I am here

In Bali, Nusa Dua area.  

Greeted by a downpour as soon as I arrived at the hotel.

But what really made it really feel like I am here, was the arrival of the motorcycle that I am renting. The first day, there won't be a motorcycle available but for the next few days, I'd have a 125cc Honda Supra X with a 4 speed transmission.

What I wanted was a Kawasaki KLX dirt bike, so I can go up in the hills and explore the dirt roads. It's been too LONG. Way too long.  But alas, none are available for any amount of time.

Kawasaki KLX

So what would I do for the first day? Rent a different one of course! I'm already a little peeved for not being able to do the things I want to do and have the things I want to have.  And I've never really been into Harleys or crotch rockets, with very few exceptions. Dual sports or dirt bikes are my thing.

Comes the Honda Tiger with all its glory, sporting a 200cc engine. In case you didn't know, it's illegal to import motorcycles with a displacement larger than 250cc or cars with larger than 3 liters.

Honda Tiger 200

Well, being the conservative, frugal person I am, I only rented the Tiger for 2 hours, costing me a whopping 100,000 bucks!  At first, I was slow, deliberate, getting familiar with the controls. Then getting familiar with how it handles. Which is a little sluggish. Or I'm just too light and don't have the body weight to throw this beast around to do my bidding.

In the mean time, I also started to get familiar with how to ride a motorcycle in Indonesia. I still refuse to be on the opposing lane for any longer than passing a car or two. And I definitely still refuse to get up on the sidewalk to avoid traffic.

But other than that, I split lanes with the best of them, barely leaving an inch on either side. Although I still don't cut the cars off or make sudden position changes or try to slip in through narrow slits while the rest of traffic is moving. If anyone wants to learn situational awareness, drive in Asia.

Well, enough is enough. Time to take this baby for a spin. So I look at the map, and found the best semblance of a highway. Sure enough, the road is wider, 2 lanes and everyone else is going fast. Woohoo...So I rode up and down a 5 mile stretch of road to make sure I'm familiar with the turns and the pot holes that would swallow the tires if I hit it.

Long story short, there's nothing more satisfying that power shifting a responsive, torquey engine like this Honda Tiger. The feeling that the engine never stops pulling, accelerating as you switch gears smoothly and never letting go of that power band. In town, I can shift to 4th and still have torque to hit the throttle and go. On the open road, I've just shifted into 4th gear as we hit 110 with more to go

Anyway, here are some tips on riding/driving in Indonesia:

- the attitude of everyone else is "I'm doing what I want, you figure out how to not hit me"

- account for every vehicle around you, and if you're good enough, people, at all times

- lines that divide the lanes are mere suggestions, everyone else won't see it

- flashing headlights does not mean "you may pass me", it means "don't you dare even think of passing me"