My arrival in Denpasar, Bali was very smooth. Having sat in the first row of the plane in my upgraded business class seat (woohoo!), I was one of the first people off and into the visa payment lineup.
So I showed my passport, paid my $25USD, listened to some British woman complain that they did not take credit cards (which she would know, had she done her homework…) and then proceeded to a second lineup for customs and entry into Bali, Indonesia. This didn’t take long, they looked at my passport, took my visa receipt and waved me through. Easy peasy! Next I picked up my luggage, which was already set aside and waiting for me beside the luggage carousel, and I was on my way!
My ride was waiting for me when I exited the airport and I was in the car in minutes and immersed into busy Denpasar traffic. There were more motorcycles and scooters than I’ve ever seen! and people just seem to drive where they please with a loose understanding that they should stick to the left side of the road! (Yes, they drive British style here…) Every time we passed another vehicle, the driver would honk the horn, letting them know we were there. It was very fast paced and honestly, a bit scary…
On the drive, it started to rain. HARD! Like crazy-out-of-nowhere-rain! It was difficult to see anything out of the front windshield at times and we had to slow the car right down to about 30 km/h. I felt sorry for those people out there on their scooters and motorcycles, but the weather didn’t seem to phase them at all.
Although I was very tired after my almost 27 hours of traveling so far, I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open to see what I could on our approximately 3 hour drive to Lovina on the north side of the island, where I am staying.
The coolest thing I saw on the way was MONKEYS!!!! They were just kinda hanging out on the side of a winding road, playing and eating. There were several vehicles of tourists stopped on the side of the road for a closer look. I was told that if given the chance, these sneaky little buggers will steal whatever they can from you and your vehicle!
My main impression from the ride was that driving in Bali is not at the top of my to-do list! For starters, they drive on the left side of the road here. This messed with my head a few times when driving into oncoming traffic on the left side of the road! I must have had at least 18 heart attacks during the ride from the airport to our destination! However, outside of Denpasar, things did calm down somewhat and I think that I may potentially rent a scooter in Lovina after a few more days of getting used to things and acclimatizing to the rules of the road…
And there you have it! Three blog posts later and I’m at my final destination: a gorgeous home in Lovina, which I will tell you all about in an upcoming post!