A return to the end of Indonesia

We decided to return to the end of Indonesia, this time we walked and carry a stick.

The walk reviled that it was truly a hard ride and there were many things that go bump in the night.

As we got close to the end of Indonesia we both saw a rather large boar ambling up the road. Have you ever seem a rather large boar? they look like they are out of hell....

We promptly turned around and got the hell out of there, even the monkeys that had appeared in our way didn't stand a chance as we gave them severe words and flying-sticks  (they growled at us in their monkey evil way).

Some of the best roads through dense jungle...

Banda Aceh to Puleh Weh

Never underestimate Indonesia or 35kms.

We left Banda Aceh for the promise of a tropical island, with beaches and amazing snokelling. We got both however it wasn't the easiest of journeys.

All terminals in Indonesia are great places.  We had 4hours at the port where we enjoyed great cheap food, conversations with the locals, cool drinks and laying in the cool breeze. Once refreshed we took the ferry to Puleh Weh.

Once at Puleh Weh we estimated 30kms of cycling with a few big (?) hills in the mix.  If you did this 30kms on a nice evening or morning you would think it was probably one of the best rides ever - the roads were windy, brand new, smooth, technical and hilly.  This is Indonesia and we didn't plan for being attacked by monkeys, crazy jungle heat, missing turnoffs and things that go bang in the night.

Monkey Punks - As we rode/walked up a massive climb we had to pass a tribe of monkeys.  Similar to a group of hoodies in London they had not much better to do than try to mug us.  One chased me teeth bared but retired as I kicked at it, this left Nancy to come past.  Some Indonesian boys on motorbikes came past and volunteered their help by laughing.  The monkey then attacked Nancy who responded by yelling at it and throwing her bike at it, needless to say, it quickly ran looking for easy prey!

Crazy Jungle Heat - The roads were perfect but they were also through the jungle, where the air doesn't move and it is hot.  In a very short time I was dripping with sweat.

Missing Turnoffs - The 'towns' on this island are by the beach so you have to make obscure turns to find them.  We didn't make any of them as the sign had been flattened (probably by monkeys).We ended up cycling to the end of Indonesia through the national park.  At this point, due to the lack of hotels, we were starting to worry.

This picture doesn't convey anything of what we went through but you get the idea, Jungle, Hills, heat, Monkeys and hard work (but amazing quiet roads)...

Things that Go Bang (scream, howl and scurry) in the Night - we ride a lot at night in the UK but it pales in comparison to riding at the night through the jungle.  In 30 minutes we saw 4 wild boar (one massive, one dead, one running across my path), bats the size of buzzards and heard so many 'wild' sounds that I was truly scared.  Luckily some Indonesian boys on a motor rode with us back to civilisation.

We fell into a guest house on an isolated tropical beach with snorkeling and swimming outside our room door.  The only minor issue is that all the coral has been bleached so it is pretty grey in the ocean, though the fish are still very colour and plentiful.

Kindle time between swims.

A 'make you jealous of our tropical island picture'

Blandpidie to Banda Aceh

We set off early again- 5:30 - as we have 126kms to cover.  The riding was nice, and the roads were excellent quality but riding through palm oil plantations is a little same same. every palm is so similar.  For a hard club ride these roads would be prefect - undulating, smooth and empty.

As we come close to Meuoloboh it gets hotter and the traffic gets worse.  We decide to have a break and eat some delicious, yet spicy, mee goreng.  We both decide that potentially the next two days up to banda aceh is going to be repetitive and hard work with some 240kms to go.  We both decide that a bus is the best idea.

When we arrive in Meuoloboh and find the bus terminal (not as easy as it sounds as people tend to lead you everywhere except where you want to go).

Being a tourist at a bus station means you will be taken where ever you want to go quickly, and you'll be charged for the service.  I don't mind as long as it is fun and you get there and our driver was great as we stopped for drinks, toilet, and dinner. On a side note I've not really had to bargain for much here as aceh people at honest and just happy to help.

The drive up turned out to me one of the best decisions of the trip.  The road that was meant to be finished was not and was most likelly inpassable by bikes, regardless it would have been unpleasant.  This road is one of the projects of the tsunami relief...though it is very good the closer you get to Banda Aceh (it is actually the only highway we've come across).

We got to Banda aceh at 10pm, which meant we'd been traveling for somewhere near 15hours...a long old day but it gives us more time to go diving and also ride through the centre of sumarta over some volcanos!

Tapak Tuan to Blangpidie

we stay a night in the rather pleasant Tapaktuan and after the hard riding and reward a few days before we left early again.

We rode along the ocean for 80kms, all very nice.  The beaches weren't like the first ones so we didn't stop to much and were done by 11:30.  We also had time to have breakfast (rice, sambal and fish) and watch have of appolo 13 on HBO.

We then stop at a rather nice hotel in susah and read Games of Thrones on the Kindle.  A rather easy and pleasant day.

Also, as a aside, Nancy and I have started to refer to this trip as 'fat camp'.  We eat pretty much no fat (yummy rice and chilli for every meal), we are riding 5hrs a day, it is hot and there is no beer here...the only concession being the odd sugar laden avocado juice!

Subulussallam to Tapaktuan

we left early, ustr past six in the morning. It is by far the nicest time of the day, the air is cool and you can get the miles done. we cruised along past mist soak valleys, with hardly any traffic and open roads.

We'd done 40kms by breakfast at 8am, breakfast was 2minute noodles and egg served in a small shack.  breakfast of champions.  We then went started to ride a section which was like a race track: up, down, around, this way and that.  If this road was anywhere else in the world it would be famous.  It also started to get hot.This went on for 40kms, both Nancy and I started to feel tired.

 Our map of Sumartra has500 contour intervals, therefore we only know when the big hills are coming, this was one of those days.  What I didn't understand would be that the hill would be straight up and I mean 20% all the way to the 500mcontour interval.  Needless to say, my ss didn't get ridden up it.

We were rewarded however...with this (I think images speak for themselves)

Sidikalang to Subusallam

After yesterday's climb we decided to jump in a bus to try to make ground.  This was a bad idea.  The bus was late - 2 hours late and we thought it to be full of people with 16 passengers, it wasn't and we added to more people - then it was full.  After about 30 minutes of going downhill we decided to take to the road on the bikes.

We then started cycling and realised that 1. it was too hot 2. we were hungry.  Luckly, as indonesia is a great placed we stop at the next restruant (20m down the road) and enjoyed some very tasty (and spicy) noodles for lunch.

We then enjoyed what was a pretty amazing ride through jungle in town. all downhill.

Subusallam had a really nice feel to it and we were welcomed by all, which was very reassuring given this was our first islamic town in Aceh.  To distract a hoarde of young boys who befriended me I rode around town with them. I needed a haircut so they took me to the barber, I had a wet hot shave and shaved my gead and then went back to losmen for an afternoon reading in the sun.

When we booked the room they forgot to tell us that the town would be watching the football until 3am in front of our room. a sleeping pill and a set of ear plugs set us right for the night.

pics to follow 

Danau (lake) toba to Sidikalang

We leave lake toba using the west crossing.  The first 40kms is flat and fast and done early.  We then hit something of a hill.

The start of the climb out of the lake was through a valley that funneled the wind so intensely that we had trouble going forward, I assured nancy that it would be easier once we got around the corner.

then we saw this:

Once around the corner we started to climb.  Like many climbs in france you could see the top and similar the top was 1500m above us.  The climb was amazing switch back after switch-back, quiet smooth roads, and amazing views.  That siad it was hot and I mean roasting hot.

after 2 hours we literally fell into a cafe at the top of the hill totally exhuasted.  To say cafe but it was more like a wooden toliet someone had turned into a cafe for the local smokers, regardless it had drinks and pretty decent food.

The ride into Sidikalang was then all downhill and very nice.  We checked into the VIP room at the local hotel and went for a bite to eat. The local restruants were 'famous' for being enak (tasty) and the one we went to was no exception.  we had a feast of fish, chicken, beef and rice - all tasty and hot.  actually, evertything here seems spicy.

Bicycle versus motor cycle (around Lake Toba)

We decided to hire a small moped to tour around the island.  It was 130km so we didn't feel like riding and we thought it would be a nice change.

I thought I list some of the difference between the  two, not dissimilar, modes of travel.

- Motorbikes are faster, especially up hill.

- When you get a flat with a pedal cycle you can fix it, on a motor bikes you cannot.  When you get a  flat on a motorbike you have to ask 10 people which way to go to get someone to fix it, they all give you a different opinion then you go for the consensus.  This led to me running 2kms down the hill. We then got the tire fixed, met an englishman in a small village, had a few beers and motored home two hours later..

- Motorbikes allow you to travel further but in traveling further you don't have the same interactions as when cycling, you seem to whizz by before the Indonesians have raised the 'alarm' to yell HELLO MISTER!

- You get far more sunburn when riding a motorbikes. Luckily the motor was hot pink as well.

- Finally if you ever make it to toba, motor the south side to the top as the roads (apart from the first 4kms) is one the the nicest roads I've been on.  Smooth, bendy, swithchbacks and no traffic. awesome.

Brastagi to Parapet (Lake Toba)

It was damp and grey at the start of today's ride from Brasgati to parapet (lake toba) so we transferred the one set of batteries from the camera to the light, therefore there are no photos but I do have some statistics from my genius little computer

113.08km traveled
5:06:31 ride time
60.1 maximum
22.1 average
1 x pork and rice dish, served by some shy kids.  It was accompanied by some strange green vegetable which tasted like you had always wanted spinach to taste like.
6 Litre of aqua
1 Litre of pocari sweat
1 boat ride for 7000rph (50p)
1 kopiko (not finished) and 1 x some strange wheat biscuit:

Pretty fantastic riding for most of the day apart from one section which was busy.  The last 30 kms were some of the best riding I've experienced, a 4km climb with loads of switch-backs followed by an undulating and mostly downhill section into parapet.  The roads, thankfully, were great for the whole day.

Now we are doing nothing in the amazing lake toba.  It is overcast but still 30degrees with the odd burst of sun , as usual you just have to open your door to be impressed; the view from the room:

 

this is not from our room, but from down the road:

 

Tomorrow we are going to cycle around it.

Bukit lawang to Brastagi: the long way

We left Bukit Lawang, which is in the jungle and therefore it is very nice but full of bugs, things that go bag in the night and sweaty white folk.


We decided to hit the road.  The first 50kms were ticked off before 11am, the roads were smooth, not much traffic and pretty great riding really (24kms /hr says my new computer).  

traffic and nancy introducing 

herself

we then decided to take a 'back' route, similar to an english lane.  There were a few things that we didn't realise:


1. It was going to be hot, so hot we couldn't move.


2. The roads were going to turn to dirt with villages dotted along them, with all inhabitants eager to say hi to the sweaty white folk.


3. Indonesians don't quote distance in KMs, only time taken.  we were quoted 4hrs for  8hrs. We, as it turns out, we are a lot slower than motorbikes.


4. We had to go over a 2500m high volcano in complete isolation (we saw 2 motorbikes for 2hrs), which was at times scary but also amazing.

5. The climb was as intense as any alp but the roads was more like a river bed which meant no riding, and my computer told me we now averaged 3.5kms/h. 

6. If it wasn't for a local palm truck river (who took us 30kms) and a taxi truck (took us the last 30kms with bikes on the roof) we might still be out there.  

7. Bikes are easy to travel with here as health and safety doesn't exist. 


Regardless, we rode 80kms and travelled 140km in 12 hours and were rewarded with some beautiful BBQ ikan dan ayam!  Damn Saya suka Indonesia!


Today rest, tomorrow, off to somewhere else.

The Why

Indonesia.

I’ve (as in Will) been to Indonesia a number of times and loved it, the food, the people, the places and the oddities.   I’ve spent a year travelling the region on numerous trips and been to a lot of the islands. Above it is amazing and you never know what will happen next.

Australia’s closest neighbor is the 4^th most populous nations has been growing consistently over the past 10 years. The number of students learning Bahasa Indonesia in Australia has, in the same period, declined 80%, an interesting lengthy report can be found here.  Since September 11, Bali bombings and, what I could only describe as embarrassing relationship nightmares such as Michele Corby dominating Australian Press, Indonesia has been irrationally and rather embarrassingly void from Australia political and social consciousness.  


Toranas are still awesome in both places.

A focus on Indo

Australia’s island isolation means that growing up you are seldom exposed to second languages and therefore compulsory languages studies have little relevance for a teenagers. I was no expectation. Now, passing 30, I’ve decided to learn a second language to prove to myself that I can do it. Though this makes sense, London is not really the best place to enroll in Indonesian classes.  There is only one class in the whole of the uk (that I've now completed).  I hope that this trip to indonesia takes me to the next level of speaking and listening.

This Trip

Me and my girlfriend (Nancy) wanted to do something different. We cycle all the time - we can always be found with our good friends at Pretorius bikes (who are awesome). Cycle touring gives you unparrelled access to places.  It is simple, quiet, exciting and challenging.   Also, preparing for this trip takes planning and I like planning and an ability to maintain calm at some of the most interesting/trying times.  Flying and bikes provides some of the best of times…