Catalogue of Drivers

It was time to leave Ubud and explore different parts of the island. We could take the Backpacker Express shuttle bus, we could hire a car or we could hire a car with a driver. We opted for the latter – we’d seen the roads and the huge numbers of unemployed taxi drivers so it seemed the logical option: give someone a job and enjoy Bali in comfort from the back of an SUV.

Our driver was called Goody. We’d be with him for 5 days and we hoped we’d get along. We have hired drivers in many places and it’s hit and miss. Here are some of the good ones:

Syria – The guy who drove us from Damascus to Kraq de Chevaliers was lovely

Sri Lanka – We went all over the island with Neal and even hired him again on a subsequent visit. We also hired two nice boys to take us to the hill country on a previous visit who were very good (pictures).

Thailand – Uncle Pooey (Gurg’s host father) was a very sweet man who drove us from Bangkok to Ayuthia

Vietnam – Than van Tran (The Man) drove us from Danang to Hoi An and then up to Hue (photos here).

Iran – A very sweet man drove us around Shiraz and to Persepolis (pictures)


We have also had our fair share of dodgy drivers....


Jordan – Mohammed, the guy who took us to some castles and up to Amman, drove us mad and did not shut up (pictures)

Morocco – The guy was nicknamed “Slipshod” by Taggy as he drove carelessly through the Atlas Mountains as we looked nervously down at the burnt out vehicles below in the valley.

Malaysia – Zachariah, the guy who drove us to Malacca who kept saying how handsome David was (even without a mustache) and that we should have kids (blog).

Vietnam – Ping drove us from Hanoi into the Vietnamese countryside. He didn’t speak much English, but insisted on using his few words to jabber away non-stop anyway; “we go Baba Lake we get big caaaa Baba Lake many tourists like. Baba laaaaaaak big caaaaa”. He was a terrible driver, overtaking on a bend in the thick fog. He eventually went postal when we asked to cut out trip short by a day (We could take of more of Ping) (photos).

We wondered whether Goody would be goody or a baddy.