Posted by Milt on Friday, 9. October 1998 at 04:36 Bali Time:
In Reply to: Driver Jaya posted by YYH on Friday, 9. October 1998 at 04:05 Bali Time:
Dear YYH,
An excellent move on your part, selecting Jaya as your driver. Being almost 50 years of age, I have been in my fair share of automobile accidents and I am ultra safety conscious. As you are travelling with your precious 22 month old child, you undoubtably share my concern with safety. Trust me, Balinese roads can be very very treacherous. There is no margin for error along the sides of the roads either as they are almost always irrigation ditches and not a good place to wind up in.
I have truly never had a more safety conscious driver than Jaya and he never made one move or maneuver that I thought was the least bit unsafe. He is a father himself of a beautiful little girl, just two years old named Ayu, so he is mature and very careful.
Jaya knows all of Bali and can show you whatever you would like to see. Keep in mind that no self respecting polite Balinese, (and Jaya is all of that) would ever think to impose their own opinions on you so be sure to ask Jaya for his opinions if you want them. Jaya is very astute on other matters as well...for example what is safe for westerners to drink and eat and what could be risky.
I can absolutely guarantee you that after your trip with Jaya, you will want to adopt him into your own family and your time using him as your driver will remain in your mind as one of the best features of your visit to Bali.
You can e-mail me with any other questions about Jaya you may have. He himself can be reached at jayaagung@yahoo.com Tell him "big Mr. Milt" says "apa kabar?" and give him a big hug too!