The Journey to Bali. A Battle with the Taxi Mafia

On Sunday morning, we begin our journey by train from Probolinggo to the port town where the ferry departs for Bali. Food is served on the train, packaged similarly to airplane meals. From the port, we board the ferry.

As soon as we step off the ferry in Bali, taxi drivers surround us and offer rides to our destination, Medewi, at a much higher price than what we had found online. Since it’s nearly a two-hour drive, the price difference isn’t small enough to simply accept. When bargaining doesn’t lead to a reasonable price, we order a more affordable Bluebird taxi through the app. It turns out the taxi is already waiting in a parking lot near the port.

As we walk toward the taxi, the drivers who had quoted us the high prices follow us. They start talking to our young driver and block the way so that we can’t get into the taxi and the car can’t leave. I even try threatening to call the police, but they just smile and say there’s no point in doing that. Quietly, I tell our driver to meet us somewhere a bit farther away from the port. We go there and wait.

Eventually, he arrives. Once we’re inside and discuss what just happened, he explains that the other taxi drivers—who, according to him, aren’t locals—forced him to pay 100,000 rupiah (about €6) just for the right to come and pick us up. He says it’s fine and that the ride is still worth it for him. He also mentions that they weren’t good men and that he didn’t want to get into conflict with them.

It turns out that he, like most people in Bali, is Hindu and believes that the most important thing in life is to get along with everyone and maintain good karma. He also confirms something we had heard earlier—that there is a Hindu holiday in Bali when absolutely no one eats or does anything for 24 hours, and everything is closed. Tourists are advised to stock up on food in advance and stay in their hotels during that day.

When he hears that we’re from Estonia, he’s delighted. He tells us that he was able to buy his taxi thanks to an Estonian friend. Apparently, he had temporarily worked as a real estate agent and sold a house developed by Estonians. With the commission from that sale, he bought this car second-hand.

Although our drive isn’t very long, he manages to tell us a lot. His name is Tila, and he’s just over 20 years old. After high school, he studied tourism for a year at a local institution. Although he has worked at a hotel, he says he enjoys driving people around the most. His father does the same job.

He also tells us that he had a girlfriend, but they broke up. He met her at a local bar, but he thinks bars aren’t a good place to meet girls. For local young people, Instagram is apparently the main way to connect. Dating apps like Tinder have a rather bad reputation—“decent” young people don’t use them.

He also talks about prostitution in Bali. These are women who stand by the roadside calling out “spa” to tourists. The term comes from massage salons, some of which offer additional services. Bali is a party island, and with that come all the downsides.

He tells us that some German tourists once told him that drinking beer in the morning is healthy, so now he drinks one beer every morning before getting behind the wheel. Driving with a slight buzz isn’t considered a problem here. It’s a very different situation compared to the Muslim-majority island of Java. However, drugs are treated very harshly—selling drugs regularly results in the death penalty.

Finally, we reach our destination—the small fishing and surfing village of Medewi. Tila gives me his contact details on WhatsApp. I think to myself that when we leave Medewi early the morning after next, I probably won’t use his services again. He’s a nice person, but the tradition of drinking a beer every morning before driving isn’t something I’m comfortable with.