Bali.
Next stop was Tirta Gangga, where I stayed at Dhangin Taman Losmen which is next to the Water Palace. My room overlooked the gardens and I ate breakfast in a Bale next to the wall around the gardens. The rate for my room was Rp 100,000, but I negotiated it down to Rp 80,000.
I like Tirta Gangga, but I have to admit that there is no nightlife. From Tirta Gangga, I rode to Tulamben for snorkeling, Tenganan, Taman Ujung and Budakeling. On the way to Taman Ujung, I saw pink chickens in cages on the side of the road, I assumed that they were to be used in cock fights.
Taman Ujung is a large water park with pavilions containing photographs of the Rajahs of Karangasem. Above Taman Ujung is a abandoned hotel. Below Taman Ujung are black sand beaches with colourful fishing boats.
I rode up to Budakeling which is a small village with several blacksmith forges making simple implements. From Budakeling, I rode up the slopes of Gunung Agung passing quarries where lava is dug out. The road soon petered out and the slope became steeper. I kept changing down the gears to climb the volcano until I finally gave up. I turned the bike around and headed back down the slope. I was going too fast and I grabbed the front brake causing the front wheel to skid and flinging me over the handle bars. Surveying the damage, I noted that my leg had been cut deeply in two places, the handlebars were bent, as was the footpeg and the brake pedal. I then rode to a bengkel in Budakeling where they fixed the bike.
From Tirta Gangga, I rode to Lovina along the northern coast, where I got caught up in a mudslide, but I stayed upright. The road to Lovina is narrow with pot holes. It took about three hours from Tulamben to Lovina along the coast.
Near Lovina, I went to the hot springs in Banjar. There was a ticket office and an alley of stalls. As the ticket office was unoccupied, I rode straight through to the bridge. There was an attendant asking for tickets at the bridge, but I told him "nanti". When I left, I rode out past the ticket office which was still unoccupied followed by lots of shouting and blowing of whistles.
From Lovina, I rode direct to Padang Bai through Kintamani. Before I reached Kintamani, I fell off in a mudslide. The road from Lovina to Kintamani is wet, slow and it also zig zags. I spent four nights in Padang Bai.
From Padang Bai, I rode to Sanur. The ride to Sanur took two hours. I did however, stop at Pantai Saba to watch a Hindu full moon ceremony and at a workshop to bend back a footpeg bent after the crash in the mudslide near Kintamani.
In Sanur, a taxi driver rear ended the motorcycle breaking off the Om symbol on the rear mudguard, which was supposed to bring me good luck!
I found another bengkel in Kuta, where they repaired the rear mudguard and washed all the mud off the bike. I then returned the motorcycle without any problems after first dropping off my very muddy gear at my hotel.