Getting Around

If you want to get around on Bali, you can hire a Blue Bird Taksi. The first two kilometers cost just 5000 rupiah - about 55 cents. Our last trip to the grocery store cost less than $5, due not so much to the distance as to the traffic.

Traffic here is, shall we say, different. There are as many motorcycles & motorbikes as cars on the roads, and the bikers weave between and around cars with abandon. If there's a way to keep going, they'll find it even if it means going up onto the sidewalk to do it.

Drivers are no better. The major airport bypass road, which is two lanes in each direction, often has cars four wide. It seems no one observes the lines in the road, and the gravel shoulders frequently become another lane for cars and cycles.

We're getting used to Balinese driving: If there's a stop sign, you can usually ignore it if traffic is light. Ditto for "lampu merah" (stoplights): Apparently if they haven't started moving, you can keep going. If you have to stop before you get through, they'll pull halfway into the intersection and wait or (if they can) drive around you.

For all the apparent confusion, the Balinese are decidedly calm drivers. On those rare occasions when I've heard an impatient honk, it's always been a Westerner at the wheel. Balinese don't honk, they beep. Beep, coming around a blind corner, don't want to hit you. Beep, taksi here, do you need a ride? Beep, heads up, I'm driving around you.

I nearly freaked the first time I rode with Vonce's brother. He decided to turn right in front of oncoming traffic. I expected the car to be broadsided, but instead they stopped and waited. No big deal. What? Back in America someone would be talking about a lawsuit.

Another insight: If you see a driver waiting to enter traffic, don't stop to wave him in; he'll have no idea what you're trying to do. Instead, let him find his own way. All he'll need is a few feet between cars, and he'll pull in just fine on his own.

Dan and I got tired of relying on taksis and rented a motorbike. The cost was 700,000 rupiah per month, approximately $77. Interestingly, they didn't ask for a driver's license, just Dan's passport number, the villa's phone number, and payment up front. We are learning how to go with the flow of traffic, and that it's OK to drive between cars anytime you want, just as long as your mirrors will make it OK.

We took a spill last week when we had to stop too suddenly near the beach, but God was good and there was no oncoming traffic. Everyone who saw it happen came over to check on us and make sure we and the bike were OK. Thankfully, we don't have any permanent injuries, just a few bruises and skinned knees & elbows. The bike is OK, too. We are still considering buying one. Here, a new one sells for about 15,000,000 rupiah, which is approximately $16,500.