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