Roadworks continue in Kuta, with the intersection at Jl. Legian and Jl. Melasti blocked off to cars. Motorbikes can squeeze through and its always exciting to see what next hurdle has been created. Last time I went through there from the beach, workers and put sandbags up against the curb, allowing motorbikes to ride up o them o get to the curb, drive past the digger without getting shredded by the moving claw and bounce back onto the tarmac.
Another development for Kuta traffic, is the opening of the beach route at the top of Jl. Pantai Kuta. This scenic, tiled street, is a promenade for tourists staying at the hotels located there. Yesterday I was able to ride along that route from Jl. Double Six all the way to Jl. Pantai Kuta. Ika loves that idea, but I have mixed feelings. As a motorbike rider its great to be able to get to and from Blue Ocean beach fast, but what effect will it have on the tourism?
A tranquil, pleasant lane will inevitably become a new fast-track local street, with tourists scattering to avoid lunatics on bikes. A friend of mine who has lived in Bali for 20 years said the reason he didn’t walk on the beach very much was he had to cross ‘that awful road’ (Jl. Legian). I told him it was a narrow road and he could get across it in 10 seconds, but to him it was a mental barrier. The idea of staying in a ‘beach front hotel’ is you’re on the beach, not separated by lines of screaming motorbikes. We’ll see how things turn out with the new beach access. They really should take my advice and make Bali horse & buggy only.
