Flying by GPS in Tabanan Bali

Seminyak’s concrete jungle can get to me after a while, so this morning I jumped on the bike and headed for Tabanan. My idea was to ride around, check things out and see if my new GPS would be any use. The GPS is handheld, and I tied it to the strap of my bag. Leaving it on the whole trip, it automatically tracked my whole route from a dozen different satellites. The unit cost about $120 and the service is free.

I was able to mark way-points and name them, helping me to remember my location is relation to where I had already been. Some countries have maps you can load into the device, with streets and other things inputed. I was dealing with a blank canvas, but it was useful to see where I had been. The narrow unmarked roads that run through villages and link main roads now can marked so I can find my way back to a great view point or hiking spot. According to the manufacturer, I can run the thing for 15 hours continuously on one set of batteries. It worked out good today and I can also just turn on and check previous way points in future.
Maybe this will be a whole new era for me, I now have another way of remembering where I’ve been.