Highway to Hell

For the first time in two years I did not want to ride. I never thought that day would happen but starting in Bali and across both the islands of Java and Sumatra is a 4000km traffic jam. The roads themselves are shit and are nothing but potholes or gravel patches. And where they are trying to improve you are down to one lane construction.

Reminders of crashes found along the highway.

There is just to much traffic volume for the tiny two lane highways. It does not matter what road you take or direction there is gridlock traffic. Because of this the roads are extremely dangerous and full of drivers with a suicide wish. 

Until now I was unaware that Indonesians had special vision because it seems that they can see or believe they can see around blind corners and over hills. Even with the constant reminders like in the above picture they do not seem to get it.

I cannot tell you how many hundreds of times I had someone driving directly into me while trying to pass lines of traffic. And because of this I new it was only a matter of time before something bad could happen. And the above picture of Fred shows the result of being run off the road by a bus.

 I myself was very fortunate and almost made a perfect skidding stop on the shoulder. But my luck ran out when there was a broken semi resting on shoulder. Due to the poor roads vehicles are found on the sides broken down constantly.  I was a mere foot from perfection when I skidded under the rear end and took out my windscreen and all my gauges and lights. 

Here is what is left of the bus after he sideswiped the truck behind me. All in all know one was hurt which was very fortunate for all.

As usual everyone wants to help and this is my Indonesian pit crew helping me put Fred back together. It could have been a lot worse if the truck was lower or even a car. If that was the case I would have damaged my front forks, handle bars etc making the bike inoperable. 

So after a little Indonesian fix (strips of inner tube) we had the lights and smashed gauges tied on. I now only have to drive 700km with out an odometer, gas gauge and GPS. 

As much as this sucks it could have been worse. As they say it is only money right? At least I keep telling myself that. Almost made it 2 years on the road without an issue Argh......

But as luck would have while in Medan getting ready to ship the bike to Malaysia. I ran into Mark again that I met in Timor Leste when our bikes were both in the cargo container together. We will be shipping our bikes together to Malaysia. We also me Michele from Germany who was waiting for his bike to come from Malaysia going the opposite direction from us. 

Take a note of Michele as this guy had some extremely interesting stories form his travels by motorcycle around the world. There is an actual Hollywood screen script in the process as we speak about a particular adventure of his through Iran. It should be in the movies theatres in a few years!

Well here is me standing on the boat Fred will be sailing on between Medan, Indonesia to Penang, Malaysia. This is owned by a man called Mr.Lim from Malaysia and is called an onion boat due to the cargo he ships. It amazes me what you can find and what you need to do to get a vehicle around the world. 

Pretty basic but will do the trick. I felt like I was in some movie on some far away dock in a strange country making a deal to ship the bike with a guy called Mr.Lim. 

All part of the adventure and loving it.

Island of Java

As I was cursing across Java I had made contact through a riders forum with Robby from Solo (Surakarta). He always wants riders from around the world to drop by and say hi. I am extremely glad I did as his hospitality was amazing and I ended up staying two nights. I had a chance to meet his wife and sons and he could not do enough to provide me with any help I may need. Robby owns a parts and accessories store/shop in Solo and can help service any of the larger bikes as well. 

Decided to take a trishaw ride to the local museum.

The museum did not have a whole lot to see, but there were some interesting old coaches from days gone past.

After leaving Solo my goal was to hit one of the largest temples in Indonesia called Borododur.

Amazing temple with great views of the surrounding hills. Be prepared though to be asked to have your picture taken by groups of school kids. It seems that if you are caucasian they get bonus school marks for asking you questions and having their picture taken with you.

It would be wise to also go early as possible since the crowds can get very large.

Once again something you would just not see in a western country. This kid was asking for money from the passengers and in return he would jump off the top of the ferry! It just amazes me how the ferry staff do not seem concerned if he kills himself while jumping off there ship. In Western countries this has liability and lawsuit written all over it.

I believe the picture of his less than perfect diving form tells you how his landing went.

OUCH!

Temple Time

Well I decided to do some Lara Croft shit today and tackle some temples of doom. I just might have to fight off stone statues that come to life and save the damsel in distress

But before you can do that you must abide by the temple rules. Proper temple attire must be worn and and offering to the Hindu gods is required.

Ok, got the sarong.

Got the offering.

Got the evil stone statues

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave Temple)

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave Temple)
I did not see any elephants?

Gunung Kawi (Rocky Temple)

Gunung Kawi (Rocky Temple)

This is the Holy Spring Temple where locals and visitors flock to pray/wish.  I did not bother going in  as I know I am to far gone from being saved. Why waste good water......we will just leave it for the people who have a chance.

killer gold fish guarding the temple.

After a day of temple adventure it was time for a little Bali coffee tasting.

Roasting coffee beans the old fashion way.

This is the specialty coffee of Bali. The reason it is considered special is it is collected from the droppings of the Luwak pictured below. After the animal eats the coffee berries the enzymes in its body ferment the bean. It is then collected from its droppings washed numerous times then processed. I tried it myself but truthfully could not tell the difference from the others.

Another interesting fact about drinking Indonesian coffee is they do not use a filter. They just grind the coffee into a fine form and scoop it into your cup. You then stir and let the grinds sink to the bottom of the cup and you are ready to drink. 

Finally to end the day a great view of one of numerous rice terraces found in Bali.

Ubud (Bali)

I am so glad I left the madness of southern Bali and headed north

Hmmmmm I think I could relax here for a while. And better yet...... $7 massages just down the street.

They seem to have a thing here for their fertility symbols. Thankfully we have beer bottles with twist off caps back home.

I have been meaning to try this stuff for a while, and after you read the Wikipedia description below you will understand why it took me some time. And yes the description pretty much sums up my thoughts as well.

Durian

The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

I am still trying to figure out why it is a favourite of fruits amongst the local population.

While in Ubud you must drop by the Monkey Sanctuary located in town. Important to remember though to keep your backpack closed. These buggers have pickpocketing down to an art form.

I was wondering why all the young Indonesia guys wore faux hawk haircuts. Now I know where they got the inspiration.

Eat your heart out National Geographic!

Just a lazy day in the jungle chill'n with mom.

Swiss for a Swiss

 I wanted to go too a few different surf spots in Kuta (Lombok). So I traded Fred in for a shinny blue scooter and surf board for the day. 

Now I do not know the correct spelling of this fruit. But when I asked, the lady she pronounced it like (Shellock). And as for the taste..... you need to try it if you are ever in Indonesia since I cannot describe it.

Sorry

OK, WTF am I supposed to do with this. I have been finding these babies on all my ferry crossings. Now if I have to squat down that far to take a crap there is no way hell I will be able to get back up. The only way I would be able to get back up is if I rolled on to my hands and knees. And there is know way I am touching anything in that bathroom. 

So if I keep coming across to many of these in Indonesia it looks like I won't be taking a crap for a long while.

Again my journey seems to take the most unexpected turns. I promised to meet Johann from Switzerland again when I arrived Bali. He had to leave ahead of me from Lombok to get a new set of tires for his motorcycle in Bali.  So when I went to email him that I arrived in Bali and would come by his place in a few days. I received the most unexpected email back. It seems he had a accident after putting on his new tires which involved a truck. And to make matters worse he broke his leg and would have to be in the hospital for the next 15 days.

So where does the unexpected turn come? Well after a few days in Southern Bali (do not go all it is  stupid amounts of congested traffic). I decided to head north towards the yoga/meditation retreat town of Ubud. 

And as I was stuck in THE STUPID GRIDLOCK BALI TRAFFIC again trying to leave north. A guy on a scooter pulled up an introduced himself as Michael from Switzerland. 

He then proceeded to tell me he also travelled Africa and Latin America on a motorcycle back in the late 80's early 90's. He was so pumped to meet me that he insisted within five minutes that I come stay with him at his house so we could swap stories.

Now if you remember when I first left for my trip I told myself I would take the gracious offers of others if they should arise (even complete strangers). And the sole purpose of this philoshphy is to see where that path will take me. And to date I have never been disappointed in the outcome. 

So it looked like I would be staying one more day in Southern Bali.

Micheal feeding the strays on the beach near his home

It turns out Michael has a huge passion for the stray dogs of Indonesia and every evening he heads out to the beach with food to feed the strays. The looks we got as we walked down the beach with this group of wild dogs was interesting to say the least. The lack of compassion for dogs in Indonesia is very apparent. Unlike what I saw in Latin America. 

After feeding the dogs we went back to Michaels house where he invited some friends over and we had a barbecue. We sat there the rest of the night with a couple of beers in hand and full bellies swapping stories.

Damn good food!

In bed that night I was replaying the events of the day in my head. And I could not help thinking that I must have the biggest cloud of good Karma following me as I go. 

Kuta (Island of Lombok)

After the third ferry ride of five I have arrived on the Island of Lombok. 

During the ferry ride from Labuanbajo to Sumbawa I met Johann. He used to live in Switzerland but now calls Northern Bali his home. He was also riding a motorcycle so we decided that since we were going in the same direction we would ride together.

We decided to hit the surf town of Kuta Lombok 

(not to be confused with the surf town of the same name on Bali). 

We checked into a great place called the Spot Bugalows. The town has lots of options to stay and the restaurants are excellent! Take note of all the scooters which all the surfers rent to get to the beaches.

My room for the week. Basic but that is all I ever need now. 

Mawun Beach

The beaches are gorgeous along with the surrounding scenery. 

An Beach

Johann had to head home but I decided to stay too see if I could get my surf skills back. I will catch up with him again in Bali as he has invited me to come stay at his house for a few days. He will also help me get my visa extension for another 30 days in Indonesia. This visa can be a challenge to acquire in Indonesia as you require a sponsor.

It seems to be a small world. I keep running into Mat and Kelsey who I first met in Dili. Then again in Kupang, Labuanbajo and now in Kuta. We decide to all hit the surf on another beautiful day.

Heading out to the reef by boat. You hire a boat for $5 each to take you out to the surf.

So thats it from here. The next post should be coming from the Island of Bali!