Bali - Solo Motorbike Ride Around The Island - part 1 of 3

With some free time on my hands while being on the island of Bali in Indonesia, I thought it would be interesting and fun to grab hold of a motorbike and ride around the island. I only had two rules. One, to keep the ocean to the left and two, don't rush. So I set off from Kuta and headed west. First thing was to get out of the hectic mayhem that is Kuta traffic. Like most of Southeast Asia, when riding in traffic you have to think like you're a part of a school of fish. Giving room to bikes and cars coming from the left or right or even straight ahead. Road rage doesn't exist here. It's amazing what you can actually get on a small motorbike if you really try. Traffic started to open up on the main road that circles the island that I'd be traveling on. One thing I do like about this road is there are quite a few paths that are tree-lined so the roads are shaded which takes a sting out of the sun as I ride along. I'm never really surprised if I have a car in my lane coming head on towards me. That's why I stick to 40 k's an hour most of the time. Sometimes going up to 60 when there aren't any cars around. And always watch out for the Bali dogs. They do like to cruise the streets. I got my first glimpse of the ocean as the road hugged the coastline again. The first place I thought I'd check was just off the main road. So I've made my first stop at Balinga mainly because the seat on the bike is quite hard and my butt was getting sore. But get a drink and to check the surf out. The main surf break consists of a left and right peak. I've surfed here on and off over the last few decades. The right seems to be a bit longer away and there is another right a little further along the beach just on the other side of the river now. The left seems to bowl up a bit more and wrap around towards you. And remember Balian and along these black sand beaches bring a pair of thongs or flip-flops as the black sand is fire hot. I headed back out to the main road always giving way to the Bali dogs. When I see a small side road or track I can't help myself. I have to check it out. This one did have a fun looking beach break. Light rain started falling but the bonus is it cools things down. This is Madawi. It's about two and a half hours northwest of Kuta along the coast and it's actually a little fishing village which happens to have a long left-hand point break. Pretty mellow. It's not like Uluwatu or Padang Padang. The point has just one main street and the rest of the village is located further up on the main road. I'm staying at a place called Madawi Point. It's just a home stay at the top of the street. There are a few other places. A couple of nice ones right on the point. There's a few restaurants, a couple of wrongs and a lot else really. Apparently it is the longest left-hand point on the island of Bali. I gather it's going to need the right swell and direction for that to run the whole length. It's apparently 300 meters. It works best on a mid to high tide. Again it is a mellow wave but if you get waves that come up right against the rocks they get a lot wallier so you get a bit more speed on wall. The wide ones, they're pretty mushy. It's also tucked in and doesn't get as much swell as Uluwatu and all the rest of those down on the peninsula. So it's a little smaller so you do need a little bit more swell to push in to get some waves here. So yes it is a mellow little wave, a mellow little place, little village but if you're not into the hustle and bustle and want some peace and quiet it's not too bad. I got into the water and surfed until late into the afternoon getting out as things cooled off and Bali did what it does best, tropical sunsets. So I've come down to the room now to actually find out what these guys are fishing for and I've bumped into Agus. He's one of the local fishermen and he's telling me they're after lobster. Yeah I live here, I born here, I surfing also sometimes, yeah not very much, yeah different season, wintertime yeah a lot of squid and a lot of tomfish. I noticed what Agus was putting his nets into and it answered a question from yesterday evening and this morning that I was curious about. I saw these guys paddling out these hessian back but I wasn't sure what was in them, so question answered. Well this guy's got a way better way of getting in than paddling. I got in the water for another surf as there's still a few fun ones about. I checked out Agus's bike before saying goodbye. Time to get my stuff together and continue on the journey. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of the trip around Bali. Until then, thanks for watching.