Part 1 of 3
(Article courtesy: John Waterhouse)
This story, offered to you in three installments, is about a bicycle adventure: eighteen weeks, 10,800 kilometers and three countries, Indonesia, East Timor, and Australia. How far is 10,800 km? It is approximately equivalent to the distance from Vancouver to Halifax, then to Miami. I rode this route from August 2014 to December 2014. This was one of eight somewhat similar trips that I have done.
Why did I do this trip? First, the countries. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, a country rich in history and natural wonders, from active volcanoes to the Spice Islands. East Timor, a former province of Indonesia, had a violent birth in 1999. Today, it seems like an exotic, off the beaten track place to visit. Australia is a land of vast open spaces, friendly and generous people, and oh yes, vineyards. It is also a land of strange animals and a strange language. Who could resist?
Beyond the adventure of travel to new and wondrous places, the trip was an opportunity to stretch myself, to leave my comfort zone and to broaden my perspective on life and on the world. At sixty-nine years of age, I felt that I had much to learn. What better way to do so than from a bicycle?
The trip was supported by a bicycle tour company, TDA Global Cycling. They plotted the route, found places to overnight, provided some meals, transported luggage, and provided mechanical and medical backup. Eighteen riders, ranging in age from eighteen to sixty-nine, and from many countries, started the trip. About one-half were (very tough) women. Other riders came and left during stages during the trip. I do not believe that any other group before or since has ridden Indonesia as we did.
This is not a travel journal. It is my attempt to summarize my impressions of the geography and, social, cultural, and culinary experiences that I had.
The Start and Sumatra
Medan, Sumatra, our starting point is hot, muggy, chaotic, and less than a tourist mecca. Lonely Planet says, “sometimes pops up as the worst place you will ever visit”.
Our route takes us due west across Sumatra then down the west coast of the island to Kalinda where we will take a ferry to Java.
The first two riding days were an experience. Day 1, August 1st, from Medan to Berestagi was only 53 km but about 1300 meters up. It was wet, hot, and humid, and the traffic was horrendous. The busses and trucks must burn palm oil, judging by huge clouds of black smoke spew. Not pleasant for cyclists.
What day one caused in grief, day two made up for in beautiful scenery, pleasant weather, and good roads. 120 km that started with passing an active volcano, smoke and steam came from the top of a perfect cone. (It blew a few weeks later causing mass evacuations). Our route took us through orange groves, pepper farms, and through countless small villages. The people appeared to be very poor and were incredibly friendly. I cannot count the times that I heard “hello mister” as I passed, and I cannot help but wonder what the locals must have thought of a bunch of white people dressed in ridiculous garb peddling through their country. Maybe they pitied us for being so poor that we could not afford a motor bike.
The sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Central Sumatra are novel and almost overwhelming. Here are a few frames from an ever-unfolding kaleidoscope of people and experiences. We had a lunch stop at the top of the volcanic ring that surrounds lake Toba, at an elevation of perhaps 1,500 meters above lake level. Our stop was beside a farmer’s house which was just off the road. As is often the case, a small band of locals gathered to watch us eat. Our driver/interpreter chatted to a middle-aged looking man and was told that we were the first white people to be seen at that location since he was a young boy. No wonder we were a novelty.
One day we took a short 15 km detour through a back road. The road was a little used track into the jungle that looped back to the main road. As we turned off the main road a man on his motorcycle came along side of me and asked where are you going? Java, I answered. As I said this, he became very agitated and said “no, no, wrong way! “. I tried to explain without success that we would return to the main road and that we just wanted to see his beautiful country. He would have none of it and persisted in his attempt to get me on the right road to Java.
On the same detour we rode through a tiny village in the jungle. Three of us stopped and were immediately surrounded by fifty or so youngsters. We had a great time with them showing them pictures of themselves, our bikes and some of our gear.
The people we met, especially the kids, were incredibly friendly, curious, and tolerant of each other and us. This is a country with lots of isolated places and we are privileged to be able to see it in a very intimate way as not much separates a bicycle rider from his immediate environment. We have seen few homeless people and no beggars.
By the end of August, we have cycled across Sumatra and much of the way down its west coast (about 1,200 km). It was very, very hot and humid. Temp 35+ and humidity about 100%. The mornings were quite pleasant but about 10 AM or so it began to get oppressively hot. Strangely on a straight north south road, the equator crossing was marked at several different places.
The terrain along the west coast is jungle marked by deep river valleys. On a 120 km ride one might begin and end at sea level but do more than 1000 M of elevation because of deep and steep valleys. Each one is only 50 or so meters high but the bridge over the river at the bottom is invariably in terrible shape so one cannot carry any speed into what might be a 15% up- grade.
The roads are generally OK but occasionally disintegrate into a heap of crumbled pavement, large stones, and assorted debris. This seems to happen mainly at random, but a bridge is pretty much guaranteed to have bad stuff at both ends.
We in the west tend to think of roads as public, not private property. Not so here. Many roads have a private use as well as public uses. For example, it is not uncommon for sections to be used for drying rice, spices, nuts, and assorted other household consumables. Sometimes this happens on the shoulder but sometimes an entire lane will be used. Everyone, including the animals which range quite freely, seem to respect this space.
It is also not unusual for a section of the road to be appropriated for a private event of some sort. For example, every now and then, one comes across a large tent that has been erected across one lane of the road. These structures can house a wedding reception, a community function, or some other event like a funeral. The structures can cause havoc with the traffic, but no one seems to lose their cool over it. Life goes on.
In the evening, one can see whole lanes of streets closed off by street vendors who park their food carts, produce some awnings, tables, and benches, and create a pop-up restaurant. I guess that this cuts down on the cost of property and property taxes.
Another private use of roads happens when some person appears to take ownership of a section of the road and wants to charge others for its use. These people claim to have fixed a pothole or something and they then stand with a net outstretched asking for money from passersby. Enough people pay to make it worth their while. A similar phenomenon happens in cities. Someone will take ownership of a section of a curb then charge drivers who want to park there. It is a sort of privatized parking system on what we would think of as public property.
Who is to say that this system doesn’t work well for the people? This is a crowded and poor island. If entrepreneurial people can make a few rupiah, why not? In places where space is scarce, why not use public property more intensely?
How does one describe the tastes of Sumatra? First, the food has been uniformly interesting (in a good sense). Rice is the staple and is served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Normally one gets a bowl sized serving of plain white rice as a base dish. To that is added various morsels of other stuff. Fried rice (Padang) often accompanies the white rice and can contain veggies, bits of fish and variable amounts of spices varying from mild to curl your hair hot. Breakfast is whatever is left over from dinner the night before.
Chicken, typically deep fried, is a staple protein. With a spice coefficient that varies from just hot to nuclear hot, it is always to be approached with caution. What may appear to be an innocent piece of fried chicken can be a mouth burner. Other protein includes, occasionally, beef done in a very hot sauce and cooked for a long time. Tofu has been served at most of our meals. As we have made our way south, fish has become more common.
Veggies are surprisingly rare but again seem to be more common as we move south. I have tried to avoid uncooked veggies so have not eaten a lot of tomato or cucumber both of which are served frequently. There is a great variety of fruit available and served. It is not uncommon to see a small pickup loaded to the gunnels with pineapple careening down the road. Bananas are grown everywhere and served at most meals. Fresh oranges are readily available. Papaya is served a lot. And various fruits that I have been told the names of but cannot recall round out a fruit lovers paradise. And Durian is everywhere.
The local restaurants are interesting (not always in a good sense). It is often necessary get a supplemental lunch after the day’s ride. Most establishments are best described as holes in the wall but can be quite good. Most are highly specialized and serve only one kind of dish. Thus, when one selects their restaurant, they have pretty much selected what they are going to eat. I went to a place that served only satay. One could choose chicken, goat, or beef satay but satay it must be cooked and served by a one tooth woman. It was delicious but not a noodle or a grain of rice was to be found. I went to a fish restaurant and had a wonderful meal of grilled fish, shrimp, and octopus. That was what was being served and so that is what one got.
Our next step and your next installment is the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Temor.
– John Waterhouse
