Transport Mister! Transport?<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): \"Transport, mister? Transport?\"<\/p>\n
This is the question you have to deal with when you arrive at
\nNgurah Rai airport here, especially when you are taken for a
\nforeign tourist. The same question will follow you to the
\nshopping centers, restaurants and nightclubs around Kuta, Legian,
\nSeminyak and to other tourist spots.<\/p>\n
\"Transport\" means a four-wheel-drive vehicle which is ready to
\ntake you wherever you wish, provided a price has been agreed.<\/p>\n
Apart from chauffeur-driven rented cars, there are also non-
\nchauffeured cars that can be rented for between Rp 50,000 and Rp
\n90,000 (US$40) per day. You can choose between jeeps and Kijang
\nvans. If you're lucky, you might get a sedan.<\/p>\n
Motorbikes are also available round-the-clock at Rp 15,000 per
\nday. How about that? It depends on your idea of cheap and
\nexpensive. But mind you, all payments have to be made in advance.
\nFor motorbike lovers, don't forget to rent a helmet.<\/p>\n
The cheapest as well as the healthiest rented vehicles are, of
\ncourse, the bicycles. \"Rent: Push Car\", \"Push bike - rental\", for
\nall types of models. The rent is about $1 per day. Cheap, isn't
\nit? But bicycles are only suitable for quiet areas because, even
\nthough Bali is known as the Island of the Gods, traffic accidents
\nhappen.<\/p>\n
Bali's modes of transportation have also made their way into
\nthe literature. Miguel Covarrubias' classic Island of Bali
\n(1937), mentions a stone relief concerned with modern
\ntransportation in the Jagaraga and Kubutambahan temples:<\/p>\n
\"The North Balinese take their temples lightly and often use
\nthe wall spaces as a sort of comic strip... a motor-car held up
\nby a two-gun bandit, seen undoubtedly in some American Western in
\nthe movie house of Buleleng; ... or a man on a bicycle with two
\ngreat flowers for wheels...\"<\/p>\n
A.J. Bernet Kempers makes a special note on the relief at the
\nKubutambahan temple in Monumental Bali (1991):<\/p>\n
\"A North Balinese temple pictures a man on a bicycle, a
\nnovelty inspired by Nieuwenkamp's introduction of high-speed
\ntransportation.\"<\/p>\n
Of W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Kempers writes: \"Nieuwenkamp returned
\nin 1907 -- he got involved in the 1906 military activities ... a
\nyoung man, only 32, he roamed about the island on foot, on
\nhorseback, on a steamer and on a native boat when following the
\ncoast ... But by 1918 the entire island was covered with road and
\nbridges -- badly fitting in the natural situation, as they still
\nare. After that, Nieuwenkamp traveled mainly by car, or, as he
\napparently did in the north, by bike...\"<\/p>\n
Nieuwenkamp was a former Dutch military man who loved
\ntraveling in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"On six different routes I crossed the island from north to
\nsouth, or vice versa, walking upon paths and in plains and
\nmountains which never before had been visited by any European,\"
\nNieuwenkamp wrote of his travels in Bali. His notes on his trips
\nto Blahbatu, Serangan Island, the Uluwatu temple, Trunyan and
\nmany other places remain an authentic and interesting source of
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
The issue of transport is a vital when one is dealing with the
\nBalinese. The expression \"transport\" means \"rented vehicle\" or
\n\"unauthorized taxi\". Understanding this makes things easier for
\nnewcomers who are not yet familiar with the rich culture of Bali.<\/p>\n
-- Ketut Ketik<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/transport-mister-transport-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }