Posted by Jane on Thursday, 1. October 1998 at 23:54 Bali Time:
In Reply to: horse riding in Bali posted by Ken Rado on Thursday, 1. October 1998 at 20:24 Bali Time:
I booked a day's riding with one of the many tour shops at the hotel, and chose one with a brochure picture of a nice-looking horse cantering across sands.
It cost about 30 dollars for a half-day trip, including drinks/lunch and I mentioned that I am an experienced rider and have my own horse in England.
Unfortunately when I turned up in the morning, I was told that my horse was "sick" and this had happened because "westerners don't like to ride slowly". Too right!
I assume this meant it was lame or exhausted from the previous day's trip.
However, I was offered "pony-trekking" instead, so I agreed reluctantly. We got a taxi (the price was included in the trip) to
Denpasar. We stopped at a rank of pony-and-traps and my worst fears were confirmed when the guide got out and started bartering for the ride.
Since I had been told that it was all included, I had very little money with me and was rather loath to argue with the guide who
was quite a large man (and I'm quite a small woman) and complain that this was not what I had booked and paid for. I was concerned that if I was dumped in the middle of the capital I would not have enough money to get a taxi back to the hotel, so decided to make the best of the sight-seeing tour. I was offered a trip around the shops, which
wans't much use since I had no money, and I asked for a tour of the island scenery instead, which was agreed, although it took ages to
drive out of the capital in some extremely interesting interpretations of overtaking and I still have no idea which side of the road they are *supposed* to be driving on, as people passed us in both directions on both sides.
The trap was tiny and the large guide took up almost all the legroom
so told me to put my legs on top of his. The tiny three-year old pony set off slowly with the three of us. The guide then insisted
on giving me a leg massage as it was a traditional Balinese art
and I was thankful I had sturdy riding trousers on as his hands
went higher up my inner thigh and he grinned unnervingly at me while telling me what good legs I had.
The pony had a hard time up hills, and had to zig zag to prevent the cart rolling back as he slipped on the road. The driver told the guide that he's a very good pony and we didn't have to get off and walk, because he has shoes.
I discovered later when we got off that he only had 2 shoes - one
of each front and hind and the others had certainly been missing for a few days.
The trap reached a down slope where it had to stop because it had no brakes, so by the time we reached the bottom the poor pony was cantering as fast as he could with the trap bashing against his hind legs.
The scenery was pretty good everywhere except in Denpasar, so I shouldn't think that will be a problem on any riding trip.
After various sight-seeing stops we stopped at a roadside cafe for lunch - I certainly would recommend that you take your own food!!!!
My boyfriend went diving on several occasions and the food shops
available for lunch there too were very unhygienic, so it is probably pretty likely that you'll be unable to find any eating place approaching normal Western standards of hygiene. We stopped
and the cafe owner cooked us some food in a large pan that had been
resting on the ground against an outside wall on top of which chickens sat, so what had been in the pan I dreaded to think. A dog ran around the food preparation area, which was open to the roadside. When I'd
refused most of it, the guide ate all mine as well as his, and I had a small bottle of warm water to drink. Then I was told to pay for the meal - and not just mine but the guide's as well! Fortunately it cost only a few pounds and I did have some change with me, but this was certainly not what I had expected or been promised originally.
So, I'd recommend that you get the details of your ride confirmed in writing before you go, and do not accept any substitution!
The horses I saw were all smallish ponies and poorly nourished,
looking as if they were
overworked, so if at all possible, insepct the horses before you book the riding trip.
Regards,
Jane