Bali 2022
In July 2022, we spent two weeks riding around Bali on two glorified hairdryers masquerading as scooters. We escaped Kuta’s chaos for Ubud’s rice terraces and bewildering traffic, then headed east to Amed, where the coastal views briefly made us forget how much our backsides hurt. From there we climbed to Lake Batur in its volcanic crater, wound north to Lovina and Pemuteran’s quiet beaches, detoured through the backroads of Puluku, and finally rolled into Canggu before ending where we started in Kuta—tired, sunburnt, and completely won over by Bali’s ridiculous beauty.
Leaving Bali
Posted on 25 July 2022 by David
Sadly, our time in Bali has come to an end. We have that weird time dilation where because we’ve been out of routine and packed so much into our time here, it seems like months have gone by since we arrived. But really, it’s a bit over two weeks. We’ve seen all four points of […]
Adventures in South Bali
Posted on 22 July 2022 by David
We’ve decided to stick around south Bali for the last few days. But that didn’t mean we were going to sit idly, have massages, drink Bintang, and do all the things that make touristic Bali touristic Bali. As it turns out, we did sit idly, drink Bintang and have massages. But we went and saw […]
The day we didn’t die
Posted on 21 July 2022 by David
Today was the hardest day of riding we’ve done. Exhausting, challenging, yet we survived it. Let me tell you about what happened. We woke up in our anonymous beach resort, breakfasted and decided to stay in Canggu for the last few days of our time and booked a hotel. (This was a mistake, but more […]
West Coast Vibin’
Posted on 20 July 2022 by David
Today we ride around the western tip of Bali to the town of Gillimanuk for *bakso*. Then we ride to look at a tree.
Permuteran. And stuff.
Posted on 19 July 2022 by David
All good things come to an end. At least to those with the onward urge of riding motorcycles in foreign countries. So, this morning we loaded up our bikes and headed off to places we’ve never seen before. This is our thing. This is what we do. It was 80km up the coast. Distances are […]
Like a bug on her back
Posted on 17 July 2022 by David
After the difficulties of the 15th, the 16th was spent lazing around, swimming, eating grapes while lying on a chaise lounge, you know the like. But enough! we decided, and the 17th was going to be a day of action. Today is a good day to ride motorcycles! But first things first. Lovina is famous […]
Getting lost with not internet. While having fun.
Posted on 15 July 2022 by David
Despite some challenges today—no internet, faulty navigation, failed bank withdrawals, and no hotel booking—we navigated the challenges Bali threw at us. After visiting the Geopark Museum and struggling through misdirections, we ultimately found solace at a luxurious villa in Lovina, ending our adventurous day with dinner by the sea.
Offroading (On Scooters)
Posted on 14 July 2022 by David
We had a late start as I was supposed to have a meeting (which didn’t happen). We hung around Amed, had lunch, wrote and generally chilled. I was sorry to leave Amed. If we had longer in Bali, I’d have stayed longer, but time was moving on. At twelve, we set off. This would be […]
Traveling to Amed
Posted on 12 July 2022 by David
We woke up during the night to the sound of rain in our wall-less bungalow, but it was delightful. After breakfast, we dropped our bags and checked out a couple of Amlapura’s sights. The first of these was the Royal palace where the former King had lived. We were lucky enough to meet one of […]
Rain in Ubud
Posted on 11 July 2022 by David
We woke up to the rain bucketing down. Really bucketing. The sort of rain that starts one thinking about building an ark and collecting two of the animals you like. (Sorry brush turkeys, you’re toast.) We went out for breakfast at the café across the road named FLOCK. (When the staff put on their aprons […]
The first day
Posted on 9 July 2022 by David
We spent the first half day wandering from Indomaret to Indomaret in a vain attempt to find an e-toll card. The airport area isn’t much chop for real life. We did find a hotel with a lovely cafe and an ATM (to pay for the motorbikes), so we were happy about that. Refinanced and recaffeinated, […]
At the Airport
Posted on 8 July 2022 by David
For the first time in nearly three years, we’re in Asia. And what better place to do it than one of my favourite places, in Bali. Ok, perhaps Noraly from ItchyBoots or Kinga from On Her Bike might indulgently smile and nod and think it’s a little tame (actually, I don’t believe they would), but […]
Dreaming of Bali
Posted on 25 May 2022 by David
The last two years have been so full on. We’ve had a divisive and, frankly, evil government in Australia. We’ve had coronavirus lockdowns, fires and floods. Despite a couple of long trips on Billie (my motorcycle), I’ve felt that I haven’t travelled. And travel is super important to me. I’m not sure that people are […]