Tag Archives: Andy

Day 126 – Borobudur

“When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” – Gautama Buddha as quoted in Civilization V Brave New World

Saying goodbye to Andy who hosted us for a couple of days. He even prepared lunch care packages for us today.

Saying goodbye to Andy who hosted us for a couple of days. He even prepared lunch care packages for us today.

Before heading out, we had one last morning with Andy. He really pulled all the stops for us. Not least of all getting up with us at 7 in the morning. Staff in the cafe remarked on the fact that they have never seen him around this early. Once again, all we can give is our appreciation and gratitude for what he has done for us. We had breakfast together, got the bike out and loaded up. After we got one last of Andy’s treat for the road, all that was left was to say goodbye. It has been a great weekend, just what we needed and a pleasure to meet fine Andy again. Hugs and goodbye, back on the road.

All the routing tips from Andy were absolutely golden. The first one led us away from the truck laden main highway through the fresh green countryside towards our first goal of the day: Borobodur.

Stairs leading up to the platform on top

Stairs leading up to the platform on top

We were a bit apprehensive about going. The price tag is hefty on our new Indo adjusted budget and we had such a bad experience at the Mother Temple on Bali. But then again, it is on the cover of our Lonely planet, so what can you do? Overly prepared to be annoyed we actually ended up having a pretty good time. Yes, the hawkers were the worst in Java, but on the other hands there was almost no crowd. Borobudur is impressive for a 1200 year old structure, with great scenery to boot, but not on the level of the Vatican, Milford Sound or Uluru. I wanted to come here, if only to bag as many Civ wonders along the way as possible and we did not leave disappointed.

Right after the Temple, we stopped in a roadside warung to get some drinks to go with our treats from Andy. The panini with home made pesto were soooo good! We will miss Andy, but we will also miss his food 🙂

And, of course, along the coast

And, of course, along the coast

On we went, following the south coast to Cilacap. Once again, we have to thank Andy for the recommendation. The traffic was light. We passed over several hills and through beautifully green fields and were in Cilacap by 4 pm. For the first time in a long while, we had a bit of a challenge in finding a room for the night. The first hotel was out of our league, the second I turned down because of the horrible smell of cigarettes in the room. We ended up in a rather odd place in the end: The go-to business hotel for the local (state run) Pertamina refinery. The price fit though, and the next day we got the manager really excited when he realised that we were on a big touring bike, so all was well.

Day 125 – Ride out with the Scooby gang

Sunday. Finally, I was doing better. Probably not as well as I’d like to be but well enough to be social again. Me doing better also decides our next step: This will be our last rest day; tomorrow, the road will have us back.

Cool countryside

Cool countryside

Under that premise, I was very much inclined to spend another day in bed. BUT, it was Sunday. Sunday is the free day for the four backpackers helping out at Andy’s and Shinta’s place at the moment and Andy had plans for a ride out, showing them some of Jogja. We were invited, too. For quite a while we were about two minds…seeing some of Jogja would be great…doing the rest of our “homework” would also be great.

In the end, we decided to join the Scooby gang for half a day. We gathered at “AS coffee” were we are staying. Andy took Laura as a pillion, Victor and Camille shared a bike, then Flo and I on the tiny bike that Andy had given us for driving in town and Yanto with Cecil as a pillion were at the back.

The gang and the ladies from the orphanage

The gang and the ladies from the orphanage

The first stop was at an orphanage in town. Andy and Shinta had sponsored a filter station for water so that the kids have clean water to drink and this was a check-up after a couple of months if everything still works as it is supposed to. As a side business, the orphanage also sells some of the water to generate a bit of income. All in all a great project. The kids weren’t around though so we “only” got to see the filter station and talk to some lovely ladies from the orphanage.

Leaving here, the plan was to head to the river for a swim. However, two things happened which made this part of the ride out more than remarkable. First, there was a police check point at the bridge were we wanted to cross the river. Andy stopped a bit before it to make sure everybody would be good to go through…and of course, we were not. Not even Flo had his driver’s licence with him…so we needed an alternative route to the place. Instead of heading straight across the river, we took a turn in midst of a large group of young people on their motorbikes. It kinda looked like a gang to begin with and they all also avoided the police check point. So when we checked that everyone made the turn and drifted off behind the big group, we saw a guy at the street side, waving a big gun in the air in a way that was not very confidence-inducing. He also looked quite angry. When he realized that the motorcycle gang had passed and just a bunch of tourists remained, he stuffed the gun in the pocket of his pants, again in a not much confidence-inducing manner. Andy just checked that all four bikes were there and we drove off, turning off this street as soon as we could. I was really quite shaken. Though we have seen a couple of firearms on this trip so far, none ever had been waved around like that.

crossing this bridge to get to the swimming place

crossing this bridge to get to the swimming place

The river spot was very secluded and quiet so we all spent some time sitting on the edge talking. Andy sprinted into the water for a swim but was only joined by Victor in the end. The day was overcast and not hot enough for me to get in. Flo put his feet in but not more.

Another short ride away, up in the hills, we had lunch at a local warung. Andy knows all the good places around here and ordered Nasi Campur for the whole group. Suddenly, while eating, I felt sick again but luckily not enough so to throw up. It was 2pm by now so Flo and I waved good bye to the gang and headed back to headquarters to get our stuff done.

Everybody else arrived back at “AS coffee” at around 4.30pm where Andy concluded the ride out with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and some cakey-fudgy-thingy for everyone. So yummy! Flo then went on to take apart our broken charger cable for the laptop. This time, he had a much better chance of fixing it as he was allowed to use Andy’s “man cave” work bench with tools and a soldering iron. We even got to polish our shoes because they really, really needed it by now.

Soldering the Surface cable ...

Soldering the Surface cable …

In the evening, Andy introduced us to “Mondo Enduro”, a film which we know from hearsay as it is a classic but haven’t gotten around to watching yet. So we watched most of it but then take away dinner arrived and we were interrupted by it.

Dinner was shared by all of the Scooby gang again which was lovely as this way, we got to say good bye to everyone. The plan for tomorrow was to start quite early and we weren’t sure who would be up by this point.

Day 124 – Bikes, big and small

I have been in contact with Andy for a while before we came here and he was helping me to sort out a spare part that was getting urgent. The brake pads on the front breaks (the Transalp has two disks on the front wheel) where getting precariously close to the wear indicator. Luckily, there is one bike sold in Indonesia that uses the same pads (for the most part), the “enormous” CBR 250 ABS. Although the parts list say that only the right side is compatible, I found that the same model could be used for the left side if a spacer from the old set is reused.

Andy found a shop that at least has one pair and was going to drop me off there to get things worked out from here (and check on the state of one of his bikes in the shop). When we turned up they did not only produce one but two sets of pads for me, so all I had to do was get Rocinante and fit them to be 100% sure. Andy rode us to where Rocinante was safely stored away and showed me the way back to the shop. I was back there in no time.

The engineer who rode my bike into the shop got jealous stares from everyone else. I was more worried about my bike. Sure, the Indonesians can ride, but they are used to half the weight and power. At least they picked the tallest guy in the shop and he could almost reach the ground with his feet …

The work was done in 10 minutes and once we found the ABS reset plug everything was good to go. Both sides fitted. It was just in time as well as the old ones both were down to 0.7mm and the wear indicator.

Later that day, I got to use Andy’s tools (well, a rubber mallet) to have a go at my dented pannier. It worked pretty well. I hope the fancy mounting brackets of the ZEGA II pro will last the rest of the trip though. They are starting to bend and warp all over.

The rest of the day was a continuation of yesterday. Chilling, good conversations and a great dinner from Andy. This time we got his take on Indonesian food. I tell you, the eggplants in chilli were to die for! Later I found out that Andy is not only a good cook but also magically efficient in getting the kitchen back into shape. Colour me impressed!

Day 123 – please re-charge to avoid data loss (4th Month-y-versary)

Andy dishing up delicious home-made food for the hungry mob

Andy dishing up delicious home-made food for the hungry mob

This one will be short and sweet, since the two main activities today were eating and sleeping. Albeit, it was some of the best eating and sleeping we have done in a long while. This was mostly to the credit of our amazing host, Andy. Even though his other half Shita was out of town and he was busy as, he made us feel so comfy and welcome. This was the best stay for us since Herman’s place back in Dili, over a month ago now.

Nina st ayed in bed most of the day to recover, mostly coming out for great food. It started with a decadent breakfast across the street. Great muesli, fresh juice and cinnamon rolls. Lunch was sorted with a cheap as chips takeaway nasi campur. In between we both read and watched some youtube, catching up on our favourite channels (happy late Pizzamas to all Nerdfighters).

The calm before the digging in

The calm before the digging in

Andy was busy getting the work sorted out for the four backpackers for most of the day, but we got some time to chat about bikes and travel in the afternoon and more after dinner. Andy got some really cool bike projects going. He also helped me forge a plan for tomorrow, getting Rocinante’s front breaks and oil change sorted out.

Dinner was the golden highlight of the day. Since the four backpackers get meals on top of their free accommodation, Andy put his skills as a chef to great use and prepared Italian food for the nine of us (including the other house guest and visiting Brasilian intern). Spaghetti, salad, home made pesto and heaps of homemade pizzas rolled out of the tiny kitchen in their café / shop. Cooking on a boat really seems to hone that talent for efficient use of space. The taste was none the less impressive. I loved sitting in the café, the long table buzzing with people and food and good conversation.

No doubt, we needed, no still need that break. But this is as good a place to have it as we could wish for.

Day 122 – On to Yogyakarta

I wasn’t really doing much better today. However, we both agreed that being so close to Yogya and with us not liking Solo that much, I needed to be tough and get through this day before crashing.

In Solo

In Solo

After breakfast, we tried the Batik quarter again, just to see if more shops were open in the morning. A couple more were open at 8 am but maybe this was now a bit too early for this rather sleepy town. Anyhow, that fancy shop yesterday with its hand-drawn batiks and natural colours had an impact on me liking the printed cloth now and I didn’t find a new sarong to add to my collection. Those fancy ones were really nice and way out of our price range though.

Slightly disappointed, we walked back and headed into one more Batik department store before we reached the hotel. The AC had cooled it down to icy cold so we took our time browsing the clothes and fabrics. Flo found a shirt that he really, really liked but all the sizes were too big on him until staff undressed a mannequin for him to get a smaller size available. We ended up buying it because it’s really, really nice and fancy. Yes, it cost more than we wanted to spend and yes, the price was still laughably small if Flo would still earn. So we went for it as it was one of the things we had agreed on before even starting the trip: New sarong for me, batik shirt for Flo. With the very limited space that we have, this seems a good compromise between not buying anything and wanting to have souvenirs.

Nice views despite the clouds

Nice views despite the clouds

Back in the hotel, we packed…I had a good round of vomiting…and we left for the temple Candi Sukuh halfway up Gunung Lawa. This was the only thing for today before heading to Yogyakarta. I was dreading the temple due to our experience in Bali but it turned out to be a very small one, unused by now with only one “warung souvenir”, no hawkers and almost no other tourists.

The temple itself is undergoing some maintenance at the moment which was a pity but the views down to the Solo plain were still great. We didn’t take long to move through the area once but it was lunch time by the time we moved on.

Only a couple of kilometers away, we stopped at a warung where I tried some plain rice in the hopes of keeping it but had to ditch my lemon squash as my stomach sent a clear “too early” message. Flo liked his food and the home-made sambal though.

Spelling again ...

Spelling again …

Finally, we were on our way to Yogya. Andy and Shinta who we met on Flores quite a while back have a cafe and a home stay where we were headed to crash a couple of days. In my perception, the last 100 km took forever but we arrived at the “AS coffee” at around 4 pm with neither Andy nor Shinta around. Staff was lovely though, telling us that Andy would be back at 6 pm so we settled down for a coffee. Despite my stomach, I had to try the “Java chocolate” and was drinking it in tiny sips to make sure it’s okay.

At some point, Andy called and we were invited to come to his other place which has a pool to hang out and drop our bike there as it has secure parking. That’s what we did.

Andy's cats chilling

Andy’s cats chilling

When we arrived, Andy and four backpackers were just getting ready to get food so we passed on the pool for now and tagged along. Since our bike would spend the night here, Andy sorted us with a small local bike which Flo loved instantly. We followed the jeep to a roadside warung which had quite the selection of unusual warung food, including sea snail skewers, whole roasted quail and cow skin. I still stuck to coconut rice and a bit of tofu though, not trusting the peace completely. It was good food. Andy collected the remaining meat scraps to take home for his four adopted cats and we went back to the cafe.

Cafe is probably a bit misleading as most of the space is filled with goods of Indonesia that you can buy. It is all very colourful and you can spend way too much money here: batik, leather bags and wallets, silver jewelry, clothes and all kinds of nifty tidbits. Of course, there are also tables inside and outside to sit at for your coffee and four cats running around….well, mostly sleeping really. A very home-y place.

The day had been long enough for me though so I headed straight upstairs to our room and slept while Flo shared stories and a beer with Andy.