In Reply to: IDP posted by sunshine_coast on Thursday, 21. June 2012 at 19:48 Bali Time:
I will probably get slated for this but I have often rode bikes with no licence over the years in Bali, never had any incidents, but stopped by the police a few times.
Last time was last November when I got stopped twice within about 12 hours lol.
First time being stopped was late at night, police just waiting for tourists. They ignored my Indonesian wife and pulled me over. Tried to rip me off with claims of 800,000rp fine - if I didnt pay did I would have to go to court bla bla bla. You need to be persistent, haggle with them the same way you would with a market vendor but i ended up paying 50,000.
If they are being awkward - offer to take the ticket, they soon change their mind.
Second time was a road block, no arguments, i offered 20,000rp straight away, he laughed at me, so with a bit of haggling we got up to 50,000 and he was a happy man and I was off.
Anyway - I'm now in the process of taking my bike licence in the UK. Why - when it is so easy to just pay the police off? Because i can't be bothered with the hassle, and I want to be covered on my insurance.
If you've got a bike licence - get an IDP, if you haven't got a bike licence, be prepared to pay.