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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Cycling Indonesia Bali 2018 Day 2: The Soul Of Bali Ride - Garuda Wisnu Kencana To Kuta
Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK)>Udayana University>Taman Meparek Sradaning Dewata>Satria Gatotkaca Park>German Beach>Kuta Beachfront Path>Kuta Beach Road>Kuta Parking Area.
Cycling Distance: 21 km. | Level: Easy
Time : 4:40pm to 6:50pm
Time Taken : 2 hrs. 10 mins. (including stops for regrouping, snacks and many photo opps).
This is page 2 of a 6-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
Route Recommendations :
1. Traffic Directions!
Traffic in Indonesia, is right-hand drive, so cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!
2. Route & Traffic Conditions
This past few years, Kuta, Ubud and the surrounding regions have developed tremendously and traffic along most roads can be quite busy. Cycle with care and do take note that there are many motorcyclists around.
The route starts from GWK, goes through South Kuta, with a nice stretch along the Kuta Beachfront Path. Enroute it passes by the fringe of Udayana University and several parks before ending at the Kuta Parking Area.
3. Weather
Bali during end November can get quite hot, with temperatures averaging 31°C and 25°C for day and night respectively, so do re-hydrate regularly. Do expect some rain during this time too.
Useful weather forecast sites for the Indonesia is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.
4. Points of Interests
Along the route were several places of interests, some of which we visited others we did not for lack of time. (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for the directional map to the respective places):
- The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue (Website Link)(GPS: -8.81042, 115.16759) at the GWK Cultural Park.
- Statues of warriors Nakula and Sadewa (Sahadewa) at the Taman Meparek Sradaning Dewata (GPS: -8.78553, 115.16602).
- The shared walkway/cycle path at Kuta Beach (GPS: from -8.73457, 115.16353 to -8.72258, 115.16984).
- Sekar Jagat, a traditional Bali welcome dance at Sthala Ubud Tribute Hotel.
5. Food
Lunch: Goreng pisang (banana fritters), burgers at Jendela Bali The Panoramic Resto (GPS: -8.80873, 115.16755) in Satria Gatotkaca Park.
Tea: Snack box that included Risoles with bird' eyes chili (chili padi) during a rest stop near the Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Centre.
Dinner: Assortment of Balinese fare and western fare at the Sungai Restaurant in Sthala Ubud Tribute Hotel (GPS: -8.57247, 115.25964).
6. Accommodations
Bali has a wide range of accommodations, ranging from six-stars hotels, to homestays and even back-packers hostels.
We were guests of Brompton Owners Bali (BOB) and the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, who provided us with first-class accommodations at the Sthala Ubud Tribute Hotel (GPS: -8.57247, 115.25964), where a two-pax room cost about IDR1,200k per night (about RM350) at time of this blog, inclusive of breakfast.
Address: Jalan A.A Gede Rai, Mawang Kelod, Lodtunduh, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia.
Tel.: +62 361 3018700
Reservations: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dpstp-sthala-a-tribute-portfolio-hotel-ubud-bali/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sthalaubudbali/.
7. Communicating with Each Other
When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost from the rest. There are booths selling these just after exiting the arrival hall of Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport. We opted for Telkomsel's at it provides the best coverage even at many of the remote areas of Nusa Penida, and got their Simpati prepaid sim cards with 10GB of data valid of 30 days at 250k rupiahs. 3G internet is available in the more populated areas but can drop to the slower GPRS or even Edge in remote areas.
Most hotels, motels, home-stays, restaurants, and airports have free Wifi; do note that these free wifi may not be secure and registration could be required. But one can safe on one's mobile data by using these especially for uploading or downloading videos.
8. Communicating with Locals
As Bali, is a favorite tourist destinations, many locals speak fairly good English. At the smaller towns, locals speak some rudimentary English. The older generation speak very little English, so knowing some basic Bahasa Indonesia (or even better - Balinese language) will come in handy and also warm one up to the locals.
9. Navigation
We used Google Maps in Walking Mode for navigation but there is a lag when starting off, so one would have to cycle a bit to get the orientation right. Google Maps is also useful as it shows updated places of interests that may not be shown on GPS units.
Alternatively, download the MAPS.ME app together with the relevant country maps. This app can be used offline.
10. Service Your Bicycles & Carry Tools and Spares
Before leaving on your tour, it will be good to service your bike and bring along some spares like tubes, puncture patches, brake pads and the relevant tools.
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PRELUDE
To cut the story short; we are back and packed, waiting for BOB to pick us up. From that start we were most impressed by the way they have organised the event, everything was well taken care of from the word GO! They had sent vans to pick-up all participants from their respective hotels and also those arriving today (at different arrival times). Not only have they sent vans for us; the vans were followed by enclosed truck for our bicycles and luggage! It had to be some good logistic planning seeing that there were more than fifty of us scattered all over Kuta!
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| Goofy, my bike looking like a toy Brompton, sitting on a platform at the restaurant entrance. |
It was a good chat session (of renewing friendships, making new ones and comparing notes on the unifying factor, our Brompton speda (bicycle). This was followed by welcome speeches by Pak Kano and other VIPs.
Garuda Wisnu Kencana was inspired by Hindu mythology about the search for Amerta (Amrita- the elixir of life). According to this myth, Garuda agreed to be ridden by Lord Wisnu (Vishnu) in return for the right to use the elixir to liberate his enslaved mother. The 75-m tall, 65-m wide statue was designed by Nyoman Nuarta. It sits atop a pedestal to bring the total height of the monument to 121m, which is nearly 30m taller than the Statue of Liberty in the United States. This makes it one of the largest statue in the world and also the tallest. The completed monument is about as tall as a 21-storey building.
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THE RIDE
Cycling Route: Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK)>Udayana University>Taman Meparek Sradaning Dewata>Satria Gatotkaca Park>German Beach>Kuta Beachfront Path>Kuta Beach Road>Kuta Parking Area.
The route starts from GWK, goes through South Kuta, with a nice stretch along the Kuta Beachfront Path. Enroute it passes by the fringe of Udayana University and several parks, touched the fringe of Legian, before ending at the Kuta Parking Area.
Cycling Distance: 21 km. | Level: Easy.
(Click Here for Google route map link)
4:30pm - We gathered at the Plaza Kencana, took a group photo before rolling off on a ride called the "Soul of Bali Ride", it took us on a route downhill towards Kuta, passing by various spots that will reveal to us the soul of Bali.
It will be as easy ride, we were at one of the highest spots in South Bali, and started off with an easy roll down passing through the eastern end of the GWK Cultural Park .....
At the vicinity of I passed by and shouted a friendly "Hello" to Nerica Joy, the sole representative of The Brompton Club of the Philippines. Her name tells it all, she is such a joyful person, effervescence in whatever she does.
As we rode down a slope, far away we see puffy clouds in a blue sky, and below the sea at Jimbaran Beach.
Passed by Taman Meparek Sradaning Dewata sitting high on top were the statues of warriors Nakula and Sadewa (Sahadewa), twin warriors from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
We rode through narrow neighbourhood roads, busy main roads and even partway along the Ngurah Rai By Pass highway.
Near the Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport, statues of Balinese playing drums and cymbals seemed to push us on.
And then we were onto splendid seaside paths that ran along Kuta Beach. On one side were the rocky embankment contrasted by blue sea, and on the other side were hotels, bars and shops all busy with people buzzing around.
6:00pm - At a midway rest and regroup stop near the Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Centee. In Hindu mythology the world is thought to rest on the backs of four elephants who stand on a turtle. In Hinduism, Akupara is a turtle who carries the world on his back, upholding the Earth and the sea.
Snack boxes were passed around and in each were pastries that included an Indonesian favourite - Risoles that were uniquely served with a chilli padi (Bird's Eye Chili). Apparantly one is suppose to stuff the chili into the risoles and eat it together for that extra oomph!
While some rested, most went to the beach for selfies, wefies and watch the sun set.
After half an hour we continued on the seaside path; people just sat at the beach, relaxing and taking in the ambiance. Some were flying cute, colourful kites that looked like mini galleons.
The coastal path lasted 2km and we were back onto the roads that edged on the Legian area. Dusk had set in and the place was crowded with tourist (note; although the above photo shows the road as quite bare of traffic, it was actually very busy as a police outrider had cleared the way for us).
6::50pm - The ride ends at a large parking area for tour buses. Here we packed our bikes and boarded three buses while our packed bikes went up into three trucks.
Our faithful police outrider was still with us as we made our one-hour journey towards Ubud, where we will be staying the night at the Sthala Ubud Tribute Hotel.
At the hotel, were were met by two beauties; the most beautiful in Bali - Miss Bali herself, Ms. Made Indah Swastiandew, and her second runner-up. Invigorated, we checked into our rooms to freshen up and hasten to get ready for dinner, after all the two beauties were joining us 😀. At our rooms, another pleasant surprise awaited us. On each of our beds were our T-shirts with warm individually penned messages welcoming us, the design of the T-shirts with the Barong Mask icon was done by Bli Ardha. We were treated like VIPs - warm welcomes, good food, a first class hotel, beauty queens - one can really get use to this royal treatment, Haha!
We looked down to where we will be having our dinner, not just at the hotel's Sungai Restaurant, but at it's lower deck right next to a river!
Dinner was a good buffet mix of Balinese and Western Fare, and on top of that we were treated to a presentation of a Sekar Jagat; this is a traditional dance performed by the dancers to welcome visitors to their island.
Derived from the word "Sekar" means fragrant flowers, and "Jagat" means the world, the dance depicts fragrant flowers that beautifully decorate the world.This is a group dance and danced by girls, each carrying a bowl full of flowers. The slow and graceful movements of the dancers captivated us and the stare from their large hypnotic eyes entranced us.
YES! We have been captivated by the beauty that is Bali.
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THE SOUL OF BALI
Our ride was called the "Soul of Bali" Ride and along the way we did see it's soul:
A mother riding a motorcycle with her tiny tot.
Pretty lasses dressed in traditional Balinese costume - lacy blouses and colourful batik sarongs - at the Pura Pakendungan temple (pura). Bali have many temples, and every so often there will be one sort of celebration or other going on. This temple is a pura segara, (sea temple) - a pura that is located by the sea to appease the sea gods and deities.
While on the other side, sitting on the rocky embankment, the men were taking a dinner break.
A couple of young boys admiring my bike and our Malaysian flag, the Jalur Gemilang.
A Balinese man waving to us a we rode by.
Revellers at a Kuta beach bar, cheering us on.
And us... adding our souls to Bali.
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Many thanks to:
The ride leaders, marshals and sweepers who guided us safely during our ride.
The police outrider who cleared the traffic ahead of us to ensure that we had a smooth ride, and later, a swift bus journey to Ubud.
And lastly, many thanks to Pak Kano and his efficient team for a very well organised event.
Watch the video of our two days ride, filmed by Brompton Owners Bali (BOB).
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Matur suksma!
(That's Thank you in Balinese)
Click here for a Relive of our GWK to South Kuta Ride
Click here for a Relive of our GWK to South Kuta Ride
(For more photos of the day Click Here)
This is page 2 of a 6-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
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