Markit
I've always driven here and in the mean time (and I do mean "mean":icon_evil:) I really don't get bothered by the other users of the jalan.
Just console yourself with the thought that you are immensely privileged to be spending more time (that you have lots and lots of) stuck on the good roads (generally) of an island where millions, if not billions, of your fellow humans would love to be able to be stuck on if they but had the chance.
If you are in a car turn up the ac and music if you are on a motorbike check out the beautiful babes riding right next to you or strike up a conversation with the babes in the cars next to you.
In a word Fecking Relax and Enjoy it. It will be over soon enough.
Apocalypse69
The key word being Babes? :devilish:
I'm not sure the wife would like that too much lol
Apocalypse69
How do you guys (and girls) stop yourself from getting stressed while driving over here?
I’m mostly referring to Monday night when the Balinese closed most of the streets with temples in, causing havoc around here. I guess a notice on the streets to be closed a few days before is a little too efficient for them!!
My usual journey of 10 minutes to eat dinner took me 1.5 hours and I was a gibbering wreck by the end of it. I usually try to relax and ignore most of the antics but I think Monday was the last straw.
The number of motorcyclists who travel down the wrong sides of the street and just block it for everyone is just so mind numbingly stupid :mad:
Any sensible tips anyone? Stress balls? Meditation? Relaxation? Valium? Imaginary missile launchers? :icon_wink:
Apocalypse69
Yes this is the sort of thing I need to try to do.
Not so easy sometimes though :grumpy:
Steve Rossell
Last Friday I was being driven from Ubud to Legian and encountered no less than three cremation ceremonies that temporarily stalled our progress.
I simply got out of the car and walked along with the procession until the ceremonial took a turn and I got back in the car and away we went.
The trip took about an hour or more longer than usual but for a moment or two I reflected on what has drawn me to bali, who the folks were in that town and on the briar.
It also allowed me to stretch my legs and have a cigarette
The folks I was visiting have been living here for 25 years and weren't stressed at my late arrival. I wasn't stressed by my late arrival nor was my friend the Balinese driver. In fact there was no stress at all.
Traffic can be stressful if you let it be so. I choose to not let it be so, after all isn't that why we are in Bali and not back in our home countries?
Apocalypse69
Gurkha wroteBuy a Chieftan Tank!
Otherwise known as a 1980's Kijang
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orang gila
I suffer from what I label "Bali induced "Tourette's Syndrome"
I spend most of my driving time swearing uncontrollably at the (other) idiots on the road.
Lucky that no one can hear, apart from my passengers of course.
The total lack of road awareness still astounds me after 15 years living in Bali.
Apocalypse69
orang gila wroteI suffer from what I label "Bali induced "Tourette's Syndrome"
I spend most of my driving time swearing uncontrollably at the (other) idiots on the road.
Lucky that no one can hear, apart from my passengers of course.
The total lack of road awareness still astounds me after 15 years living in Bali.
I cant figure out if they're unbelievably skillful circus performers or just don't care as they will reincarnate anyway
Apocalypse69
Maybe some are skilled. Or even the majority.
However if you ever happen to be in the emergency room in Sanglah Hospital, you will see that many of the patients are from bike accidents.
Apocalypse69
paulseawind wroteI have no doubt, but not having any info I didn't mention that.
I don't even know where Sanglah is, much less having been in the ER.
And I hope to never find out.
I'd say the population that frequents the Sanglah ER comes from the highly populated areas which the POLISI also do not patrol.
What takes you to the Sanglah ER?
I spent the wee hours with an ex who had collided with a car on her bike.
The doctor who treated her had been on duty for 37 hours. He looked a wreck
Markit
I have to disagree - most of the drivers have no fecking clue what they are about and have the instincts and reactions of unschooled motorbike riders - even when they are driving buses! How often are you behind some idiot who takes corners in his Kajang like he was on a honda? Or swerves to avoid gravel in his APV? Most fools don't look when they are coming into traffic and care even less for road usage and maintaining some sort of "healthy" line when driving, cutting past parked cars with centimeters to spare as if they'd never seen a door open. I could go on.
My all time favorite is using the small child as an airbag in the front seat of a speeding car, no thought to using those straps hanging from the sides called seat-belts.
I have yet to see a driver here that would come close to passing a driving test in any western country but they are right handy at passing out advice on how I could do better here - me with only 5 driving licenses to my name - all tested and passed.
davita
The title 'tips for driving' has produced little except for Ghurka's eloquent 'Buy a tank.'
My time here in Bali on the road is the same as everyone else except, perhaps due to my age and disposition, I have the following observations.
My next car will have a chemical toilet.
If anyone can direct me to purchase those stainless steel funnels pilots used to put their penis whilst flying at mach 2 and relieving themselves....I'd welcome that info.
I'm thinking of converting my Avanza....it will simply drip thru' a hole in the floorboard. I'll work on phase 2 later.
My wife has interest in lots of my ideas so she said...."how about me?'. i REMINDED HER OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LAW THAT FEMALE LIBERATION PROVIDES......:icon_rolleyes:
Fred2
If you want excitement, try & follow the money train from Bali airport to Jakarta. I tried but I could not keep up on wrong side of the road.:indecisiveness:
Fred2
My brother inlaw had his first child 12 months ago, the wife's parents said the new baby must have a car to be safe. So the parents came up with the deposit for the car, the brother inlaw went for his driving test after a few lessons & passed. He picked us up from the airport, we did not even get to the gate when he pull over & asked me to drive, from our house to the airport is about 1 hr by the expressway. He took more then 2hrs and traffic was light. Cousins that live down a small gang, have decided to buy a new car (shop is doing well) they pay to park it 800 mts away, closest parking spot to there home. Husband has never driven a car before, how he got his licence??? In surabaya you can pay someone to do the test & the next day you take the paper work in, finger prints, photo and pay the money all done. I have no problem driving in Indonesia now as I have fitted a good DVD player,Ketapang Indah Banyuwangi to Surabaya 12hrs, floods, bridges out what a night mare. I used to have a Sim A & C but its easier to get a international licence in Australia, I was pulled over for a document check last month & of course no one had seen a international licence, all fun(roadtrain) always confuses them.
geedee
Thats brilliant ,love it
geedee
Fred2 wrote In surabaya you can pay someone to do the test & the next day you take the paper work in, finger prints, photo and pay the money all done.
Have seen the same in Jakarta brother in law bought his daughter a new car, went out and a few hours later came back with license cost about $10. Dont even think he got someone to do the test just knew the right people.
davita
paulseawind wroteGood on yer F2 - keep sticking it to them. They are a bunch of thieving, lying, stealing bastards and any chance to drop it on their heads is a good day. They just want money. So, don't give it.
Yesterday, PDAM came here to supposedly give me a new water meter, attached to a spare line just across the jalan. I had to buy the meter - OK. Rp500K. They installed it and did not fix a leak I wanted fixed and did not attach to the line across the jalan. The guy asked for Rp100 in cash. I said give me PDAM invoice. Silence. Then I said you did not do the work I asked and you not have proper invoice so f-off. They did. I also told him I can do all that myself - it is simple. He just wafted away, the little . . . .
So! After all the above excitement...did you remember to check your BP?
geedee
paulseawind wroteI She likes to be checked by Dr Paul. She also asks me for medication when she has a problem. If I have in the small 'medicine chest' I have here I will giver her a tablet or 2. When she was pregnant late last year there were 2-3 times when I could not give her a tablet because the pamphlet said not for pregnant women so she did not get the drug from me.
Pretty dangerous don't you think prescribing tablets. Eg wife went to Doctor last week bad reflux and stomach pain. After the third question Dr discovered she had taken some sort of tablet given to her by work colleague for a toothache as her gum was swollen. On looking at what she had taken he said this was the problem and dangerous
As you are probably aware in Australia you can't even give an employee a parecetemol as you are not qualified to dispense drugs.
tintin
I guess it's "this time again", when the subject of driving in Bali returns to the Forum. So, here it is
This article appeared on November 4, 1988, in the San Francisco Chronicle, and was written by JON CARROLL .
HOW TO DRIVE IN BALI.
Here is an actual true fact you may wish to wrap in a handkerchief and put in your sock drawer until needed: if you drive like an American in Bali, you will die like pig fossil. Truly.
To operate a motor vehicle in Indonesia, you must understand the transportation gestalt in an entirely different way. Definitions that you thought were above redefinition will immediately be redefined. Please pay attention.
- THE ROAD. Includes not only the paved portion of the highway, but also what we might call “the verge,” “the curb,” “the sidewalk,” “the front yard,’ “the roadside restaurant,” and “the monastery” The paved portion of the roadway is generally one lane wide. Not one lane in each direction: one lane.
- RESPECT. All animals are granted the greatest respect in Bali. It is presumed that being highly evolved creatures, chickens and dogs and the like know how to sidestep a Mitsubishi going 78 mph on a for-shrouded road during a national religious holiday.
- This same position of honor is granted to small children, cripples, men with 30 pounds of hay on their heads, unattended oxcarts and elderly women in mystic trances. Slowing or swerving to avoid these beings would cause them dishonor.
- DISHONOR. Getting from morning to evening while remaining in the same incarnation.
- LANES. These colorful white and yellow markings wish a hearty “Selamat datang” (Welcome) to every traveler. They have no other function.
- PASSING. The national sport of Bali. Observant motorists may encounter the vertical triple (passing three vehicles in one acceleratory movement,) the horizontal triple ( passing a vehicle that itself is in the process of passing a vehicle,) or even the rare double-double (passing a vehicle at precisely the same time that another vehicle, coming in the other direction, is also engaged in the act of passing.)
- TAILGATING. What to do when not passing.
- BEING PASSED. An insult not to be endured. The greater the differential between your vehicle (say, a broken tricycle) and the passing vehicle (say, a Boeing 747,) the greater the potential loss of prestige. The owner of the less powerful vehicle must always do everything in his/her power to thwart the attempt to overtake.
- SEATBELTS. Absolutely unnecessary. Not only are they not worn, they are not even provided. Passengers are fully protected by the horn (see below)
- LIGHTS. Rapidly blinking the headlights can mean many things, including “OK to pass now,” “ dangerous to pass now,” or “may you find the thread of gold in the linen of existence.” It takes years, sometimes entire lifetimes, to learn this subtle and intriguing intuitive nonverbal communication skill. Generally, however, you have about three seconds.
- THE HORN. When sounded loudly and frequently, the horn sets up an invisible energy barrier protecting the vehicle and its inhabitants from all harm. The faster the vehicle is going, the better the horn works. This is the central concept of Indonesian motoring.
- ACCIDENTS. Rare. Usually the result of a malfunctioning horn.
geedee
paulseawind wroteYes, all well said and I accept the potential reprimand graciously. Thank you. (Shoot, I just got out of bed 15 mins ago)
However, some facts are with us.
1. She is still around, cleaning the floors, making my bed and making me excellent toasted sandwiches and running errands as and when asked to and laughing at my jokes.
2. I am talking anti-inflamms and AMOXICILLIN (the world's safest anti-biotic) and maybe a cold tablet. Nothing I wouldn't take myself.
Sorry to have dressed it up more than it might have needed (Hattenitis was at play?), but thanks again for the concern. Please keep it coming when you see fit. It will be warmly received. Always. Thanks.
For your wife I would prescribe PROMAG for the reflux (antacid) and then see what stomach pain remains and zero in from there.
My own wife suffers from pains just south of her rib cage on the front side. Day 1 I prescribed a banana but that didn't fix it. Then I declared I don't know, and I still don't know what ails her but to go and see a Dr, as much as I do not approve of almost all the ones I have encountered. She's the athletic type and just maybe this is a left-over from her vigorous past. The Drs also cannot fix her. She got some medicine and I asked her a few days later 'how is it going?' and she said still the same.
The term 'quacks' is there for a reason.
Quack quack.
Dr prescribed losec for wife
Total cost of her visit and my visit - $0
Isn't bulk billing great.
I have put up pic to remind you about what happened the last time you dabbled in drugs
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