Riding my motorbike in Denpasar today, looking for a particular shop, I rediscovered my reflexes. Anytime I am away from Bali, it takes a while to mentally get used to the sizes and speeds of things. Same when I go to the US or Europe. Over there the cars feel like they’re going 200mph at first.
Motorbikes travel relatively slowly over here, due to the narrow, windy roads, size of the bikes and amount of traffic. Still, there are plenty of curveballs to make up for the speed. Once today I was waiting on the side of a busy street, trying to ride across the middle line and go the other way. Spotting a break in the traffic in front of a large truck, I was about to go for it, when I spotted a speeder on a motorbike, overtaking him on the blind side. Phew! Glad I didn’t take that option. Second time I had to pull a U-turn, I waited on the side of a busy street for about 2-3 minutes seeing no safe space, both sides. A couple of locals pulled up next to me and zoomed off, down the curb going the wrong way. When a gap came along, they had the direction and speed to take it. I don’t like that style of riding, but in a packed environment, people get creative.
Rule of thumb in Bali: Take your time and pay attention at all times.
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I agree. When driving on Bali, car or bike, go slow, take it easy, let the speedsters pass. If you are stuck behind a slow truck on a hill, stop, take a walk, whatever.
If you do know the roads well and are in a hurry, drive after dark, say after 8 or 9 pm, when there is little traffic. A daytime 3 hour drive can be cut in half that way.
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