Indonesia is the land of cars-and-drivers. Public transportation is not so good, so it’s hard to get around. Sure, there are buses to Ubud, but all the sites are outside of town. How do you get to them?
If you want to go beyond Bali to other islands, the problem is compounded. There are only buses between the major cities. They don’t stop at sites in between. And what do you do when the bus drops you off, but the volcano you want to climb is an hour away?
To solve this problem, the many travel agencies in Kuta will sell the services of a car-and-driver for a reasonable price. It sounds like a pretty good deal. You get to sit in a nice air-conditioned car with tinted windows while your guide does all the driving.
And you will really like your guide. He speaks perfect English, is funny, and knows all sorts of facts about the places he takes you. He will even translate for you. You will really enjoy talking to him. In fact, he is the only person you will talk to in Indonesia.
As you sit in the air-conditioned car with tinted windows, no locals will even know you are there. You will become passive and sleepy, because your guide has your itinerary planned, no input required from you.
A Better Way
As a proponent of independent, slow, budget travel, this is the antithesis of how I wanted to experience Indonesia. The last thing I wanted was to be trapped in a car and have no control over where I was going.
Renting a scooter was the perfect way to free myself of this bubble. I had full control of where I was going. Because I had this skin in the game, I was more interested in where I went.
I wasn’t anonymous behind tinted windows. I was out there for everybody to see. This led to lots of fun interactions with the locals.
I got lost a lot, because I didn’t have somebody telling me where to go, but that just encouraged me to talk to the locals.
Rolling into town of my own wheels was very satisfying. I didn’t have to worry about booking tours to the local attractions, unless they were islands. I could stay as long as I wanted.
Motorbiking is the best way to travel to escape the car-and-driver bubble.
Have you tried motorbiking?
