Last month I related the reason and the idea behind our trip to Bali. This missive is a bit more of a travelogue. I hope you enjoy it.
About the time the hangover from the wedding was receding, the hired Yamaha N Max was delivered. We struck out on a 'shakedown' exploration of the southern lump of the island. Shake it did, her on the rear didn't take to it so, you'll remember, we swapped it for a more roomy and comfy PCX Honda. Our limited Asian riding experience taught us to throw ourselves into the deep end (of the traffic) early so we headed for Kuta. J needed a couple of long-sleeved shirts and we both needed a cap to wear under the ice cream containers with chin straps we were provided with for helmets. Baptism by traffic over, caps under helmets, extra clothing sorted, we hit the road for a three-day, two-up scooter touring, half-lap of the island.
We looped towards Nusa Du and picked up the amazing Jalan Tol Bali Mandara that runs across the Benoa Bay, skirting the Denpasar log jam, mostly... What an amazing structure, originally only cars and trucks were allowed access to it but added 'outboard' lanes carry a smattering of scooter riders who are prepared to pay the $5 equivalent for three trips.
For us southerners even the cooler months were hot and humid, so as we escaped the clogged chaos of the capital city we got more clear air and riding started to become much more pleasant. Heading east along the coast, I started to relax and have a bit of a look around. The problem is that every time I did steal a glimpse of the scenery, as I turned my attention back to the road ahead, there was a scooter, car, truck or bus heading straight for us! What regularly astounded me is that the local dogs seemed to be as comfortable with the traffic as the local humans. They invariably took the teeming chaos of traffic in their mangey stride.
After a couple of hours, I got sick of being punched in the kidneys and took the hint. It was time for smoko. Taking a punt and following a series of signs about 5 klicks inland, we came across an oasis of old-world Balinese opulence. Another lesson learned – only book end accommodation. Having a couple of days to settle in and one or two more to get ready for departure, leaving the middle open so we could hang out in places like this. As it was we were using our relatively cheap, booked room to store our gear while we were away.
By the time we reached Amlapura it was time for lunch but other than the rather iffy-looking local Warungs, we couldn't find a place for a reliable feed, so pushed on to turn left and head north and turn left at Tianjar. The map showed it to be a relatively short and direct route to our first night's stay by Lake Danau Batur. Bali's largest lake fills a massive volcanic caldera. It's so big there is an active volcano, Mt Batur, nestled in the bottom.
From Tianjar we struck out South West, away from the populated coast. The road narrowed and climbed...and climbed... and climbed. What we hadn't bargained for, was the steepness of that thin ribbon of tarmac. About 30 km in, the little PCX refused to drag the both of us any further as it lugged to a stop on one of the steepest roads we'd ever experienced. We decided that I'd negotiate the road, rock dirt road ahead while she walked 'up around the corner' and we could regroup. After a few metres in I decided to adventure ride it and stood on the footboards, the phone jumped out of the crappy holder that came with the bike, dangling at the end of the charging cable. All the while the Google Maps woman was urging me to do a U-Turn! AS IF! As I rounded the corner I near pranged into three gob-smacked locals having a yarn in the middle of the road. When J hiked panting into view they near fainted. In a broken English, they assured us we'd never make it up the rest of the way and it was way too steep and far for her to walk. Seizing the opportunity one of the guys offered to ferry the Pillion in a Million (PM) on his bike. A ratty-looking Chinese trail bike. He assured us it had good suspension and a strong motor. No Problems! As there is no social security system, everyone is on the make. How much? 100,000 he replied speculatively. That's about $10 and represented about a week's wage but a drinking voucher to get us out of an extra 3 or 4 hours of looping around to our booked accommodation on the lake seemed a gold-plated bargain! I followed a seriously loaded bike as it was flogged upward. The road continued to climb, twist and hairpin its way upward through chest-high grass. Maintaining momentum meant there was no way to take a cautious approach on switchbacks. It was simply keep it flat, steer it and try not to let the bike fall over. By the time Mako, J's newly stimulated chauffer (she was hangin' on real tight) had transported the PM to the point where he assured us there was not too much walking ( I did offer to do some of the walking) to be done his bike was not happy. I do hope the R100,000 bought him a new piston and ring set as well as a few beers. We made a gift of an Andy Strap as we bid our goodbye. We reckon he's got a good yarn to tell too. Having a couple of mad old westerners doing dumb things, having the woman pressed hard against his back for 10 klick and a week's wages!
We descended equally steep roads past equally shocked locals into a townscape that looked mostly untouched by the hustle and bustle of tourism and tracked down our accommodation. After a dip in the hot pool, and a couple of pints of Bintang, it was time to get a feed. Our days drama stretched on as the host's chef was in hospital, the walkable Warungs were closed and we were hungry. So... for the first time in 50 years, I piloted a vehicle half-cut. To add to the fun there was some sort of celebration happening across the district. There were people everywhere dressed in their 'Sunday Best', carrying offerings, 2 (or 5) up on the rattiest scooters we'd seen all trip. The whole district looked to be pouring into town, making for the various temples. Getting lost for the fun of it on the way home, we garnered a heap of interest. After a feed we wend our way back through crowds with a background of some sort of religious chanting blaring out over PA's, battering the sides of the caldera. Sounding more like three flies in a milk bottle over AC DC's PA system, the chanting went on 'til well after midnight and struck up again at dawn. We chalked that down to a memorable cultural experience.
The next morning we climbed the opposite side of the Caldera to Kintamani for breakfast but missed out on the spectacular view due to fog. Back on the road we had a more gentle descent to the coast but had to deal with riding in the rain, our ponchos flapping deafeningly. We were treated to some proper motorcycling as the road surface and width improved, twisting down to the coast. We rapidly found that the locals are pretty good operators of their bikes but not 'riders'.
Our pre-booked accommodation was flash as and right in the heart of Lovina, on the north coast of Bali. After a shower, we donned appropriate touristy clothing and wandered the streets and beach. We were back to the wearing hustle of Bali life. I always try to learn a few basic words of the local language and TIDAK, TIDAK (no) got a solid work-out. The PM almost never partakes of the devil alcohol but decide a celebration was in order so she ponied up for a Strawberry Daiquiri. I'm sure the bar staff were feeling generous that day because she progressed from chirpy, to boisterous to belligerent with each slurp on the straw. I haven't laughed (with her) so much in ages! Back out in the open air, we got accosted by one of the best con artists I have had the pleasure of engaging with. He spun elaborate yarns about the stuff he sold us. The next morning we were offered the same tat by other less sophisticated players. More lessons... alcohol makes too good to be true, even better! After a game of volleyball with patient locals, a cracking feed and an uncomfortably hot night we were back on the road south. Like our mate, the aircon was full of promise but little delivery. The PM had Bali Botanic Gardens on her agenda, I had a walk to a waterfall. Both achieved, we headed for a restaurant we had lunch at, in the Nusa Dua area. This entailed about four hours of 'peak hour', cut and thrust, mixing it with small SUVs and maniacal, micro pan-tech trucks. One driver was driving his truck like a loony bike courier, on the gear, with a super-urgent, high-fee parcel. He was making suicidal passing manoeuvres, overtaking and undertaking all manner of traffic. As he was making better time than the cars but not as good as the bikes, he was in our 'wheelhouse' for many klicks. It was a great relief to make it back to the spectacular Bali Mandra Tollway, as we had the road to ourselves! It was like coming to the water's surface after being held down by a big wave in the surf. We stopped to check the maps app to get us to the Cafe we'd decided to have dinner at and a Taxi driver offered help. After ten days of being pestered and conned, my immediate reaction was "How much does this prick want?", only to feel mighty guilty when it turned out he was just trying to help a stranger. The cafe staff were in total disbelief that we'd travelled from Lovina to their establishment in a day as I wiped what seemed like a kilo of black soot from my face before tucking into a delicious feed.
By the time we'd made it back to our hotel and unpacked the bike, we were both knackered and I was totally over riding in this part of Asia! It isn't so much the crowds of bikes, it's mixing it with virtually perpetual, gridlocked cars. Doing it in the dark is another level! Being one of the last Aussies to visit Bali, I felt a 'been there-done that' vibe and I'll be happy to leave it at that. No, I didn't buy a Bintang T shirt.
Next month you'll get the PM's view from the back seat. Unfortunately, the 'round tuit is not working that well so the Bali Video will appear next month too.
You may not have seen this. I like the crash bars around the front of the trailer!
SPRING SALE
For the first time in Strapz history we are having a proper sale!
As the world is doing it tough we though we'd help out a bit by offering our valued customers a helping hand by way of a few bucks off our already discounted range of gear.
POWERSLIDE INTO SPRING SALE
All of August we'll be offering 15% off our normally discounted prices of every NON ANDY STRAPZ BRANDED product we have on the shelves. Yep, every item we don't make and have on the shelves, in stock. When it's gone it's gone, no special orders, no rain checks.
Here's the best bit. As a newsletter faithful, your offer starts now not August 1st like everyone else...
Bangin' on for further discounts, deals or haggles will gain you curt advice regarding sex and travel. Just saying. Ts and Cs page here
OMG, this Dry July is messing with my head. I've tried a few Un-Beers (non-alcoholic) and they all tasted like dishwashing liquid mixed with cat piss, so, I've been drinking soda water. Last night I dreamt I was having beers with a mate until I realized I must be cheating and woke up. For dessert, I made banana muffins and as I'd been leaving out the alcohol, I think my subconscious made me leave out the bananas. At least the muffins tasted ok! Five days to go... But who's counting? Make this worthwhile and donate to help those affected by the Big C now - https://www.dryjuly.com/users/andy-white-2 to donate, big or small. Thank you if you've already chipped in. Andy
The new and updated Cardo Packtalk Edge has lobbed into Strapz HQ. Loaded with plenty of fixes, upgrades and new tech. It represents the top of the tree in rider-to-rider comms. The gooder bits are A new sleeker magnetic snap 'Air Mount', just drop it in place. The Bold I have requires me to hold my tongue in just the right place to get the bloody thing off... No pop-up aerial to break USB C plug 'oles Second Generation mesh with 1.6km gap unit to unit. Two to 15 users. 3-year warranty 100% Waterproof. If you want more info and a Cardo video CLICK Here.
More Hat Chat
Here's a couple more helmets from Marcus's collection. One is a bit of a left-field item, the other a more familiar name. This brain bucket, one of Isle of Man Legend Dan Stewart's, was handed to Marcus as thanks for helping out in his pit garage in 2012. Dan, a bike shop owner from Barrow in Furness in the Cumbria region of the UK, finished eighth fastest on the 37 and 1/4 mile circuit. Dan is one of the stalwarts of the early 2000s at the TT. His first outing was in 2000 and finished second in the newcomer's race. He won the Martin Smith trophy for the first 600 home in the Senior Manx race, finishing ninth overall. Stewart finished in the top ten 17 times and had a pretty good showing in Superstock and Superbike racing. Dan Stewart is probably only known to those who follow the Isle of Man TT. He finished in the top ten 17 times from 2000 to 2018.
Surtees Replica
This replica of John Surtees's CBE (1934 to 2017) pudding bowl helmet was signed at Goodwood a few years back. I guess there's little the world doesn't know about him. The only person to have secured both GP Motorcycle and F1 World Championships. His tally of 7 bikes (in two classes) and 1 in a car, places him in the dead-set legend category.
Unfortunately, this hat was displayed a little too close to a downlight and suffered as a consequence.
In The Red
One of the unsung heroes I've banged on about before is the Inna Pack. We go nowhere without one. We've made six fast Inna Packs. Yep, just the six. When they are gone, they'z gone. Inna Packs are the best way to keep all the goodies you need for a couple of nights in one hinged pack. Hang it in a bathroom or on a coat hook.
My idea for a new type of freeway sign.
Enough said really.
Get out there, ride well and grin large. Copyalater Andy
Find our Video, Website and Social pages, send us an email or forward to yer mates.
