In Reply to: first time posted by Danger Mouse on Monday, 13. September 2010 at 21:44 Bali Time:
Last year, I hired a motorcycle from a fellow operating from the footpath near the Bombing Monument in Jalan Legian. He even had proper business stationery listing his place of business as the footpath!
Before accepting the bike I checked that there was:
* no more than 1 inch slack in the chain; and
* the tyres had plenty of tread.
I also put my foot on the rear brake pedal and pushed hard, the bike did not move, and I squeezed the front brake lever and pushed, again the bike did not move.
I paid Rp 20,000 per day, as the bike was a 2005 model Honda stepthrough with a semi-automatic gearbox. I did not bother buying insurance from the hirer. An automatic scooter would have cost me Rp 25,000 per day.
On this trip, petrol was Rp 4,500 per litre from service stations. It cost me Rp 5,000 per litre from a bottle, when I purchased petrol from a roadside. I brought my own helmet and gloves from Australia. I wore lots of suncreen on my face and neck. I also wore elastic sided boots and a thick long sleeved shirt.
I had memorised from a map, the ring road around Denpasar and took off for Ubud. After taking a wrong turn I ended lost in Denpasar! Traffic was like bumper cars in Sideshow Alley. I kept following the signs pointing to Gianyar and eventually escaped Denpasar.
I carried an International Driving Permit endorsed for motorcycling. I showed this permit at police blocks.