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Last
updated : 2006. June 15
The
Bali & Lombok fact sheets (below) are intended for easy printing &
copying as a single page of A4 , double sided. You can carry them on your trip,
easily !
They
are available for copying & distribution on a not-for-profit basis.
Australian
International Bicycle Travel Fact Sheets
©
Grace Newhaven 2004.
Resources
General remarks
Roads & Traffic
Road
surfaces are generally sealed and in good condition. There are few private cars
but many smoky trucks, taxis, tourist buses and millions of low capacity motor
bikes in
Water
In such
a humid climate, with some steep climbs, the cyclist will use plenty of water.
Good drinking water in 1.5 litre plastic bottles is available on all main roads
and even in small village “warungs” (shops). Prices per litre range from Rp.
1.3 or less in a supermarket, to Rp. 2.5 and more in the backblocks. The same
water is also available in 19 (nineteen!) litre “gallon” bottles for only Rp. 5
or 6 ( but Rp. 25 deposit on the bottle). In some places, small shops have
adopted Australian filtration machines, offering “gallons’ at Rp. 3 (only!) If
you have carrying capacity, (eg wine cask bladder!), these are excellent value,
even if you can’t take the whole “gallon”. Adding a local “energy” supplement
improves taste etc, I recommend “M 150” in sachet. In some places in the
mountains, you will see springs used by local people; and Australians will
recognise rain water tanks near Kintamani.
Food
There is
plenty to eat on the road in
Accommodation
The
following notes relate only to “budget” hotels ( less than US$10 dbl). There
are hotels & “losmen” ( guesthouse) in all tourist areas, but these are not
evenly distributed across the island, causing bicycle travelers to have some
very long days as you pass from one hotel to another. Most include an attached
bathroom/toilet; and breakfast (coffee and a snack) in the room price. Most
prices are for double room, so it may be expensive traveling alone. There will
be a power point. A mosquito net (not provided) and coils (bring a holder from
Services – “*” = “recommended”; H = Hotel; h/s = “homestay”;
FWS = filtered water shop
Place |
Hotel |
Comments |
Airport |
|
500m
walk E. to bemo stop (Rp2.5 to Kuta); Rp 60 for two boxed bikes to Kuta.
Departure tax Rp 100 ( all forms accepted!). Left Luggage Rp 15/piece |
Amlapura |
H
[unknown ] Rp. 100 ! |
Hardy’s,
nice town, no tourists |
Den
Passar |
H
Sakura Rp. 80 (OK) Losmen Taruna Rp 35 |
Vegetarian
depot at Jl Wahidin 27. Bike shop near mosque Jl Hasanudin 44. FWS nearby |
Gilymanuk |
H
Lestari Rp. 35 |
Nice
market. Good Nasi Bunkus at Port |
Giyanyar |
Losmen
opposite Hardy’s |
No
money Ex, but ATM accepts Visa etc. Hardy’s |
Kedisan |
two H.
Rp. 50 |
Better
in Toyahbungah. Walk up = ½ hr ! not too hard ! |
Klunkung |
Losmen
Rp. 40 |
Grimy,
but friendly. Good night market. H opposite losmen |
Kuta |
H.
Taman Ayu Rp. 50 * |
All
services. NB : “Supernova”
smkt has steel mugs. Bike shop Jl Raya Kuta 39x |
Lovina |
HS
“Gede” Rp. 40 * |
Tourist
play pen. FWS. Nice rides in the hills behind |
Melayu |
|
FWS,
N side of road |
Negara |
H Ana,
Rp. 25 * |
Hardys,
market, nice town. Bike shop. No tourists. |
|
H
Parta Inn Rp. 50 * |
All
services, best place to start tour ( take shuttle from airport, Rp25 + bike).
Many H. FWS. Intenet Rp18 ! |
Pemenang |
H |
?
grimy |
Sanur |
|
Hardy’s.
Tourists. |
Seritit |
|
Crossroads
town, busy market, Hardy’s |
Singarajah |
H.
Sentral Rp. 40 |
Nice
town, but mosquito capital of |
Sukawati |
|
Craft
market. H Rp 70 just S of craft market |
Tabanan |
H |
H.
very clean & pleasant. Nice town. FWS , nice warungs & hookers
opposite hotel |
Tirtagunga |
Several
h’s , Rp. 40 |
Tourist
site, Hotel clean & comfortable |
Toyabungkah |
Bungalow
Arlinas |
Pleasant,
friendly. Warung nearby |
Ubud |
H/S
Agung Oka Rp. 60 * |
Tourist
town, some veg. cafes. Supermarket, a few warungs. |
Glossary : bicycle “sepeda”, rice “nasi”,
fried “goreng”, “good morning “ selamat pagi”
Please forward any
comments or additions to < Bicycle_FishAThotmail.com > Happy cycling !
******************************************************************************
Australian International Bicycle Travel Fact Sheets
©
Grace Newhaven 2004.
Indonesia
: Part 2 :
Resources
General remarks
Roads & Traffic
Road
surfaces are generally sealed and in good condition. There are very few private
cars, less motor bikes than
In
general, we found the North more dry & strenuous than the South, which was
also more interesting ( small villages with crafts etc) , so we recommend
cycling the South first if you are on a short time line.
Petrol
is only Rp 4/litre. Road rules are elastic, motorbikes and cyclists, even
visitors J,
often drive on the wrong side of the road. However, most drivers are
surprisingly considerate and there is also a huge amount of sealed minor roads
providing relatively quiet cycling and
signage is generally helpful.. Night riding would be difficult, as many
motorbikes drive without lights and there are many road hazards. Dogs (of which
there are much less than
Water
In such
a humid climate, the cyclist will use plenty of water. Good drinking water in
1.5 litre plastic bottles is available on all main roads and even in small
village “warungs” (shops). Prices per litre range from Rp. 1.3 or less in a
supermarket, to Rp. 3 and more in the backblocks. The same water is also
available in 19 (nineteen!) litre “gallon” bottles for only Rp. 5 or 6 ( but
Rp. 25 deposit on the bottle). In some places, small shops have adopted
Australian filtration machines, offering “gallons’ at Rp. 3 (only!) If you have
carrying capacity, (eg wine cask bladder!), these are excellent value, even if
you can’t take the whole “gallon”. Adding a local “energy” supplement improves
taste etc, we recommend “M 150” in sachet.
Food
[ NB
prices are written here without the “ooo” ie “Rp. 5 = Rp 5,000] There is plenty
to eat on the road in
Note
that prices for goods & services are also usually not displayed
anywhere, even in markets, as sellers want to “dikurangi harga’ (bargain, or
haggle!) which can be tedious for Westerners, used to fixed prices.
Occasionally, vendors will over-charge foreigners, or try to, so it’s necessary
to “haggle” the price first before accepting the service. Conversely,
tho, there is in my opinion sometimes “touris diskon” ( tourist discount), but
usually from only petty traders, eg market women etc, who will give you an
extra fruit , unasked : it’s nice when it happens, always say “ teri makasi “ (
Thank you). People will be delighted with even the attempt to use some
Indonesian or Sasak words, so try to learn the numbers at least! It’s good to
carry a small emergency food supply (eg peanuts, crackers etc). Note that
basic( ? subsidized) rice is around Rp
2.5 in markets.
Accommodation
The
following notes relate only to “budget” hotels ( less than US$10 dbl). There
are hotels & “losmen” ( guesthouse) in all tourist areas, but these are not
evenly distributed across the island, causing bicycle travelers to have some very
long days as you pass from one hotel to another. Most include an attached
bathroom/toilet; and breakfast ( coffee and a snack) in the room price. Most
prices are for double room, so it may be expensive traveling alone. There will
be a power point. A mosquito net (not provided) and coils (bring a holder from
Services – “*” = “recommended”; H = Hotel; h/s = “homestay”;
FWS = filtered water shop
Place |
Hotel |
Comments |
Gondang |
H/S
Suhardi Rp. 30 * |
a
bit grubby, but quiet, good breakfast, good conversation. Near beach. Few visitors! |
Kuta (LBK) |
H.
Segara Anak Rp. 40 * |
Bungalows,
quiet. Tourist restaurant is OK. Nasi bunkus at crossroads motor shop. Beach
plagued by vendors. Kuta to Mataram by backroads is great cycling. |
Labuhan
Pandan |
Siola
Cottages Rp. 35 |
Small
beach “bungalows.” Very quiet. Tourist restaurant, few customers |
Lembar |
Tidar
Bungalow Rp. 40 |
Small
bungalows, quiet. Nice bunkus nearby. |
Lendang (aka
Pedalman) |
HS
Radiah Rp. 70 (with
3 meals) |
Friendly,
intelligent, imaginative manager but grubby. Good food. Friendly Muslim town |
Mataram |
H.
Karthika Rp. 55 * |
Near
Mataram Mall. Many H nearby. Internet at Wartel “Jenny” Rp. 2500/hr. Nice
town . FWS just North of bird market. |
Praya |
H
“D.H.” Rp. 45 |
Nice
town, cheap internet. H needs competition ! Bunkus at main road. |
Senaru |
H.
“Pondok Indah” Rp. 35 |
OK
but basic. Expensive food ( instant noodles Rp. 10 !) Last 5 km very steep.
Some warungs at top of town. Beer Rp. 11 “panas” |
Sengigi |
Bungalow Batu Layar Rp. 50 * |
Very
pleasant, intelligent management. Town is touristic, some good bunkus. Bakery
(rye bread !) w/diskon after 1800 hrs. Road north has steep sections for
about 10 km or so. |
Glossary : bicycle “sepeda” , rice “nasi”,
fried “ goreng”, hot “panas” ,“good morning “ selamat pagi”. A nice souvenir is
the school badge of the Nusa Tengarra Barat, ask at any bookshop !
Please forward any
comments or additions to “< Bicycle_FishAThotmail.com > Happy cycling !
****
Last updated : 2004. October 22
·
Indonesians
mature more slowly than Westerners
Sometimes
you will find yourself talking to people who look like they are about 14 or 15;
but then you might ask how old they are, and you find they are really 22 or
more !
We
decided it must be something to do with diet, and perhaps possibly cultural
environment. I also remember reading that in the 19th century,
puberty was sometimes as late as 20 in Western countries.
·
You
don’t see many crying babies in Indonesia
Most babies
seem to be carried about, either by their mothers or elder siblings, just about
full time. Perhaps there is a relationship between these two phenomena. Maybe
Indonesians would find our physical separation between mother & child as
very cold !
·
Animal
welfare
We saw
plenty of animal mistreatment : “pet” monkeys on very short chains ; starving
kittens ; mangy dogs, clearly in pain from their lesions ; horses towing
passenger carts, whipped to racing speed by their drivers.
·
Tourist
restaurants
There
are tourist restaurants in all the tourist areas. One un-remarked irony of
these places is that they rarely ( or never !) have any Indonesian customers –
this is particularly ironic when many of their Western customers profess to be
in the country precisely to experience local life ! To me, this phenomenon has
a whiff of apartheid – the colour of your passport determines if you can
participate in the culture of pizza, banana smoothie, cold beer, casual sex ….
This was brought home forcefully to me one night as I noticed a small group of
“locals” tunefully strumming a guitar under a dim streetlight just a few metres
from a “travelers” café – from where I heard the unmistakable sounds of a
hedonistic pleasure priced well above the means of these local musicians, who
could only participate in such life at a discreet distance, hoping perhaps to
be noticed by a traveler on his/her way home. For myself, I hope never to enter
a tourist café ever again.
·
Labour
standards & conditions
In one
of our budget hotels, my partner engaged one of the staff one day on the
subject of his working conditions. They were : 12 hour day, 7 day week, with a
trip to his home village once a year ; he was fed by the hotel, and had a place
to sleep ( we didn’t see that). He did not disclose his salary; but he was
genuinely happy to receive a well used shirt from me as I packed to fly home.
So it’s no wonder that “
·
“Import
shops”
One
curious phenomenon in
I
noticed this first in Thailand some years ago, when I first saw a “ jeans
clinic” : this ingenious enterprise was a tiny market stall, where a skilled
& creative expert would repair a cheap pair of ( “worn out”) jeans as soon
as the purchaser had found a good fitting pair at the “ import shop” in the
next aisle. Many of the jeans for sale had only minor damage, which was too
much for their original owners.
I
remember something similar from Beirut, in the 1970’s, where I saw shops
specialising in a clever recycling of the top half of a pair of jeans, into
shoulder bags, with lots of useful pockets ( the bottom halves having succumbed
to worn–out knees, which in my experience are very difficult to repair.
Anyway,
you will see “Import shops” across the
·
Beer
– presentation & consumption
Beer is widely available in
However, there can be no mistake that a lot
of beer is drunk “warm”, it’s just that this will occur in situations ( eg
private homes) not generally accessible to foreigners. Perhaps this explains
why beer is available around the world in places where refrigeration is a great
luxury! Anyway, it isn’t the abomination you might at first think, and it’s
well worth a try.
Further, while beer is widely available, you
won’t see many Balinese walking about drinking – seeing foreigners like this in
Kuta was disgusting to me, evidence of both complete insensitivity to the local
economy of poverty as well as total self-indulgence. Bintang beer looks like this
·
Coffee
– preparation
There is a lot of coffee in
(where coffee was once known as “Java”!).
Now, you can find coffee everywhere in Bali
& Lombok, and interestingly, it’s made very simply: hot water is poured
onto very finely ground coffee, usually mixed with sugar, and presented in a
glass. It’s delicious, and almost as easy as instant coffee. If you want to do
this yourself ( eg using your own immersion heater), just buy a small packet of
coffee in any warung.
·
Handicrafts
& Quarantine
“What Can’t I Take Into Australia” is a very useful leaflet from
the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service, provides a list of
prohibited items, and those which are possible but must be declared &
checked on arrival. www.aqis.gov.au
·
Lonely
Planet’s
The
following suggested route was included in previous Lonely Planet guides, but
not in the 2004 edition. I present it here in simplified form :
1. Kuta to Sempidi to Mengwi to
Candikuning. 60 km. (using bemo for 23 km uphill to Bedugal or Candikuning).
2. Candikuning to Singarajah 30 km.
Lovina recommended for o/n stay, get there by back roads.
3. Singarajah to Penelokan 58 km. (
inc 36 km uphill by bemo to Penulisan)
4. Penelokan to Klunkung/Semarapura.
31 km ( alternatively, via Bangli or
Ubud)
5. Klunkung/Semarapura to Den Pasar
or Sanur 40 km
See also : Norman Ford’s suggestions (
below)
“I've Been to Bali
Too" Lyrics to song by Australian Band “Redgum” in the 1980’s.
Den
Pasar airport information
http://www.worldairportguide.co.uk/airports/dps/dps.asp
Currency Converter
http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic
Hardy’s Grocery Supermarkets http://www.hardysretail.com/
Grace Johnson & Paul Jeurissen : lots of images
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/projection3/english/indonesia/home/index.htm
detailed
map of
http://home.mira.net/~wreid/bali_pl.gif
on line
travel guide
http://home.mira.net/~wreid/index.html#Bali_Index
Travel Languages - Indonesian
http://www.travlang.com/languages/cgi-bin/langchoice.cgi
http://www.mrpumpy.net/BSA-Ind-Madura.html
http://www.bikebrats.com/indomal/indo.htm
http://www.dcf.dk/touring/bali.htm
http://members.aol.com/luigithom/bali/bali.htm
Bicycling
http://www.dandeangeli.com/bali/whole_journal.htm
16 Days in
www.users.bigpond.net.au/neilpollock/
indonesia/balibycycle.html
www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/16/1082055633667.html
Eric
& Joan – Java, Sumatra,
http://www.ericandjoan.com/worldtrip/indonesia/indomain.htm
http://www.lombok-network.com/travel_tales/tour_de_lombok.htm
http://www.achildshome.net/2country/indonesia.htm
Maluku
(by bike)
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cove/2383/maluku.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/south_east_asia/indonesia/
http://travel.roughguides.com/roughguides.html
Footprint Guide ( including back copies on
discount !)
http://www.footprintbooks.com/default.asp
Travelling
In
http://www.emp.pdx.edu/htliono/travel.html
<liono@emp.pdx.edu>
http://www.lombok-network.com/
General
travel
http://www.1000traveltips.org/general2.htm