Motorbikes in Asia are the without a doubt the most common form of transportation. We had traveled through Kuta and after observing the maniacal driving and just the general craziness of the place we decided to take the safe option and catch taxis.
Once we left this bustling ( and Hustling ) town and arrived in Nusa Dua, where the vibe was a lot more chilled, the roads quieter and the people more relaxed we figured why not.
Izy and I found a dude who offered us a bike for 70,000 Rp a day ( $7 NZD ) and we went exploring around, found a sweet little outdoor shopping center where we had a decent lunch and then went cruising for the rest of the afternoon. I found a local gym about 10mins down the road with $2 entry fee and had an awesome workout with a great bunch of local dudes. Friendly as shit and so welcoming. Afterwards I chatted with them for a bit, enjoyed a $1 protein shake and was on my way.
The next day we were due to check out of our hotel at 12pm. So at 10.45 I decided to go for one last blast around the place for 45 mins and check out some back streets and just see what was around.
I found this sweet little jetty with boats and fishermen scattered along it and sat down listening to John Butler for a bit, feeling really Zen. Life is sweet.
After vibing out for a bit I got back on my bike and decided to go for a cruise along the more green side of the city, lush parks and temples all around and a nice island vibe.
I turned a corner and my stomach dropped.
A police checkpoint.
Oh shit.
The cop promptly asked for my international license, which of course I didn’t have on me, and wouldn’t have mattered anyway because it was only for a car.
I was then escorted into a little booth where I was interrogated for 15 mins by 5 Balinese police officers asking me what I was doing in Bali, my occupation and so on. By now I was feeling really uneasy.
After some deliberating between themselves for a few mins one pulled me aside and said “ You pay 1000000 RP ($100) and problem go away. You no pay you go to court. Without thinking I blurted out “ Oh come on man, Mahal” (which means expensive in Balinese. I suddenly thought what the fuck are you doing mate why not just pay them and get out of there!?
He then scratched his chin, and said ok 300,000. Sweet, so I got out my money, paid the guy and was happily on my way when I heard the cops talking again and yelled at me to come back. They wanted another 200,000. Most likely to cover lunch and afternoon beers for them. I paid them, got on my bike and got out of there.
It was already 12pm and Izy had called me 3 times as our transport to our next hotel had arrived and was waiting.
IN my haste to get back and being slightly frazzled I took a wrong turn and ended up on the long highway bridge to Denpasar, and with nowhere to stop and reply to Iz she was freaking out, and so was I as I was traveling 90kmph on a small bike the exact opposite direction I was meant to be.
An hour later after paying to get through two toll bridges and getting lost again I arrived back at the hotel.
I loved the freedom of the bike, and I will defiantly rent one again but the hassle and the stress of dealing with the Asian police and being threatened with a court order really put a dampener on my day.
All was well though, I walked away with a $50 fine and we dropped the bike back and were driven to our next hotel, Samabe. A mega luxury resort which seemed like it should be reserved for the rich and famous.
I went and did some beach sprints to de-stress then spent the rest of the day chilling in the pool drinking beers and soaking up the view.
Moral of the story:
Ride at your own risk, and paying a bit of coin to get yourself a license is probably worth it.