Back in 2003 when I moved to Bali, there seemed to be a police roadblock every few days. No big deal if your paperwork is in order, but some people have reason to sweat. If you’ve forgotten your license, borrowed your mate’s bike without the registration, or have something wrong with the bike, such as no speedo / gas gauge (as in the trail bike I was looking at), they’ll hit you up for money.
Within the last few days I have encountered 2 roadblocks, both on the Sunset Rd. In the first instance, cops were spread out down the road for about 50 meters, pulling people over and waving them on. My tactic was to tail a truck, then when I had to move over, crawled along at 10kmh as if I’d already been checked out. The cops just waved me on.
Today heading up to Seminyak at around 5pm they were at it again. This time I just pulled over, showed they guy my tattered license and reg, an he let me go. Most of the people getting pulled over were Balinese, so their money tastes good too.
If something is incorrect with your paperwork or bike, you will be invited to discuss it over at the police SUV. Best strategy is to act like you’ve seen it all before. A 20,000rp note that finds its way into your license could help you out, and its important to resist handing over anything much larger. Having a dummy wallet inside your bike, stuffed with 1,000rp’s and a few 5,000rp’s could be a good idea. With so many other customers to serve, the cops won’t want to waste too much time with you if you’ve only got a few dollars.
