As we landed in Denpasar, the anticipation of getting back on two wheels was showing itself as growing grins on our faces. The island greeted us with its iconic temples and signature beautiful weather. The traffic in the city was something else entirely, and it took over an hour to get from the airport to the office of Motor Adventure Bali.
These guys were legit and very well run. All their bikes were well maintained and looked great. They offered us a choice of a pair of scooters or a pair of CB150R’s. We test rode each of them and I immediately picked the CB150R. The handling was so much better on a Real Motorcycle compared to a scooter!
With luggage mounted and all the paperwork complete, we headed out. We had booked a hotel about 50 km away near the town of Manggis. We figured we’d be there very soon. With the crazy 5pm traffic in Denpasar it took us way over an hour. It didn’t help that in Indonesia people drive on the left side of the road. Truthfully, it didn’t matter as much in the city because everyone was taking that as a very loose guideline, and vehicles were liable to come from or turn into any direction.
As we left the city behind, things calmed down, and we enjoyed the last bits of light over the rural landscapes. It was so good to ride once again.
The next day we packed our rash guards and fins, and headed out to a beach known as Stairway to Heaven. The snorkeling was ok, the fish served in a cliffside restaurant was ok, the riding though, it was definitely above average.
Despite Bali being a fairly small island, the terrain was very diverse. From lush green rice fields, to dry mountain slopes, to coastal roads – it never got boring. The roads were narrow and twisty, so the going was pretty slow. We realized quickly that a week here would not be enough to ride all of it.
There were many heavy trucks and large busses traveling on these same roads, and I didn’t feel jealous of the cars and pickups that inevitably got stuck behind them with numerous curves making it very difficult to pass. Our CBR150R’s on the other hand, were able to make quick work of the passes.
As we made our way counter-clockwise around the island over the next few days, we stopped at the sprawling temple complex in Besakih, and explored it a little with a guide who insisted we must wear the pieces of fabric around our waists, as that’s the respectful thing to do in these temples. It was funny how he started his “work day” dressed in a casual western style outfit, but then did a Superman-like transformation into traditional clothing which made everything he was explaining about the temples sound at least 30% more authoritative. It was a very busy place. The temples were large and impressive, but honestly, there are smaller scale temples scattered all over the island and soon enough it turned from novelty into background. The more impressive thing to me was that almost every establishment, be it a restaurant, a furniture shop, or a hardware store had a small temple that someone brought offerings to (flowers, incense and the like) several times a day. Bali has a reputation for its spiritualism, and the local people definitely live it.
Eventually we made it to Tulamben, a town famous for being a gateway to diving the Liberty Wreck. It is a shallow water wreck that you can just snorkel to from the shore. We ended up not diving it, but did a few other dives in the area.
There was a great variety of good food everywhere – from simple street food, to elaborate locally inspired dinners, to hipster cafes with avocado toast and shakshuka. As long as we kept the spicy level to none, life was good.
As we meandered around the island, I found a shortcut which turned out to be a dirt road! I was kind of surprised actually that the overwhelming majority of roads on the island were paved, but here was a lovely surprise where we managed to get a little dusty. The final touch was a small sandy hill climb, which I climbed with minimal grace with my street tires. Literally 50 m from there was a paved road, and this was where I decided to slide on a bit of gravel and drop my bike. After riding just fine in more challenging conditions, I crash on the easy tarmac. That’s my superpower. The ground contact bent a mirror and left some scratches on the fairings and the top case. At the end of the trip the shop charged us $10 for the mirror and forgave the scratches. Not a bad resolution.
The rice fields of Bali are an iconic part of the landscape, but lots of other things grow on the island. We were most surprised to find strawberry farms near Lake Buyan. This is a volcanic crater lake and the highlands reach 1400 m elevation. The temperatures there dropped significantly, and suddenly the people around us were dressed in puffy jackets.
The thing I was afraid of before coming to Bali was that it’s such a well know destination, many will tell you that it’s overrun with tourists and has lost its original charm. What we found instead was that if you stay away from the most popular spots, especially if you get your own bike, it’s easy to have entire beaches to yourself, enjoy the many roads off the beaten path, yet have access to all the comforts of civilization (meaning tasty food). In particular, it’s clear the people here have a deep desire to keep their place beautiful. Be it an elaborate statue, a wreath, or just a fresh flower – there is always an extra touch, an extra thought.
When it was time to drop off our bikes and head to the airport, I found myself thinking I will definitely be back in this country for a larger road trip. As we were bored waiting for the late night flight, I began checking what would it take to get my own motorcycle into Indonesia. But that’s a story for another time.
