Transport Mister! Transport?

Transport Mister! Transport?

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): "Transport, mister? Transport?"

This is the question you have to deal with when you arrive at
Ngurah Rai airport here, especially when you are taken for a
foreign tourist. The same question will follow you to the
shopping centers, restaurants and nightclubs around Kuta, Legian,
Seminyak and to other tourist spots.

"Transport" means a four-wheel-drive vehicle which is ready to
take you wherever you wish, provided a price has been agreed.

Apart from chauffeur-driven rented cars, there are also non-
chauffeured cars that can be rented for between Rp 50,000 and Rp
90,000 (US$40) per day. You can choose between jeeps and Kijang
vans. If you're lucky, you might get a sedan.

Motorbikes are also available round-the-clock at Rp 15,000 per
day. How about that? It depends on your idea of cheap and
expensive. But mind you, all payments have to be made in advance.
For motorbike lovers, don't forget to rent a helmet.

The cheapest as well as the healthiest rented vehicles are, of
course, the bicycles. "Rent: Push Car", "Push bike - rental", for
all types of models. The rent is about $1 per day. Cheap, isn't
it? But bicycles are only suitable for quiet areas because, even
though Bali is known as the Island of the Gods, traffic accidents
happen.

Bali's modes of transportation have also made their way into
the literature. Miguel Covarrubias' classic Island of Bali
(1937), mentions a stone relief concerned with modern
transportation in the Jagaraga and Kubutambahan temples:

"The North Balinese take their temples lightly and often use
the wall spaces as a sort of comic strip... a motor-car held up
by a two-gun bandit, seen undoubtedly in some American Western in
the movie house of Buleleng; ... or a man on a bicycle with two
great flowers for wheels..."

A.J. Bernet Kempers makes a special note on the relief at the
Kubutambahan temple in Monumental Bali (1991):

"A North Balinese temple pictures a man on a bicycle, a
novelty inspired by Nieuwenkamp's introduction of high-speed
transportation."

Of W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Kempers writes: "Nieuwenkamp returned
in 1907 -- he got involved in the 1906 military activities ... a
young man, only 32, he roamed about the island on foot, on
horseback, on a steamer and on a native boat when following the
coast ... But by 1918 the entire island was covered with road and
bridges -- badly fitting in the natural situation, as they still
are. After that, Nieuwenkamp traveled mainly by car, or, as he
apparently did in the north, by bike..."

Nieuwenkamp was a former Dutch military man who loved
traveling in Bali.

"On six different routes I crossed the island from north to
south, or vice versa, walking upon paths and in plains and
mountains which never before had been visited by any European,"
Nieuwenkamp wrote of his travels in Bali. His notes on his trips
to Blahbatu, Serangan Island, the Uluwatu temple, Trunyan and
many other places remain an authentic and interesting source of
information.

The issue of transport is a vital when one is dealing with the
Balinese. The expression "transport" means "rented vehicle" or
"unauthorized taxi". Understanding this makes things easier for
newcomers who are not yet familiar with the rich culture of Bali.

-- Ketut Ketik