Trip to coastal Tabanan Bali

Sunday came along again, and I got ready to head out on a short road trip, after I escaped the killer bees, that is. Taking the ‘back way’ to Canggu, via Batubelig, gave me a view of how Canggu is developing. The main road to Canggu, that runs off of Jl. Raya Kerobokan, gets a ton of traffic, creating severe traffic jams during rush hour.

Looking at a map of Bali, that route to Canggu actually makes no sence, as you start on the coast, head inland, then head NW, then back to the coast. The back door is a straighter route, starting at Jl. Petitenget, and heading NW towards Canggu close to the coast. The road is dirt for part of the way, but that won’t last long. The Canggu Club is on the route, so its going to look sharp pretty soon. Riding through the heavily rutted parts of the road at 5 mph, brought back memories of exploring the Bukit, the limestone that has been sread on the ground, creating a retina-searing glare.

Crusing through Canggu Permai, the little concrete community, set up close to the main road in the Barewa area, I joined the main road and headed in the direction of Echo Beach. Anyone who had travelled this road before, will remember the rice field views. These views are shrinking, as the villa construction is expanding. In recent weeks, road construction has made a mockery of travel times. Attending the wedding in Kediri, I has to sit in traffic, with the sun blazing, trucks belching deisel, in a dust storm created by tires on dirt. Road work is moving along, and after one big jam and detour, the section of traffic that I was in found itself on a virgin patch of freshly laid asphalt, heaven while it lasted.

In zigzag fashion my route took towards Yeh Gangga. The reason I like this area is there aren’t any ‘bules‘, the area is very fertile, with lovely rice fields and people always seem cool.

Looking at map, you will notice the main road heading west from Tabanan follows a NW route. Smaller roads stretch towards the coast from this road, with other smaller local roads connecting these. I love crusing around, getting lost, coming to a dead end and feeling I’m discovering something. Of course I’m discovering nothing, but for me its new.

As the rice fields dropped towards the coast, I heard the sound of trail bikes in the distance. Somebody has set up a moto-cross park, right there overlooking the ocean. Stopping for a Pocari Sweat (5,000rp) Gede and Putu, invited me to sit under the shade. They told me for 15,000rp I could take my bike aroud the track. A couple of locals, decked out in moto-cross gear and armed with trailbikes, did the ‘Evil Knievel’ over jumps. Putu said they could rent me a bike if I wanted, but not a trail bike. This section of the coast is windswept, has brown/grey volcanic sand and is somewhat undeveloped. Just to the south, along the coast is Tanah Lot, which has villas and places to stay. Come back in 10 years and it will be the new Canggu.

Putu told me I could see some nice rice field views, by following the road I came in on and turning left. I did so, and ended up riding along a padi field wall. The trail got narrower and narrower, until I had about 6 inches to ride on with a sheer drop down to the field. Wrong turn! At this point, 2 thoughts crossed my mind, #1, what a lovely tranquil part of the world I’ve found, and #2, what a twat I look, sitting here in a padi field, unable to turn around, sweating in 90 degree heat. As anywhere in Bali, you are never far from a local. Within 1 minute of coming to halt, locals were already outside their bamboo hut gawking at me. A 50 year old farmer trotted over and said hello. We rolled the bike backwards to a wider spot, then twisting the steering column this way and that, while lifting up the rear end, managed to get the machine turned around. If he hadn’t showed up, I could of probably done it myself, but there is also a strong possibility I would of ended up in the padi field. Riding off at 2 mph, his wife and daughter waved, “Hati hati ya” (careful) they said. Visiting untouristed parts of Bali, its possible to have interactions with people, who talk to you like a human being, and are not looking for a payoff.

Crusing back along the dirt road, admiring the newly planted rice, local kids waved and cavorted. Older people were more reserved, but I always got a good reaction. Many nice photo opportunities for someone with time on their hands.