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...and we're off It’s only been a week, however, we’ve got a few things on the go that we'd like to keep our guests informed about so that when you're talking to your friends about us ... 😊 We’ve added extra time on our 4x4 Volcano Explorer Tour. We used to start at 10.00am, and go through to about 12.00noon. Our head guide Made informs us that the new tour we are trying to do where we go across the black lava, hit the black sands, and cruise across to an advantage point that sees Mount Batur, Mount Agung, Mount Abang, Mount Rinjani, Lombok Island, The Indian Ocean, and Lake Batur all at the one location, and then trying to jam in a quick look at the Kintamani bats, can’t be done in two hours. Pity. 😞 Made says that we need at least 2.5 hours to 3 hours to complete this tour. Trying to offer value takes a little extra effort, so without charging any extra, we’ve simply extended the tour by half an hour or so. New High End Bali Tour Brewing Without giving too much away we're at the early stages of organising a high end Bali tour the likes of which Bali has never seen before. It’s a big ticket item that's anything but “business and usual” with Expedition Bali Tours. We'll keep you updated as we start putting pieces of the tour together. More collaboration meetings are occurring in the coming months ahead. Stay tuned. Our New Tagline We needed a tagline that said who we are, would enhance our logo, and differentiate ourselves from the others selling cheap Jimny Bali tours. What do you think? Expedition Bali Tours - Professional, Personal, Comfortable, & Fun Newsletter If you'd like to be added to our Expedition Bali Tours Guest List and receive updates on what we're up to, please email russ @ expeditionbali.tours with "Add me to the EBT Guest List" in the subject line, and we'll add you to our Guest List.

There are some unwritten rules we've learnt along the way since we came to Bali in 2015. This booklet is an attempt to keep you alive whilst riding around the 5780 square kilometres of Bali – The Island of the Gods. If you’re planning on renting / hiring a scooter and getting out in the traffic of Bali, this 25 Point Survival Guide will go a long way to keeping you alive. Some people are way to scared to get out on a scooter and see all that Bali has to offer. Some think it’s a cake walk and are a danger to themselves and everyone else on the roads of Bali. It’s true that renting a motorbike or scooter is a wonderful, and cheap way of getting around and seeing everything Bali has to offer, including all the Bali tours on offer. However, we trust the booklet will help keep you safe on your travels. If you don't have time to read this because you're getting on a flight to Bali right now, or you want this on your computer for any other unforeseen reason, we made a booklet of this article for you do download here free. Gift it to anyone you like to remind them of how safe they need to be whilst in Bali on a motorbike or scooter. Google Image Rule #1: Your Own Country V's Bali's Road Rules Bali's road rules are not an adaptation of your own country's rules. Your country may have better rules, leave that thought in your country. This country (Indonesia) has some very different and sometimes arguably some very dangerous rules. They work here, your rules from your home country wont work here, and are unenforceable here. You won't change 270 million people to your way of thinking. Get it out of your head that you are some how superior in riding and that the rules here somehow don’t apply to you. Always wear a helmet, always wear a shirt, and show some respect. (despite what you see in Canggu) Google Image Rule #2: Travel Insurance If you have travel insurance and you think you're covered to ride a scooter, think again. Most insurance companies won’t cover you to ride a scooter or motor bike unless you have an open class licence in your country of origin or have specifically been asked to be covered to ride a scooter / motorbike. Some will cover you; in my case, the insurance company I used to have said I couldn't ride anything bigger than a 200cc motor bike. The insurance I have now says as long as I am licensed in my country of origin, and I have an international licence, I'm good to go. Always check your travel insurance policy PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) before getting on a scooter or motorbike in Bali. Travel insurance doesn't cover damage to the motorbike either. Nor does it cover the other person if you injure someone. Travel insurance covers you only. Google Image Rule #3: Three Strikes There are three things your travel insurance will not cover you for if you hurt yourself on a scooter or motor bike: Unlicensed No helmet Intoxicated Any one of those, and you're on your own. NO INSURANCE A medivac flight back to where you came from can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Get an international drivers licence from your own country. Wear your helmet, even to the shops or just down the road to the beach or off to your favourite Bali tours. Don't drink and ride. Please don't rely on the hospitals in Bali. They don't have neurosurgeons. It's not rocket science. It's survival of the less stupid here. Google Image Rule #4: Speed Limits There are no real speed limits in Bali, except at some school crossing zones that no one ever enforces that we’ve seen. They don’t have handheld speed cameras in Bali. Everyone in Bali rides to their ability and their environment. (the known dangers of the area). Don't ride like an idiot, take your time, you're not from the area. 40km per hour is a good start, and probably the average speed in Bali. Rule #5: Might is Right Yes, where you come from, the pedestrian is probably the most protected when it comes to the law. When you leave your country, the rules from your country don't apply in Bali. The Indonesians have the"Might is Right" rule. It's a simple rule really, the smaller you are, the more likely you are to be killed, so get out of the way of anything bigger than you. Put another way (so that you really get this rule.) This rule is crucial for your survival. Shaking your fist at a car that has just pulled out from a side street and nearly taken you out, is stupid here. The Indonesians think “My car is bigger than your scooter, you should’ve gotten out of the way.” Trust me, I’ve driven cars and scooters in Bali. When I drive a car, I think ”These scooters are like flies, they’re always around me, getting in the way, they’re a menace.” Then I ride a scooter on the same day and my thinking switches to “Man, these cars are in the way, they take up too much space, their too slow, oh… there’s a gap, I’ll get into that gap, the car will have to brake, but that’s his problem, I’m in front now, why do people have cars in Bali anyway.” Seriously, this is the mind set from both sides and I can’t stop myself thinking either way. I’ve done over 60,000 kilometres on my scooter in Bali, (the island itself is only 5780 square kilometres) and here is my take on who owns the road starting with the biggest and baddest of them all: Google Image 1) Pertamina Truck 2) Coach / Tourist bus 3) Tipper style truck - usually a light green in colour 4) 4WD or 4x4 5) Car / Van 6) Big (over 500cc) motor bike 7) Under 500cc motor bike 8) Scooter 9) Cyclist 10) Pedestrian If you're an "8" riding a scooter, and you see anything looking remotely like any of the seven vehicles above you, and you want to live, get out of the way. - If it's bigger than you, coming towards you, get out of the way and you'll be able to dodge the next one as well. Don't get out of the way, and you will die. It really is that simple. Worst case scenario, they'll be wrong, (in your world) and, you'll be DEAD right, and heading to the next world. Google Image Rule #6: Roundabouts This is Bali, the rule for approaching a roundabout is not the same as anywhere else on the planet we have driven or ridden. Locals don't use roundabout correctly and they know it. They don’t even do the same at each roundabout for consistency. The roundabout is approached differently because this is the way it’s always been done in that area. Old habits die hard even in Bali. We would advise you to do the same as the local. If you see the locals going across the face of the round about from the left lane to turn right lane without going clockwise around the roundabout, do the same. You're not going to be able to change 270 million Indonesians by inflicting your driving knowledge of how to use a roundabout correctly. That said, very occasionally you come across a roundabout that is being used the way you were taught. Do it the correct way in that case. This is more the exception than the rule. We heard there was a big advertising campaign about this some years ago advising locals how to use roundabout's correctly by the Indonesian government. It made not a scrap of difference. Summary: Unless you’re very familiar with the area, approach all roundabout with caution. Rule #7: Uncontrolled Intersections Uncontrolled Intersection are “many” in Bali. You'll be riding along, and you'll see an intersection that you could be on the side street, or the people approaching from the left and right could be on the side street. There is no stop sign, no give way sign, and no lines on the road. Everyone thinks they have the right of way. If you think like that, you'll die. Take it easy, slow down, look left and right, let people cross, smile in the knowledge that you're still alive. Summary: Take it easy and read the traffic. Google Image Rule #8: It's Your Fault “It’s Your Fault”… Yes, it is every time. EVERY SINGLE TIME. If a kid runs out onto the road because he is chasing a ball and you hit the kid, or the ball, your fault. If a guy is riding the wrong way up a one-way street and you hit him, your fault. If a local is driving backwards, doing 60km p/h with only three wheels on his car, a dog in the passenger seat, a pig in the back seat, with his three kids on his lap whilst he is texting his wife that is also sitting in the back seat, and you clip his wing mirror. STILL YOUR FAULT. We'll tell you why, and there is a simple logic to this that Indonesians have. "If you weren't here, (in this country) this wouldn't have happened" In other words if you didn't come to Bali, the accident wouldn't have happened. Can you argue with that logic? No. Sorry, your still at fault. We’ve had this said to us; four times. Google Image Rule #9: Auto Insurance in Bali It goes like this: A local hits you, that's your fault remember? Everyone will get out of their vehicles. After a quick check that their okay. (They will not care if you’re okay.) The conversation will immediately turn to discussing money, and before the next wave of traffic catches you, an amount will be agreed upon, you'll pay, and everyone is on their merry way. Just pay, how do you think it would go in court in Indonesia with you saying, "It's his fault" in English, and the local guy saying, "itu kesalahan dia" (It's his fault), in Indonesian to an Indonesian judge? You are the auto insurance policy, and no, your travel insurance doesn't cover the vehicle you are driving, or the vehicle that hits you or you hit. Pay, but don't get fleeced. 200,000rp will cover it in most cases. “Auto” is “Automatic” meaning you will automatically be at fault and have to pay. Google Image Rule #10: Traffic Accidents For some bizarre reason, Indonesians will try and hold your vehicle after an accident; like they can stop your vehicle (4x4, car, motorbike, scooter) with their hands. We’ve been in a couple of minor accidents. Each time locals have put their hands on the car or motorbike like they’re going to be able to stop us driving away. Don't get angry, it's just their way. Sure, you could accelerate out of their grip, however, a local could grab your door handle and get dragged under your car, or off their bike, and again... you'd be in trouble for something else, because rule number eight... "it's your fault” Google Image Rule #11: Parked Cars on the Side of the Road in Bali Cars parked on the side of the road are super dangerous. Doors often fly open as people that get out of the car don't stop for just a second to think who they could collect as they open the door to get out of the vehicle and don’t check their wing mirror before getting out. In most countries we’ll crack the door open just a bit and take a look. Here, they will 9 times out of 10, fling the door wide open. If you get hit by the jam of a door, (The leading edge) they will be wrong, and you'll be dead. You'll be right though, they shouldn't have opened that door, however there is that little fact that, you’re still dead. Always leave enough room for a fully extended door when riding past parked cars on the side of the road, otherwise go past at a slow enough speed that you can evade that carelessly swung open door. This has happened to me personally at least four times that I can recall where after I went past the door that was flung open, I realised that the door could have easily gotten me in the chest had I been 30cm's closer to the car. Doing 60, and coming to a complete stop on the edge of a car door... yep, still dead. - Wide birth parked cars. Google Image Rule #12: Tourists on Scooters in Bali Yes, you're dangerous. Many locals will keep away from a white person (bulé) riding a scooter. Not because they want to give you the space and are being polite, noooo, they simply don't want to die. Tourists do the stupidest things on scooters. "Oh, let's go there" stop, U turn into on coming traffic, laugh when a pile of traffic have to stop whilst the tourist holds everyone up, as they go back to the place that isn't what they thought it was anyway. People that have lived here in Bali all their lives can tell when you haven't been on a scooter long. People that have been in Bali a year can tell when you haven't ridden a scooter for very long. You’re the menace on the road. Remember that. Google Image Rule #13: Foot Paths in Bali Footpaths are a recent edition to Bali's landscape. A few years ago, all of these red footpaths you see on the sides of roads where open drains. So, under the footpaths are drains. Footpaths are great for scooters to get around cars. However, sometimes these footpaths have a few big areas missing. When there is an area missing, they drop straight into a drain that could be as much as two metres deep, or as little as 50 cm's deep. Slow down if riding on the foot path especially at night-time. If you think you’ll be able to sue someone if there’s a hole in the side-walk and you hurt yourself, think again. Not a chance in hell will you be able to sue someone here in Bali. This is not the US. If you're a pedestrian on a footpath / sidewalk and you bring your "I have the right of way here, I'm a pedestrian on a footpath" You’ll at the very least end up in hospital. Pedestrians on a foot path, stay vigilant. You are a 10. (see point 5 "Might is Right” above) You have 9 things to watch out for. Sorry, this is Bali. Rule #14: Livestock Dogs, chickens, cats, pigs and cows: Yes, at some stage you will encounter all of these on Bali roads. Dogs will lie down in the middle of a road during the night confident you'll go around them. The dogs expect you to go around them. We are sure dogs call meetings at between 11.00pm and 3.00am on the streets. Packs of them all lying around, like they’re a bunch of teenagers that have snuck out to meet up for a cigarette. Chickens, yes, we have taken out a few, not deliberately, however the point is, don't swerve to miss them, or you'll die. Cats, not so often, but yes, these have been taken out as well, again by accident. Don't swerve. For these animals keep riding, unless you have plenty of money to have exploited from you by a local Cows. Now cows are a little different, they are a sacred animal here in Bali. You stop and give way to the cow. Truthfully, stop, or ride around with caution. You damage, mame, or kill a cow, and you could spend some serious time in jail. - Don't swerve for animals, stop for cows. I've seen cows walking across the traffic, then against the traffic down the main Sunset Road of Bali. The cow has right of way. If you hit a cow, you’ll likely come off second best anyway. Rule #15: Local Riders Most local Indonesian riders don't have a license, (or what the locals call a ‘Sim'). Some riders are aged around 6, and some look like they’re 106. Most have never had a lesson; most have never attempted a driving or riding test. You have (or are supposed to have). The locals will pull out from side streets and go left without even looking to their right, and there are a number of reasons for this. One of those reasons is they have had their scooter blessed, so their Gods will protect them. They’re protected, you’re not.(true story, Hindu Indonesians get the motorbikes blessed and they believe this will bring them luck and protect them.) They don't wear helmets either. You need too. Common sense where you come from doesn't apply here to locals. Wear a helmet so you don't die. Remember your basics from your riding lessons. The unofficial stats are that on average 120 riders die per day on Indonesian roads. That’s right, 120 PER DAY. Don't be one of them. Tomorrow you'll be forgotten. Google Image Rule #16: Fuel Don't buy petrol / fuel / bensin from a small shop known as a warung. Buy it from a Pertamina Station every time. The price is the same all over Indonesia at Pertamina stations, because Pertamina is government owned. You buy fuel in Indonesia, you're buying it from the government, there is no competition for them. Warung’s mix fuels, and you'll pay more for that crap fuel. Those Vodka bottles they sell the fuel in not only have varying colours of fuel, the bottles are not one litre. They say the price is the same as the Pertamina petrol station. Say 10,000 rp per litre. The bottle is 10,000 rp per bottle. The bottle is 750 mils. Not only are you getting ripped off for 25% of the fuel you could buy at Pertamina, you're also getting fuel mixed with something else. Nasty. Google Image “Premium Fuel” is not Indonesia’s ”premium" fuel. There is an order for fuel. Starting with the best fuel, here is the list of fuels available in Indonesia: 1) Pertamax Turbo - 98% octane 2) Pertamax - 92% octane - Best we could get for about four or five years 3) Pertalite - 90% octane - Not much better than 'Nasty' 4) Premium - 88% octane - Nasty Can you see why "Premium" is not 'premium' now. If you’re using Pertamax Turbo and you go back to Pertalite... OMG you can feel the difference on a scooter. On a scooter by Pertamax or above. Even Pertalite is not that good. 10% of Pertalite is “other than octane” (Who knows what that other 10% is) That’s not reliable for you to get around on. If you have a Diesel Car, well that's a whole different ball game: 1) Solar (Yes, that's right, it's diesel fuel that's called "Solar") is the lowest of the dirtiest diesel. It is really bad fuel and burns badly. Smoke everywhere. 2) Dexlite - This seems to work okay in a 4x4 3) PertaDex is the good stuff. We use this in our 4x4 for or Bali tours. Oh and "Air" at a petrol station isn't "air" like we think it is. In Indonesia, "Air" is pronounced differently (eh - ya) and means "water" so don't ask for "air" in your tyres, or you'll be riding around on a waterbed. Google Image Rule #17: Mirrors These are merely decoration on motorbikes for tourists. The locals have a simple theory that works. "If everyone is looking forward, no one will get hit, don't look backwards because you're not going that way" This simple theory works really well, you keep an eye out in front of you only, the person behind you looks only in front… how can anyone get hit. - You watch where you're going, they'll watch where they're going (Unless of course they're texting, and they hit you. Your fault remember?... ) Who needs rear vision or wing mirrors if you’re only looking forward right? You’ll be looking at a local’s motorbike thinking "There is something different about that bike" and you won’t see it. You won’t be able to pick it. Look at the wing mirrors. They won’t have them. They are useless to them, so they take them off. Google Image Rule #18: Free Insurance A "Go Fund Me" page is NOT your back up insurance policy. The amount of people that drink themselves stupid, get on a scooter without a helmet and are found badly hurt or even dead in a ditch five hours later is phenomenal. Don't ask others to cover your sorry arse when you've been an idiot. It's just plain embarrassing. Picture this, you're in a Bali hospital, with an international news crew filming your busted up body, tubes hanging out of you everywhere. You’ve been drinking, you were not wearing a helmet, and you really expect people to just send in money? It happens, you'll find a sucker or two that will feel for you. Really... buy travel insurance before you leave your country, wear a helmet whenever you're on a scooter, have an international licence before you leave your country, and don't drink and ride. Please, no more GoFundMe pages to get you home. If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. Rule #19: Bali Roads You know those old country roads in your country of origin. No, not the roads that are long winding and beautiful, not the long ones maintained by the government. We’re talking about those roads that could be long driveways, all the way up to a farming property, over a cattle grid, potholes, wind rows so the water can escape. Imagine riding on that driveway when it's raining, on a scooter. Great you're ready for riding on Bali roads. Minimal curbing, potholes most places, bad water run off. The only thing missing is a cattle grid. But they don't need those here because the cows are sacred; you're stopping for them remember. If the roads are flooded, and there is a pothole in the road, you won’t see it. If you come across that same flooded road and you see a stick with some leaves sticking out of the flooded road, or perhaps a chair in the water that looks in the middle of the road, that means there’s a pothole there. They rarely have a traffic cone in place anywhere. The picture featured was us coming around a bend during the day seeing this immovable boulder. Imagine coming around a bend and seeing this boulder, at night. Google Image Rule #20: Bike Capacity If you're a foreigner, the rule for you is only you and one other on the bike. For locals it's, "whatever you can fit on the bike". We have seen massive things on bikes. I’ve personally seen a medium sized fridge strapped to the back of a bike seat; bolt upright. A pig, a dog, three family members, and countless chicken hanging by their feet under the fridge, upside down still alive heading to the market, all on one scooter. ALL on one scooter. None were wearing helmets, and that's okay. You and one other on a scooter with helmets that is your only option. Your drunk mate will have to use Go-Jek Google Image Rule #21: Indicators Yes, it's true most bikes are fitted with Indicators. Our personal opinions are that 90% of the indicators in Bali have never been used, not even once. Don't trust that an indicator will come on if a local intends to turn. Where this is at it's worst: You’re overtaking someone on their right, the locals don't use their mirrors, and they’re of course protected by the Gods, and they're turning right... across your line, whilst you’re accelerating to overtake, and they’re not indicating. You have to watch for this. Indonesians are unpredictable because they have never been formally trained how to ride a motorbike. You have, so watch the bike in front of you. There is what we call the "kill zone" that second or two, where if the person riding their bike slightly in front of you to your left decided he wants to go right to a shop, he will just turn right, without indicating, and without checking his mirror, and a "shoulder check" hahahahahahah, this never happens.... and there is nothing you can do about it except try to brake in time. It’s scary and I’ve been taken out at least four times that I can think of in this exact way. Google Image Rule #22: Brake Lights There is only one brake light on most bikes. A hell of a lot of these bikes have brake lights that don't work. When following someone look for signs their brake lights may not be working. Bali might be as high as 30% of brake lights not working. In other places such as Makassar, we would put that figure at around 70% of brake lights not working. Google Image Rule #23: Trail Bikes There are a lot of registered and on the roads trail bikes in Bali. They generally don't need a brake light when being used as a trail bike, so often they don't come with brake lights from the factory. They don't have brake lights, so don't wait for a brake light to come on. Trail Bikes = Probably No Brake Lights. You hit one because he brakes and doesn't have a brake light; your fault, you have to be looking forward. Trail Bikes also have one other thing that has caught us out once. Trail Bikes sometimes have huge kick stands that stick out of their left side past the standard lines of the bike. When the trail bike rider brakes hard, if you're close to the left-hand side of their trail bike, (because you’re in a crowd of bikes,.. this happens) watch out for this kickstand, they’re black and hard to see. No brake lights, huge kick stand, how these things ever got registered for the road in Indonesia we'll never know. Google Image Rule #24: Headlights In the cities, nearly everyone will have a working head light on their scooter. In some cases, we’ve seen a flash light / torch strapped / taped to the front. You'll see the bike, because the streets are lit up, even if they don’t have a working head light. It’s not the same in the rural areas. Many times, riding back from Banuwangi at night .... many times..... a bike rider had gone past us in the opposite direction, and we haven't seen them until they have gone past us. They flash past in your head lights… you get no warning, major roads are not lit up, and when they pass you within centimetres, honestly, this will scare the crap out of you. It will happen many times on country roads. One time a bike with no headlight passed between two of us riding side by side on the left side of the road. This other bike had no headlight and rode between us going in the opposite direction. We couldn’t see them until they went between us. They took a risk as we could have been a car. Still... This could happen to you. Rule #25: Idle Stop This feature is particularly good for saving fuel. It works like this: "Idling" means the motorbike or scooter will idle when sitting at a set of lights. Pretty standard stuff. "Idling Stop" or Idle Stop, means that when you're sitting at a set of traffic lights, the idle will stop. The motorbike or scooter will switch off. The motor bike or scooters engine will stop, however the motorbike or scooter is ready to go, all you have to do is twist the throttle as if to accelerate, and the bike will spring to life and away you go. There is one word of warning that we can only help you with trusting that this will stay in your head should you have an accident with Idle Stop "on" This has happened to us a few times, and only after a few minor crashes as we are now aware of this and know what to do. You've had a minor or even a major crash. Your bike is lying on it's side on the road. You've essentially dropped your bike. You check yourself, you check the other person, you've done what you can for now, and you need to get the bike out of the way, perhaps just off the road. As you approach the bike, everything is off. the engine isn't running. You pick the bike up, and before you know it, the bike has taken off again and is ghost riding down the road a few metres where it falls over and comes to rest again. How did this happen? You pick up the bike like any time you move the bike, by the handles. The trouble is, Idle Stop is on. As soon as you go to pick that bike up you twist the throttle, the bike jumps to life and wants to take you somewhere. Trouble is, your feet are on the ground as you lift the bike. Here is the lesson we learned the hard way. (At least three times between us) Turn the key off first, then pick the bike up. You see the light flashing on the dash... it's green on a Honda Vario, turn the key off, then pick the bike up. KEY OFF, BIKE UP. In that order. The first time this happened to me, the bike went down a foot path and crashed into a shop. Luckily no damage to the shop, or any people. (unfortunately more damage to the bike) The next time this happened the bike went back onto the road and narrowly missed a car. Could have been a whole lot worse. Just more damage to the bike. Your Hiring Checklist - 12 Points to seriously consider Don’t take the first scooter the guys at the scooter hire place roll out. Check everything. If you're not happy, ask for the next bike. It's your life on the line Use this checklist to ensure you have the basics covered: 1. Check the front brake and the rear brake. 2. Check the brake light. 3. Check all four indicators. 4. Check the head light. 5. Check head light’s high beam – important 6. How much fuel is in it? 7. Get a helmet that fits. Better still, buy one down the road that fits you well. 8. Ask how to lock the helmet in the seat. 9. Tyre Wear… extremely important. See picture attached from a hire bike. 10. Tyre pressure before you leave: Rear 33PSI, Front 29PSI. This is extremely important for fuel economy and the way the bike handles. Trust us, do it. 11. Ride the bike and brake hard to ensure it stops 12. Last one. Don’t give the correct address of where the bike will be left overnight. The hirer will have a spare key. There was a period where the hirers would get your recently hired scooter at night knowing your address because you gave it to them. You would then come and say the scooter was stolen. Then, the hirer would hit you up for enough money to buy another scooter to replace the so called “stolen” scooter. – True verifiable story from 2016 Getting your Motorbike or Scooter Fixed: If you break something on your bike, don't worry parts are cheap here in Indonesia. (Well, at least, they are for Honda's.) I have smashed all of my panels on one serious accident I had. I didn't break the headlight, however I damaged the forks, needed, a new seat and every plastic replaced. In Australia I'd be better off buying a new bike. Here, 3 million IDR, and that was 800,000 for new forks. Let's put that in perspective. A new plastic exhaust cover runs into the hundreds of dollars here in Australia. In Bali, they're original Honda parts and cost less than $5.00 AUD or 50,000 rp each. Get your bike fixed at a dealer, always. Recap So, lets recap on how to survive on a motorbike or scooter in Bali: 1. Check your insurance policy allows you to ride a scooter 2. Always where a helmet. 3. Get an international licence. 4. Look forward only whilst riding. 5. Don't drink and ride / drive. – Common sense that’s not so common. 6. Don't be a "tourist" on a bike. Think about your actions. 7. Buy Pertamax or above fuel, from a Pertamina station only. 8. The Gods are protecting the local riders, and no one is protecting you. 9. Don't swerve for animals, however, do stop for cows. 10. Foot paths are fair game for scooter riders. 11. Ride wider than a car door can be fully opened next to parked cars. 12. It's your fault every time, No exception. If you were not here…. 13. You don't have auto insurance. You are the Automatic Insurance. 14. Be careful when approaching roundabouts. 15. Might is Right, get out of the way of bigger vehicles. 16. Go Fund Me – is not cheap insurance. 17. Check your own brake light. 18. Trail bikes don't have brake lights. 19. Hardily anyone indicates. 20. Head lights are optional, especially in country areas. 21. Go through the bike check list before riding off on a bike. That’s about it. Ready to hire a scooter now? We here at Expedition Bali Tours are genuinely interested in keeping tourists safe as this protects the overall reputation of Bali’s tourism. Obviously, we have a vested interest in keeping tourists safe. We keep you and your crew safe, you’ll be back, and more importantly, you’ll tell your friends how much fun you had in Bali. Safe fun. This safety ethos spills over into our Bali tours. My name’s Russ, and I’m the Customer Experience Officer (CEO) of Expedition Bali Tours. I’m an ex-safety manager from Australia. I take a personal approach to safety, “Would I let my family do this tour?” is how I approach all of the Bali tours we create. All of our vehicles are safe, all of our tours have been put through stringent safety standards, and we’re one of the few tour companies in Indonesia that has passed through the SGS Safety Test for the global tour giant Tui Musements. We also won the Luxury Tour Guide for Service Excellence for all of Indonesia in 2021/22. We have great travel partners. We’ve been around since 2012, and have been in Kintamani doing volcano tours longer than anyone else; we know this because we cut the original tracks. We also know great people to hire a motor bike / scooter from. Someone you can trust to give your real overnight address too. Contact us for their details and more information on our Bali tours. Cya when you get here. Russ Tuff CEO – Expedition Bali Tours

Trip Advisor has named Bali, Indonesia as the number two destination on the planet behind Dubai. ("Missed it by that much"... for those of you that've been around long enough to know Get Smart). This puts Bali higher than London, Rome, Paris, Cairo, Florence, Bangkok, New York City and even Rio de Janeiro, which even surprised us. You can see the top 25 destinations on the planet by clicking on the picture below: With more than a little help from our friends Colin and Kerry, we've put together a 29 page comprehensive guide all about the different types of volcanos, and a lot of specific information about Mount Batur and the Kintamani region. The main drive to put this guidebook together was to preserve the cultural heritage of the Kintamani region with accurate information. So many guides with conflicting information about when eruptions were, and what lava flows are from what year. We also found that some of our agents that promote our Bali tours had the same problem. "You'll see the lava from the eruption in 1850" ... only, there was no eruption in 1850. We send this PDF guided book to the guides that our agents send on the tour with their guests so that the guides are informed and the guests get another great Bali tour. We want the guest to get the best possible experience and we want the Bali tour guide to look like a "Rockstar of Knowledge" at the same time. Most people reading this guest blog would not have gone through an agent as we don't usually get email addresses from agents of their guests, so, if you've already done the tour and would like a copy of the PDF for yourself, (It's actually a pretty interesting read. Something you could read while flying to Bali) let us know via email (bookings@expeditionbali.tours) and we'll send you a copy. Just tell us the date you went on your tour and we'll tick it off that we've sent you a copy. It's a little bit to big to send via email, so we'll send it via WeTransfer to you. This guidebook will also serve as the basis for our Augmented Reality (AR) guide we plan to create and release as soon as possible. Stay tuned for this one. (Personally I'm really looking forward to this one. Having a guide that can speak any language and has accurate information every single time would be amazing.) We have a new Bali tour. The Million Dollar Point 4x4 Private Tour This Bali tour is for those of us (and I include myself in this category) that don't like to trek. If you want to see this view (pictured above) we can get you there in our 4x4, and you walk (yes, walk) 10 minutes to get here. A cup of tea of coffee, plus a light breakfast will greet you on the morning tour. Most people climb Mount Batur and think they're taking photos of Mount Agung. Mount Agung is actually behind Mount Abang, (when standing on Mount Batur) you have to know what you're looking for to see Mount Agung. Some people climb Mount Batur and think they're taking photos of Mount Batur... nope, you're standing on Mount Batur. From this "Million Dollar Point" Bali tour you see above (from left to right starting where the sun is) The Indian Ocean, (then just to the right of the sun what looks like a small cloud formation) Lombok Island and Mount Rinjani. Then the first clearly visible mountain to the left that's Mount Agung, in the centre of the picture that's Mount Abang. To the right of that is Lake Batur, and to the right of that is Mount Batur. This Bali tour has been so successful we've been getting rave reviews on Google about this tour. It's also a 'sunrise' and a 'sunset' tour. This is what a sunset looks like. 'Sunsets' are more my scene. No trekking and afternoon sunsets. Nice. We've changed the name of our Terunyan Wall Private Boat Tour as well. The name change is more to reflect the type of tour. "Terunyan Wall Cemetery Private Boat Tour" This will stop the odd shock we get, and it actually helps "Cemetery Tour" people that travel the world doing cemetery tours to find our tour. (C'mon SEO.. work) That's about it, thanks for having a read of our blog post. If you or your friends are coming to Bali, let us know. If I'm in town it might be nice to catch up. Russ CEO = Customer Experience Officer Expedition Bali Tours

It’s now been a year since Covid has let us carry on with our lives. Back to Normal On April 1st 2022 it was the start of “getting back to normal” for us. Many said we would have a new normal. As far as we can see, it’s "the same normal”, with a few added bumps in the road like inflation going through the roof, however, this is probably a lot more to do with the Russian / Ukrainian conflict than Covid. It feels like five years ago that I flew back to Bali and got the 4x4 out of storage after Covid. The 4x4 looked like it had been in storage for 10 years with all the dust, missing parts, and fading colours. So much money had to be spent straight away with a new turbo, new canopy liner repairs, new stickers, a polish, and interior clean, new motor, new tyres, new battery, plus a new customer viewing glass coming in at around 100 million Rupee before we did our first tour. Of course, all this happened around 12 months ago, however, it feels like a long 12 months. Increased Fees A few things have changed since then: 50,000 Kintamani Foreigner Entry Fee (up from 35,000) 25,000 Kintamani Local Fee (Up from being 'Free') 40,000 Lava Management Fee per vehicle (No such fee before) 100,000 Conservation Fee for our 4x4 Volcano Explorer Private Tour, & Traditional Village, Bamboo Forrest & 4x4 Volcano Explorer Private Tour (Up from being 'Free') This on top of the price of fuel jumping up by 25% in a single day. More if you use the Pertamina Dex (The best diesel fuel you can buy in Indonesia) we use for our 4x4. Everything is up, and showing no signs of slowing down in the near future. Prices keep rising. Don’t worry, we’ll continue to hold our prices as best we can, and inform you of any new government fees that have to be added on. Our tours will incrementally increase as government fees keep getting added on or are increased. No Lava Tube On top of this we have had to abandon the Lava Cave in our 4x4 Volcano Explorer Private Tour. The lava cave has completely collapsed, and is no longer fit for guests to visit. People used to love this feature of our tours, I loved it. Luckily no one was inside when the lava tube collapsed. This would have been because there were no tourists. Covid probably saved a few lives here. Personal Accident Insurance The Indonesian government has recently changed the rules around accident insurance, (January 1st 2023 was the cut off date) and public liability insurance. According to the Indonesian insurance brokers we've been speaking to they have many tour operators looking to get Personal Accident Insurance for their guests, and one insurance company seems to be supplying this much needed insurance however, with limitations. For example one insurance company, wont let anyone above 60 do any tour of any kind, (60 is the new middle age, if an insurance company wont let a 60 year old do Bali tours, they're living in the dark ages) and if you take their insurance they want nearly 100,000 per person below 60 years of age. A lot of our guests are over 60. So, we’ve had to change our wording on our website and all of our Bali tour descriptions. This was a huge undertaking. We also have found that Jasindo Assurance (one of the government insurance brokers) will do personal accident insurance at 30,000 per person, however, they want to know the full name, copy of the guests passport, nationality, and age of each guest before doing a tour. No agent passes on this information to us, and I wouldn't feel comfortable as a guest of another tour company, doing a day tour handing over my passport either. Some people book a tour and are on that tour in an hour, there's no time to collect passports and book insurance. On top of this, Jasindo Assurance don't reply to emails. I’ve had to go in to the Jasindo office many times because they don't answer emails. There would be no guarantee that if I sent all the information and paid the money the guest would be covered as we have to wait for confirmation from Jasindo. It’s to hard, so we put the onus back onto the guest to have their own travel insurance. Our insurance section now reads like this: Q: Does Expedition Bali Tours have insurance? A: Great question. We used to have accident insurance for our guests, however we've found Indonesian accident insurance to be less than adequate. Please ensure you have your own travel insurance before booking our tours. That said, if you know of a place that has insurance for tourists, that goes up to at least 75 years of age (The new "middle age”), answers their emails within 24 hours, and is reasonably priced, we’d be happy to have a chat with the insurance company and take on getting insurance again. No More Deluxe Version There is one other step we have taken that needs to be acknowledged and passed on to our guests and agents. We no longer have deluxe versions of our tours. The “deluxe” version was where we added in Toya Devasya Natural Hot Springs. This option has been completely removed from all of our advertising material and our website with no direct guests being able to access this feature unless they ask, however, we’re still doing this for our agents. We’ll add Toya Devasya if if you like as an add on for your / our guests; we're no longer promoting it to our guests that do our Bali tours, that's all. Have a great weekend

What’s this? This is our very first newsletter to our previous guests. Yep, more than 10 ten years in business and we’re sending out our first guest focussed newsletter. If you’ve made this list, it’s a big deal. Unlike other email lists you may be on, this an Exclusive Guest list, and you’re on it. 😀 First of all, “Full Disclosure” I’m using a Mac computer, and this is very new and foreign to me. 27 years of Microsoft and I went cold turkey on the latest and greatest from Apple. Let me tell you, the transition is anything but “smoootthhh” 🥹 To remove any fears of being on yet another email list, this won’t be a regular thing. We won't be telling you to look at our latest social media, we know you’ll already be following, and if you’re not, it’s because you’re an adult and you have chosen that. We get it. What these emails are about is to let you know when we've added a new tour, or changed something in our line up of tours offered. Why? Because we want you to come back , and if you're the type of people we like, chances are your friends and family will be the same type of people. If you tell your friends and family about us, this Guest List has done its job. We said it was a big deal to be on this Guest List right, some guests,… well...let’s just say not everyone makes the EBT Guest List. 😂 That said, if you don’t want to be on the "EBT Guest List", we get it, you can either send our emails to "Junk", or ask us to kindy remove your email address. Not hard feelings. If you’re not interested, we don’t want to clog up your email. At the moment if I removed anyone, more than 10% of the Guest List would disappear. 🤣 Okay let's get to the point of these emails, not everyone will get my sense of humour Updates & Changes We amalgamated two of our canyon tours. We've called this our Twin Canyon All Day Adventure Tour. This'll be fun. Designed for corporate team building and bonding you'll love this even if there are only two of you. You get picked up at around 10.00am and go to the first canyon where it’s like a command course through a canyon, (without the speed) in up to waist high water, scaling the edge of canyons walls, negotiating mini waterfalls all the way along. I’m taking my wife on this tour when she arrives in December, she’ll love it. You’re welcome to come along if you like. We’d love some real life feedback Then we’re off for lunch. You can ask the transfer driver to take you anywhere you like for lunch on the way to the next canyon. At around 1.00pm you’ll get to the next canyon, where you’ll do the same thing in a different environment. Still scaling canyon walls, still in waist high water, and even a water swing at the end. You’ll be exhausted by 4.00pm and heading home after a full day out. One of the benefits of amalgamating tours is the cost per destination / tour becomes cheaper. One car for one day, doing two canyons in the same day. Prices start from Rp683,333 or $45 USD each (for six people) Not Bad for a full day out Speaking of Waterfall Tours we've added a couple more Bali waterfall tours to our line up recently. (All waterfall tours are seperate for now) Here are our new waterfall tours. Banyu Wana Amertha Waterfall. Three different waterfalls in one location - Prices start from Rp428,333 each / $29 USD each Gitgit Waterfall Two waterfalls in one location here. One of the memorable things was the swing rings you can hang onto as you land in the water. This was a lot of fun. Prices start from Rp546,666 / $36 USD each Keep in touch. We’d really love to see you back. C’mon it’s Bali. Everyone comes back. Once you’ve been to Bali, Bali has the way of pulling you back. We’ll be here. Expedition Bali Tours

Is Mount Batur due, or even overdue to let off more than just steam? With so many industries and people within those industries relying on the Mount Batur volcano for an income including farmers, shop owners, the fishing industry, the sand miners, the federal government for all the taxes and fees they collect from tourism operators conducting Bali tours including ourselves that are also reliant on the volcano for an income, we thought we had best check this out from a business stand point. After doing the sums in our simple case study that follows, we decided to diversify into waterfall tours as well. See why below: Mount Batur has one of the most awe inspiring calderas on the planet. It's nearly 14 km's across x 10 kilometres across and houses Lake Batur. (Lake Batur is probably responsible for keeping the Mount Batur Volcano at least partially cooled) Mount Batur is said to be 1717 meters above sea level. The numbers "1717" are literally carved in stone near the top of the volcano. It makes sense for the volcano to be dropping though. All that ash and lava over the years has to come from somewhere right? In September 2012 UNESCO granted the area World Heritage listing status because of the area's "Cultural Significance & Natural Scenery" It's widely believed that the first eruption happened around 27,300 BCE (give or take a few years) and this particular volcano is known as a "stratovolcano" type. The Balinese have a belief that loosely translates to something like the Chinese Yin & Yang. "If you take from the mountain, at some stage the mountain will want it back." Along those lines anyway. I'll probably need to get clarification of the exact wording when the opportunity arises in the future when one of our Bali tours crosses with an elder from the region and we're not in a hurry. Anyway, here are the dates we have managed to put together over the years, and then confirmed by a volcanologist that did PhD on Mount Batur in Bristol University for our guides to be as accurate as possible when doing tours: So our decision to venture into waterfalls tours as well came after this simple maths equation in our early business case study of doing any Bali tours in the future: The biggest gaps are: 1926 - 1963 = 37 years, and at the end of this big gap 1963 was a big eruption with lava flow. 1888 - 1854 = 34 years, and at the end of this big gap 1888 was a big eruption with lava flow. 1821 - 1849 = 18 years, and at the end of the big gap 1849 was a big eruption with lava flow. 1976 - 1994 = 18 years, and at the end of the big gap 1994 was a big eruption with lava flow. This is the simple maths, the simple logic: If there is a big gap, there's a big eruption with lava flow that follows: 2000 - 2023 = 23 years so far.- We're due for a "big eruption with lava flow" Mount Agung - November 2017 The above is Mount Agung Below is a satellite heat map showing Agung and Mount Batur are linked. Only six year ago Mount Agung let a bit more than steam. Will this relieve the stress on Mount Batur, or is Mount Agung eruption simply a precursor to Mount Batur's eminent eruption? This is the third longest time in recorded history the volcano hasn't had a melt down of some kind. On top of this, consistently after a long stretch of no activity, the next eruption is a big one with lava flow. Interestingly you'll be able to view a lot of these different lava flows on our 4x4 Volcano Explorer, Traditional Village & 4x4 Sunrise Sensation Private Tours because the lava is different colours. Our guides have shown the different colours to our guests on our Bali tours for years now . Obviously, we have better technology to predict a massive event like a lava flowing volcano eruption than we had in 1963 when we're told many villagers lost their lives (an estimated 1600 villagers). The technology in the caldera area itself may have advanced from bringing water up from the lake in buckets to water their crops to now having water pumped with a petrol powered water pump; however, the locals just don't have access to the information required should there be an emergency where the whole caldera has to be evacuated. Many thousands of people live and make a living from the rich soils in the caldera. I personally only know of one way in and out of the Caldera, there are probably a few more, however, a mass evacuation... you would want that lava flow to be of the slow moving variety. We're lucky, all we have to do is get a 4x4 out with our staff and family in it with all they can carry in the back of the 4x4, (belongings, family and friends) most will have a lot more to lose than that. So, we'll leave this with you to be the judge of when this particular volcano that is classed as "active" is due to let off more than just steam. We'll continue to do Bali tours of the wonderful area that is Kintamani and the Mount Batur / caldera area. At least we now have the accurate dates recorded somewhere for everyone to enjoy. If you find dates that contradict what we have, we'd be interested in taking a look if you'd care to share the information with us so we can check the credibility of the reference dates. Until then, we'll continue our Bali tours keeping a close eye on Mount Batur. Russ - CEO Expedition Bali Tours

Hello to all our Agents and previous Expedition Bali Tours Guests. Our head tour guide tells us that our guests are struggling to make it up the mountain in time to see Indonesia’s best sunrise on our 4x4 Sunrise Sensation Private Tour. This is to inform you that our new Meeting Point - Start Time has been pushed back 30 minutes to accommodate this. We understand that our guests don't want to be pushed to see a sensational sunrise, no matter how good that sunrise is. It's on of our Bali tours after all. Our meeting point time used to be 4:00am for the 4x4 Sunrise Sensation Private Tour, our new meeting point time is now 3:30am to ensure our guests get to the top of Mount Batur with plenty of time to spare. If there is anything else we can help you with, please drop us an email, or contact me via WhatsApp. I've recently changed my WhatsApp number to +61 438 345 835. The office Whatsapp number remains the same as always. Looking forward to seeing you on one of our Bali Tours shortly.

February 2019 Mount Agung had erupted back in November 2017 and even in February 2019. People were asking us (Expedition Bali Tours) if this volcano was still erupting and how dangerous was was the old girl. The answer for this was "Yes, Mount Agung was erupting and yes the media were still referring back to it every now and then". To put this eruption in perspective though, there was a six kilometre exclusion zone put in place around Mount Agung back in November 2017. Then, to put that in perspective, Kuta, the heart of Bali is 68 kilometres from Mount Agung. Mount Batur to Mount Agung, that's 18 kilometres away as the crow flies, (nearly 50km's driving). Although when standing on Mount Batur and watching the sunrise over Mount Agung, yeah, it looks about five to seven kilometres away, however, like we said it's actually 18 kilometres away. There were no recorded deaths in the November 2017 eruption and just as importantly, lava wasn't flowing through the streets of Kuta, or anywhere for that matter. Bali tours of Mount Batur were still ongoing. Nothing changed except the six kilometre exclusion zone around Mount Agung. That said, at the time, back in November 2017, you could ride a scooter through the streets of Kuta during the middle of the day and be the only scooter on the street. Where, in Hawaii if an eruption occurs hotels book out as people flock to see the volcano erupting. In Bali with the Australian media telling everyone to stay away, Bali and by default any Bali tours, were dead. There were very few tourists if any. We always thought that an eruption in Bali would bring the tourists like an eruption does in Hawaii. The media are a powerful machine and if they want tourists to stay in Australia to spend money in local hotels, bars and restaurants, because of the owners of those media outlets own these hotels bars and restaurants, this is a strong case for ragging on Bali and having people stay home. It was the first time we'd seen the Australian media in action. Now that we know what to look for, we can see it all the time. any excuse to rag on Bali.

Hello to all of our wonderful agents, July & August 2023 were some pretty big months for us here at Expedition Bali Tours, and we’re trusting they were just as big months for you as well. We have a few updates that we thought you might be interested in regarding our Bali tours. 1. Terunyan Wall Guide Book We've developed a Comprehensive (15 Page) Terunyan Cemetery GuideBook for the guides that our agents send on our tours with their guests. This was created in the same style and format as our Comprehensive Mount Batur GuideBook. When your tour agency books a Terunyan Wall Cemetery Private Boat Tour with us, we’ll send your guide via WhatsApp a copy of our Terunyan Cemetery GuideBook - Free. We want your guide to look fantastic as they reel off information about Terunyan like they’ve lived there all their lives to your guests. We've noticed that guests would get to the cemetery and they wouldn’t understand the significance of what they were looking at. Creating this guidebook helps bridge that gap. We’ve been sending our Comprehensive (29 Page) Mount Batur Volcano Guidebook out with agent guides now for a few months; the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. While researching the Comprehensive Terunyan Cemetery GuideBook we've discovered some fascinating facts such as, most people know that the Terunyan’s were the first Balinese, however, did you know they're said to have arrived from Java as far back as the 8th century CE. How about this one: there is not just one cemetery but three cemeteries; where one cemetery is for children and unmarried adults. Or how about this one: the Terunyan’s are a matriarchal society, meaning that women have more power than men. (It's a lot different across the lake we can tell you). You also may not have known that there is no written version of the Terunyan language, and on a final piece of Terunyan trivia, there are always only 12 bamboo cages that house the dead for a reason. We won’t give away the ending on that one just yet. 😊 These are just some of the amazing facts we've uncovered and put in our comprehensive guidebook to add to our Bali tours. The guidebook is free for your guide when booking a Terunyan Wall Cemetery Private Boat Tour with Expedition Bali Tours. 2. Insurance After a bit of back and forth our insurance policy is ready to be sent out for your agency records. Please see below we have purchased insurance for your guests and our guests. Please ensure your required department receives a copy of our latest insurance policy below. 3. Social Media All of our social media now features the travel partner / tour agent that sent us the guests. You’ll see on our Instagram, TikTok and YouTube social media, at the end of the latest posts we have put the logo and contact details of the agent that sent the guests for any of our Bali tours. Such is our commitment to having our agents win more work in the future. We acknowledge the agents that send us guests because we want to ensure the agents get more bookings to send our way in the future. If you’re not using Expedition Bali Tours, for your Bali tours, ask what your tour provider is doing to promote you and your business. With around 11,000+ followers, we’re doing the best we can to promote our agents. Your agency could be one of the agents we promote to all of our followers on all of our social media. Check out the posts to see the difference we make. Find out why our agents remain loyal to us. We know we're not the cheapest and have no desire to be the cheapest. We provide a lot more value than “cheap” on our all of our Expedition Bali tours. Insurance, social media posts for each agent after all our Bali tours, free gifts for every guest, the only tour guides with first aid certification in Kintamani, the best custom built 4x4 in Kintamani if not Bali, winner of the Luxury Travel Guide Award for Service Excellence. We don't want to be the cheapest… we just want to maintain being the best. Thanks again for taking a quick read. Take a breath during this down time. It wont be long until peak season arrives. Have a great week ahead. Russ CEO - Customer Experience Officer Expedition Bali Tours

Yes, there's a lot of traffic in Bali. Mainly consisting of scooters / motorbikes from 110cc Honda Beats, to Honda Vario 150's and Honda PCX and Yamaha N-Max 155cc's respectively. Cars are increasingly becoming a status symbol for locals in Bali. "I can afford a car, look at me" this takes up even more space on the roads. We know one guy that would rather drive everywhere in a car even though it may take two hours to do less than seven kilometres in some cases, because he will look successful when he arrives if he arrives in a car. We ride scooters every days. We can get around the traffic, however patience is a huge 'must' (Something I myself have yet to master.) The extra traffic on Bali road makes it all the more difficult to predict the pick up timing for the Bali Tours we have. (Easy for our 4x4 Sunrise Sensation Private Tour & Million Dollar Point 4x4 Private Tour, they start in the early hours of the morning. The rest... give or take.) We've made a few videos so you can see what it's like in certain areas: Canggu Seminyak to Denpasar Jimbaran to Uluwatu Riding through Bali Ubud Sanur Umalas to Immigration first thing in the morning Riding into Kintamani We'll do up some tips for riding a scooter / motorbike in Bali on a different blog post shortly. (Done... Click the above link)

The secrets to 20 years of successfully running a travel agency in Bali. This is our very first "Interview with a Travel Agent" and we're please to announce that it's with the General Director of Pegasus Indonesia Travel, Natalia Saputra (Natasha). We touch on a few questions around being a woman in business in Bali; initially coming from Russia, finding love and getting married to an Indonesian partner, raising two daughters in Bali, and a few other personal pieces of information before we moved onto the core questions we came to ask. We want to know the answers to the following core questions of all our travel partners: 1. What year did Pegasus Indonesia Travel begin operations in Indonesia? 2. What nationality and age group are Pegasus Indonesia Travel's main clients? 3. In Pegasus Indonesia Travel's experience, over the last year since international visitors have been returning to Bali, is Pegasus Indonesia Travel seeing the pre Covid numbers returning to Bali and taking up Bali tours? 4. What are the main attractions or Bali tours Pegasus Indonesia Travel's international clients are requesting to do when in Bali right now? 5. What problems do you see coming up for the Indonesian tourism industry if any? 6. What advice do you have for any international clients coming to Bali looking to do Bali tours? If you're a Travel Agent servicing Bali tours of any description, you're not going to want to miss this interview. You're going to want to hear some of the secrets to Pegasus Indonesia Travel's 20 year success story. How most of the staff have remained with the business for the entire 20 years. Going from sitting on the floor in the living room issuing the vouchers for the very first peak season of Bali tours, to becoming one of the leaders for the destination in the market. How they paid their staff during Covid, and how they're one of the few travel agents that employ tour guides directly, and don't use freelancer tour guides. If you're a tourist looking to visit Bali, listen to what sets Pegasus Indonesia Travel apart from their competition. What it takes to start a business here in Bali. There are snippets of gold in everything Natasha talks about. While we were interviewing Natasha we could hear the gold, however we're also focussing on the next question. We could have spoken for hours. That said we were being mindful of the time and whilst listening for the gold we had to press on. It was only after listening to the interview again when putting this video together did we feel the full weight of the information one could garnish from this interview. Thanks Natasha, this interview has set the bar pretty high for every other Bali tours agent to follow in your footsteps. An incredible interview. Thanks for being brave and going first. If you're a travel agent in Bali and would like to be interviewed with your answers to the above questions, drop us an email. We'd love to showcase your travel agency, and the differences you make with your Bali tours, and indeed, within the tourism industry.

Goa Raja Waterfall has recently been added to our line up of waterfalls here at Expedition Bali Tours. Currently in a "One" waterfall only and not combined with other waterfalls in our Bali tours line up as yet, we thought we would get this waterfall up for everyone to take a look. If this is a waterfall you'd like to visit on your next visit to Bali let us know. For the rest of 2023 we're offering this waterfall tour free with any of our volcano tours. We wont automatically include it, you'll need to ask for it. If you're a reader of this blog, or you're on the Expedition Bali Tours guest list for receiving emails, you'll know about this exclusive free offer. If you're not, we guess you'll book your volcano tour and find out about this Bali tour freebee when it's too late. So here's the deal. Book any volcano tour throughout 2023, for any date in the future... ANY date, and we'll throw Goa Raja Waterfall in for free on the same day. Take a look at this path to the right, so many little bridges made by the locals to ensure the waterfall adventure is fun and easily accessible, with little waterfalls all the way along. It's lovely. As usual our waterfall tours are self paced, take your time. Your driver will get you there, pay for your entry, and away you'll go. Another Bali tour ticked off. You take as long as you need. You can get lunch on the way there or on the way back. Choice is yours, and your driver will wait. If you're doing a volcano tour afterwards, your time will be limited to the amount of time it takes to get to the meeting point ready for the volcano tour from Goa Raja waterfall.