My family and I recently went on a holiday to the beautiful island of Bali. Bali is part of Indonesia and is situated just of the north west coast of Western Australia, about a 5-hour flight from Sydney and 3 hours from Perth.
We stayed for 10 days and had a really great time staying at The Bali Dynasty Resort near Kuta and met some really nice locals and many lovely Aussie tourists, no ugly Australians at our hotel. At first we were a bit fearful that everyone was out to rip us off, but after a few days of meeting and talking to the locals our reservations disappeared. The Balinese are deeply religious, honorable and friendly people.
It took me a while but I started seeing really cool VW 181s / Things running around, then one day we went for a trip up into the mountains and I spotted heaps by the side of the road. It seems as in every country that the Cal Look has a firm hold even in Bali. The majority of VWs I saw were immaculate considering the climate and the cars age. Many of the Beetles had pop-out rear windows, a rare accessory in our country. I also saw heaps of clean split window Kombis, all testaments to the owner’s determination to preserve these vehicles. I left it a bit late in my stay but I hired a driver to find out where all the VW shops were in the local area. So one day my son and I did a VW shop tour. We went to one shop that hired out RHD 181s/Things and I asked what one would cost to buy in good condition, he replied 27,000,000 Rupee, about $5,000 Aus. After visiting four VW shops the only thing I was able to buy for my Beetle was some really cute snibber buttons with the VW logo on them.
I didn’t see it myself but other guests told me that they saw a New Beetle driving by, just imagine how much they would cost over there. The most popular form of transport is the motor cycle. The rule for passengers is 2 adults and as many children as you can fit.
If you ever get chance visit Bali, we really enjoyed our stay; by the way they call Beetles Frog Mobiles and Kombis Breads.
Steve Carter
