Response: I would like to make this forum & wood carvings

**Quince** · 06-01-2010 04:56 PM

First please let me say- please call me Quince. I had some finger trouble registering, now I have an unwanted R on the end of my name...

Now that I've introduced myself I'd like to say that as a non-Bali-expat I think it's a great idea to provide tips and tricks for tourists- that don't really want to be tourists- like me. I've read the responses to the abovementioned thread and subsequently visited the BTF- as soon as I saw the question "Bali or Phuket?"- I knew BTF was not for me.

The thing is, I am in fact an expat mysef. I live in Hong Kong and I can tell you that the HK I show my friends and family is a far cry from the HK that you see on travel shows. I've been to Bali twice now, but the Bali I want to see is not Kuta, or Seminyak, nor do I want to stay in a resort and have my feet rubbed. I'd like to see the Bali the expats see (ideally I'd like to see the Bali that the locals see, but I can't find a forum for that).

So, can someone please answer the question...when I am driving around in the Jeep I've hired, what do I do when pulled over by a bunch of policemen loitering beside the road? (Happened to me the first time I was there with my local driver, he of course knew what to do...but I was quite on edge last time I was there and hired a car myself).

Now, the real reason I got onto this forum is because I want to know about wood carvings. I've seen all the stalls on the sides of the roads and seen a gazillion carvings of dolphins and whatever else is mass produced for tourists, but if next time I'm there I want to find something really special, or have something made, is there anyone that can recommend a local artist who does such things. I figure the talent is there, I just want to get past the touristy crap and find it!

Finally (thank goodness I hear you say), for my next visit I'd like to start in Ubud and possibly go north. I've done a lot of exploring in the triangle made by Ubud, Candidasa and Gunung Agung, but can anyone recommend anything lovely to do and see perhaps between Ubud, Danau Bratan and Lovina- and is Lovina worth a visit or is it just a mini Kuta?

Thanks!

**calitobali** · 06-01-2010 05:36 PM

The best way to deal with the cops trying to get you to pull over is to simply not stop in the first place. Seriously.

**Markit** · 06-01-2010 08:41 PM

Whew CB you have bigger balls than I do, but that aint saying much :D

For those with mini testes - When stopped by police:

1) show out of date international drivers license and when kind policeman says that the date is the ending time insist that that is the START DATE and that it is good for 10/20/30 years. They can not read English, I promise. You go free :lol:

2) always have 20s or at the max 50s to pay "cigarette" money - I learned to my horror that they don't give change for 100s :cry: :cry: lol

3) If all else fails dial some random number on your mobile phone and pass it to the kind policeman saying something to the effect "this is my embassy, they will talk to you". Trust me the policeman will wave you on unless you have a smoking gun in your hand and there is a bleeding body at your feet.

happy motoring :lol:

**calitobali** · 07-01-2010 02:06 PM

Really depends on the situation, but a policeman waving you down will never chase you, so why stop? If I am in traffic on my motorbike and he is in a car, and there is traffic, there is no way he can squeeze through the same holes as I can to get away.

It's not something I do often though, I hardly ever get flagged down anymore, but I don't feel bad about my level of "corruption" of not stopping for a policeman who just wants to inflict his own level of "corruption" upon me as well.

**gilbert de jong** · 07-01-2010 04:45 PM

Hai Quince, welcome to the forum :) .

Originally Posted by Quincer

(ideally I'd like to see the Bali that the locals see

well, the way to do that, is indeed (as you said) get away from any touristy places like Kuta and the likes..Ones you do that, get off the main roads and take the backroads and you will be a little closer to what you want...

Originally Posted by Quincer

So, can someone please answer the question...when I am driving around in the Jeep I've hired, what do I do when pulled over by a bunch of policemen loitering beside the road? (Happened to me the first time I was there with my local driver, he of course knew what to do...but I was quite on edge last time I was there and hired a car myself).

If you're on holiday here, you could opt for the 'run and hide' action as described by cali. not knowing the roads (as a tourist) could get you in trouble though...imagine putting the pedal to the metal, and that curve in the road is just a bit to much to handle, or turning into a one-way street or even worse, a dead-end street :lol: .
If you're living here, I would certainly not opt for the run and hide...just stop, get out chit-chat buy them a tehbotol or something like that....trust me it pays off in the long run.

Sorry, cant help you with the woddcarvings..Although I have some carvings in my house, it's not really my thing, if you know what I mean.

If you're up in Kintamani, seeing the mountain and the lake below...there's a 4x4 center that will take you up that mountain(volcano) not by road but in a relatively straight line up...fasten your seatbelt :lol: .
imho, Lovina is not a mini-Kuta...it's too peaceful for that, atmosphere and people are very different up here. no crazy traffic jams and so on...There is also not that much to see in Lovina either, around the area are some temples (ofcourse), a hotspring, some waterfalls..
Take care, and enjoy Bali when you get here.
friendly greetings, gilbert

**JohnnyCool** · 07-01-2010 08:10 PM

Hi there, Quince, and welcome...

If you've been to Bali twice already, I'm surprised by some of your questions. Your first time must have been good enough to want to come a second time. And now you're planning your third trip.

A simple word of caution here. Take much of what you read on internet forums with a grain of salt. Some information is spot-on and some isn't.

So, can someone please answer the question...when I am driving around in the Jeep I've hired, what do I do when pulled over by a bunch of policemen loitering beside the road? (Happened to me the first time I was there with my local driver, he of course knew what to do...but I was quite on edge last time I was there and hired a car myself).

Police don't "loiter" - they "work". Why didn't you ask your first local driver "what to do"?

Driving a hired car solo in Bali can make you a target for contributions to the next Policemans' Ball. Some hired cars in the past had an RC numberplate ("Rental Car"). If yours didn't, you could be pulled up and questioned about it. (I think that doesn't happen anymore, but I could be wrong.)

This "advice" may or may not work these days:

Really depends on the situation, but a policeman waving you down will never chase you, so why stop? If I am in traffic on my motorbike and he is in a car, and there is traffic, there is no way he can squeeze through the same holes as I can to get away.

True enough, up to a point. Most police these days have cell-phones. They could block your escape route further down the road and catch you, if they really want. If they're not too serious, your chances are about 50/50. If they really want to get you, the odds are worse (for you). And you might even get shot in the leg, or worse.

I haven't seen nor heard about this:

If you're up in Kintamani, seeing the mountain and the lake below...there's a 4x4 center that will take you up that mountain (volcano) not by road but in a relatively straight line up...fasten your seatbelt..

Is this some kind of cable-car, flying fox, or what?

To me, "4x4" suggests a four-wheel drive vehicle. A two-by-four reminds me of a measurement for a piece of wood (in Australia).

There is nothing remotely resembling a road going to the top of Mt Batur, or its adjacent neighbours (Mt Abang and Mt Agung). Last time I was in the Batur caldera was a month ago and nobody mentioned it to me.

I'd like to see the Bali the expats see (ideally I'd like to see the Bali that the locals see, but I can't find a forum for that).

Which "locals"? Main-frame, marginalised, semi-marginalised, or "pure"?

"The Bali that the ["pure"] locals see" is probably from their own villages. The ones that are the least affected by modernity are the ones furthest away from any normal roads, schools, supermarkets, electricity supplies, internet connections, etc. Getting to them usually means you have to walk.

...but can anyone recommend anything lovely to do and see perhaps between Ubud, Danau Bratan and Lovina...

Sure - get off the main roads, get off the minor roads, get to where there are no roads, and walk. You might get "lost" but it won't be for too long.

In the process, you will definitely encounter astonishing beauty and its concomitant ugly parts. Be brave and explore, while there's still something left...

8)

**gilbert de jong** · 07-01-2010 09:12 PM