Category Archives: Indonesia

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.

Day 121 – Rain in Solo

Nothing to keep us

Nothing to keep us

Our plans were a bit in pieces since we did not manage to get all the way to Pacitan. We did not feel like adding another day here before getting to Solo (also known as Surakarta, don’t ask), hence we passed on the first couple of beach detours along the way and headed straight for a Pacitan beach proper. The one we picked, closer to town was already developed for Indonesian tourists. That means no vegetation behind the beach, a vast desolate beachfront with moderate amounts of rubbish and some “fancy” places right at the beachfront with a bit of a view. All in all it was nothing that could coax us to stay for more than a coffee, especially with it being too hot to swim. We could have gone and check out one of the more remote beaches, but we were not feeling it today.

Adi, who was taking the first group shot

Adi, who was taking the first group shot

So off we went north towards Solo. About half an hour or so later, our bellies started rumbling once more (Nina’s a bit more than mine, she was not feeling too well) and we were looking for a place for lunch. For a moment, I was almost decided on heading out again from the palace we stopped. Now I am super glad I did not. For one, we had a really nice noodle soup and the Es Jeruk (Fresh citrus fruit juice on ice) was the best in a long while. But more important was what followed when we were about to leave after our lunch. Adi, the sweet proprietor, tried to make a point and with google translate it turned out he was pointing out we should have a longer break. A brief look outside explained why: Thick dark clouds were gathering and is was just about to start to rain. The rainy season has started in earnest now. That was all the convincing we needed. I got to put my bike inside under the roof and we all settled in for an hour or so to sit out the rain.

Apri and Bangun

Apri and Bangun

Adi dished out another round of Es Jeruk on the house for us, I got the second pineapple out and shared it in return with him and his wife. Then I got talking to two other fellas on a road trip with their Kawasaki Supermoto, Apri and Bangun. With the pleasant company and in a safe place, time really flew. Nina used the break to chill out and recharge her batteries a bit watching the rain soak the surrounding rice fields. When the rain stopped and it was time to go on, it was smiles all around and we all gathered around for a customary group shot around the bike.

too empty for our taste

too empty for our taste

Coming into Solo, I was surprised of how little was going on on the streets for a city this size. Traffic was almost easy and we found a hotel right next to the action in no time. The reason we were going to Solo was for Nina to check out the local Batik manufacturing and maybe get a present or two to send home. So after checking in, parking the bike securely and having our customary post-road shower, we got some time left to explore the “Batik Quarter”. Turns out, that same as in the rest of the city, the “sidewalks have been flipped up” as we say in Germany. Most shops and manufactures were closed. One was open, though it was the fanciest in town. Nina and I were quite overwhelmed with their massive store and their hefty prices. We still enjoyed a little tour though and having a look at the manufacturing process in the very back of the shop. Sadly, no pictures were allowed there.

For dinner we went out to a street recommended in the Lonely Planet. Next to the old Dutch fort, a street is closed off for traffic daily and a whole armada of stalls woe for the attention of potential diners. Only that, most like in the rest of town, no one was really out. We could count the people dining on two hands, with about three times as many stalls waiting on customers.  At least it did not detract from the taste. Nina got a grilled corn on the cobb and I had another delicious round of sate. All was well, except for Nina’s belly …

Nina’s comment: I started having stomach troubles in the morning and it didn’t get better during the day so I had a hard time riding the bike till Solo. Wasn’t very social and also not up to much.

Day 120 – Crashes

This could have been an uneventful day. Our only goal for today: Eat miles! With over 350 km to go till Solo, our next “want to see” item on the list, it was clear that we had to stop somewhere along the way, but no place was coming forward as a logical stopping point. All we did was set a route as far south as possible and got going. To force us south and avoid going through the busy and populated middle I set a waypoint on what I thought to be the last proper road somewhere half way between Malang and Pacitan.

This looks promising, and less traffic as well.

This looks promising, and less traffic as well.

After a light breakfast we got on the road early and were in for the first section of pain. The urban traffic of Malang was exhaustingly slow going. I would not mind if there were a ring road or motorway around, but everyone has to go right through the heart of the city. Two hours later we had covered maybe 20 km.

From here on out it got better, but in no way enjoyable. It seems that every possible stretch of flat land on Java is one endless settled mess. Rubbish, vehicle, people all moving about each other. The roads are good but full. It was one long exercise in overtaking. Everything was made even harder by a bunch of the worst drivers in Indonesia to this point. In ascending order: slow cars – Mostly new ones, so I expect inexperienced drivers plus tiny 800cc engines. Black Mitsubishi pickups – The primary means of short range haulage, most drivers think they are the main character in Gone in 60 seconds. Plus, they constantly try to squeeze in with the bikes and block everything. But the crown of jerks must go to bus drivers – The number of times we have seen these 10t death wielders force others off the road in just three short days is shocking. They stop where they want, they go where they want and I am sure if they were allowed to mount crash bars they would start pushing the people in front out of their way.

3 more seconds. See the deep rut on the right?

3 more seconds. See the deep rut on the right?

It was on a more densely settled stretch that we witnessed our first accident. We heard it mostly. With the sound of a giant water bottle being crumpled, someone came off their scooter just behind us. We stopped to check a couple of meters down and saw the rider crumpled on the ground, but there were already a bunch of others on the case. Plus, people started looking at us. We were not directly involved, but maybe someone was distracted by us or something. We felt it prudent to leave to avoid getting into a pickle here.

Then suddenly 50 km on, the same road took a turn and everything became bliss. There were steep mountains on the horizon, and when we hit them, the traffic turned to a trickle. The road got windy and settlements ended. We had a short rest in this stunning scenery, at a spot where we could even see the sea. Further down, the road became this beautiful brand new strip of tarmac, leading along the beach and sweeping on a new bridge over the river. And then, it stopped. The brand new road ended in a gravel track. On the GPS I saw another road maybe 500m down, and the gavel was not looking too bad. Even after a small river crossing … see, there was the other road, 50m ahead, just up the … very steep washed out track. Hmm. Nina got off and thus catastrophe commenced. Ten meters short of the seal, I hit a rut and dropped the bike. Nina was there in no time and we got the bike up again. A check revealed only minor damage. Good. When I got back up, Nina let go of the bike due to a miscommunication on my part and I fell hard into the exact same rut. Sandstone! This time, one of the paniers got a dent and a bunch of nasty scrapes and our mood was down to arctic levels.

The dent can be bashed back out, miffed about the sticker though ...

The dent can be bashed back out, miffed about the sticker though …

After a long breather and an assortment of curse words, we were now on the right road. Only to learn that it too would end just around the corner. So would every other, leaving only gravel tracks to go further. It turns out that I marked a gravel track as our waypoint and have led us into a 35km dead end 🙁 – Ah well, at least these were the nice 35 km. That, unfortunately also removed all hope to get to Pacitan in time tonight. Back where we took the wrong turn, I checked for hotels along the road and found two about 45 km further along. It would be a bit of a push but that seemed doable.

What followed was one of the nicest stretches of road in Indonesia, yet. A winding road led over the mountains towards the sea again. There was barely any traffic. The views were gorgeous and our spirits rose while our butts started to cave. We made it to Panggul on the coast by 5pm and the hotel was within our price range. We even found a warung with a lovely owner staying open for us so that we could get a dinner.

Day 119 – Sulphur and torrent

The apporaching road

The apporaching road

We managed to leave Probolinggo rather early. This was recommended for a visit to the volcano Gunung Bromo as clouds tend to gather around the peak later in the day. Bromo is part of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park (who would have guessed) and thus cost us another round of entrance fees. We had looked up the prices on the internet before going which is why we avoided going yesterday as prices are higher on the weekend. One ticket for foreigners is 217k which is even more expensive. Too expensive for us, we decided. Going as far as we could, having a look around and then leaving before entering the national park was the plan.

As so many plans, it’s only good until its first contact with reality. 🙂 The road up to the caldera was beautiful already and the ride very enjoyable. I took many pictures…maybe too many as my camera later died.

Arriving at the entrance gate, it sure cost 217k per person. Still too much for us. But the moment we turned around, we felt really bad. We discussed it another time, turned around again and Flo went in to the ticket booth to get tickets. Coming out again, he smiled and said “we came to a mutually agreeable arrangement” that was kind to our budget. No need to ask any further. 😉

All three, Batok, Bromo and the last one barely visible

All three, Batok, Bromo and the last one barely visible

Ten meters into the park, you get the first view onto Bromo. The caldera is a massive ashen plane, 10km across with the smoldering Bromo in the distance and the volcano Batok next to it. The plane is actually called Laotian Pasir which translates to Sea of Sand. The whole thing looks amazing; the local horses only add to the picture even if we had to decline a horse ride across the plane multiple times.

Having our own iron steed, we tackled the approach through the volcanic ash. Rocinante did well, we only wobbled once during a stretch of deep sand. Past the temple was a little “parking lot” from where we hiked up to the crater of Bromo.

The sound from the crater was unnerving ... a constant low rumble

The sound from the crater was unnerving … a constant low rumble

Many, many steps lead up to a stone fence which is the only thing separating you from a drop into the bubbling lake releasing plume after plume of sulphur clouds. It is eerie up there (and smelly) but also amazing. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the vast view back over the plane for a while. Here, my camera started to cry for help. It hadn’t been charged last night.

Leaving, our only remaining plan was a vague direction towards Malang and a desire to take the road on the south coast. Still on the slope we stopped for lunch which is even cheaper on Java than on other islands. It was the first time, durian was hanging from the roof. Durian is also known as the smelliest fruit in the world…it even stinks when it is still in its husk. We had the bad fortune of having other customers there who ordered durian as a snack. That cut our break short, I think.

Only photo from the safety of our place for the night

Only photo from the safety of our place for the night

Being only 60km from Malang now, we planned to go further today. However, we didn’t have a break from 2pm to 3pm which now should be known as “the time it rains” but only put on our waterproof jackets. Big mistake. A whole torrent came down, nothing the roadside gullies could deal with so the streets flooded within minutes. Serious flooding as the water stood higher here than on many river crossings we have done in the past. To make it worse, the traffic slowed to a stop as it narrowed down to only one lane. Passing the obstacle, we weren’t sure if it was an accident or a construction site.

Being completely soaked through from the hips downwards, including water standing in our boots, the decision to stay in Malang was easy. And we got very lucky: We found a super nice guest house that looks like something of an Ikea catalogue for 100k a night! That might be our cheapest night yet. Free tea and coffee was offered and we spent the afternoon lounging on the couches surfing the free wifi and enjoying being inside. And dry. Outside, there was a lightning storm directly above us with thunder so loud, I jumped each time.

Finally, the rain stopped so we went for dinner. Cities are just so convenient. Around two corners, a lovely place called “Noodles Inc” caught our eye. It was well frequented by posh young people and looked very modern. Hand-pulled noodles in a mie dish were yummy and quite spicy. I topped it off with a “chocolate cookie cream” drink which defeated my straw due to the cookie crumbles in it. 🙂

Day 118 – Overdue (Stats 103 Timor-Leste)

cc-by Nicolas Raymond

cc-by Nicolas Raymond

A lot of little things to do accumulate when we are travelling. Most of the time, we do not get through all of them in our evening downtime. Or the required facilities are not around (WiFi, Laundries etc). So the little scratches, tears and aches accumulate, until it is time to just not move, rest, watch a movie and get through our homework.

We stayed in our Probbolingo hotel for one more day. They had WiFi, a good warung across the street and bug-free beds (I murdered a lone bedbug, but I feel that we have brought that with us).

We got our mid-term plans for Indonesia to Malaysia shipping and a visit to my dad in Thailand over Christmas / New Year’s sorted out in concept. There is even time to finally do the Timor-Leste stats post. So here we go. Continue reading →

Day 117 – Ninja Turtles

hard to tell who is more excited ...

hard to tell who is more excited …

Staying right at Sukamade beach had one clear advantage: We could tag along to the release of hatchlings in the morning! It would be an early start at 6am but well worth it. A few words to the turtle saving program at Sukamade first though. The beach is, for some reason, the preferred beach for laying eggs for green turtles and leatherback turtles. No one really knows why as there are similar beaches around but it is how it is. Currently, Sukamade is part of the Meru Betiri National Park and a turtle saving program has been running since 1988. Turtles will come on land to lay eggs, burrow them and then go back into the ocean, leaving vulnerable eggs on the beach. Those eggs are threatened by natural predators such as wild boars, crabs and even ants but maybe even more so from poachers. To help keep turtles numbers up, the rangers dig up the eggs, burrow them in their own hatchery and release the hatched turtles back into the ocean.

Since 2005, all adult turtles coming on land to lay eggs are checked and tagged. Flo and I were lucky enough to see a green turtle last night as it was checking out the beach, probably to lay eggs later. Continue reading →

Day 116 – By any means

Sadly, she decided not to lay eggs (before we were allowed there). Only 30% nests compared to last year.

Sadly, she decided not to lay eggs (before we were allowed there). Only 30% nests compared to last year.

The moon stood almost full in the sky, peeking through impressive backlit clouds. The surf was thundering a couple of meters away and there is no light but the moon’s. Excitedly, our little party patrolled the beach. We spotted tracks in the sand, but the real goal of this nightly adventure was nowhere to be seen, until finally: A one meter long greenback turtle was spotted, scuttling over the beach. The ranger turned on his torch, we walked up from behind not to disturb it. What a magnificent sight. We are once again humbled and stunned by our trip.  How did we get here?

Continue reading →

Day 115 – Selamat tinggal, Bali!

Yes, there was Leberwurscht for breakfast. And yes, Flo had it. I didn’t. As you probably guessed. =P The pool was smooth as and really tempting but we withstood it…barely. Toes were dipped in…

A re-purposed boat..very cool

A re-purposed boat..very cool

After breakfast, we said goodbye to Richard and drove off to Pemuteran. It didn’t take long at all so we arrived at Joe’s bar at 11am, just when it opened. Joe wasn’t there yet so we sat down and had a lemon juice. During this one drink, Joe arrived. Joe is a friend of Santosh who called him to announce us so he knew something about our travels.

Talking to Joe was awesome but since we only drove about 40km so far, we were itching to get a bit more miles (kilometres actually) under our wheels (and butts). After two hours, a piece of Black Forest cake with vanilla ice cream and Joe’s Indonesian insight, we drove another 30 minutes to get to the ferry harbour in Gilimanuk. Here, the tickets were very cheap and ferries seem to leave every 5min. Java is so close at this point of Bali that I joked I could probably swim over if the ferry sank. The ferry did look dodgy this time.

Rocinante is hiding between trucks

Rocinante is hiding between trucks

Handing our $3 ticket to an official, we were waved onto the ferry where other officials played real-life Tetris to get the optimal loading for the given space. Flo had to move Rocinante once, when a better spot opened up after the trucks were shuffled a bit.

Supposedly, the ferry takes 30min but ours was the slowest wreck ever built and it took a freaking hour to get us across with other ferries overtaking us left and right.

Finally, we were riding out onto Javanese soil. Our second to last Indonesian island had been reached. With leaving Touristland™, we were now back in the land with stretches of no warungs and the standard of accommodation also dropped immediately. This time though, we also get the price cut with it though. Crossing over to Java also meant crossing another time zone. Thus it was still rather early but we were both knackered so we decided to stay in Bakauheni where the Lonely Planet had advertised for a very cheap and basic place. Exactly what we were looking for: Just beds and a mandi. Perfect for 92k.

Being in our room and having internet enabled us to do some “homework”. Well, mostly Flo did the homework really. First, we checked on the status of our passports which was “processed in Bali”. What did that mean? Did we get the visa or not? Why are our passports in Bali? Are they still there? Or again despite us asking to pick them up in Jakarta? Unfortunately, calling vfs didn’t clarify much. Yes, the passports were on their way back to Bali (just when we left it *facepalm*) but luckily, they could be intercepted and are still in Jakarta. But they couldn’t tell us if the visa had been granted. So we checked immigration New Zealand were our status was “pending”. How can be pending when our passports are on the way back?

It took a while to get through but then the staff in NZ explained that our visa was granted and that our status says “pending” as the visa has no end date and thus breaks the system. YUUUUUUUSS, permanent New Zealand residents!

Day 114 – The Leberwurst Connection

It was almost a sin not to have taken a photo of our marvelous breakfast. Then again, some things should be enjoyed uninterrupted. We decided to go all in with the level of the accommodation and have breakfast there. It was excellent: Freshly toasted home made bread, local made jams, fresh fruit salad, scrambled egg and fresh juice. It was so delicious! We even had briefly considered staying another night, but after that breakfast we were thoroughly luxuried out.

View back north where we came from

View back north where we came from

We took our time and were back on the road by 11 am. By chance of our starting position, our GPS chose a beautiful back road back up the mountain towards our first goal. The three lakes looked cool on the map and as expected delivered on beautiful roads and moderate amounts of tourists.

We briefly dipped down to the lakes themselves, but found little to hold us for longer. The first one was the most touristy and after realizing that we stopped in front of another temple. Half way out of our gear we did a 180° and were back on the road in no time. The second lake was quieter and had the first campground we found in Indonesia on its shores. It was too early to think of camping and the warung had no food – so after a quick drink with lake view we headed for the ridge road over the last two lakes.

at lunch, great spot

at lunch, great spot

Coming in we saw that the ridge road had plenty of eateries with a view, so that is where we were heading for. The road held true with all levels of eateries. We ended up stopping at a top end warung run by a french expat. He had the trees on the lake side cleared and put up tables across the street so that guest could eat with a view. I had a chat with the owner, who it turned out had been travelling quite a bit in his day.

I still did not make it all the way back to our table after that. As happened in New Zealand, a couple on vacation from Germany noticed the German licence plate on Rocinante and we got talking some more. Alexandra and Patrick seemed definitively to be on the nicer end of tourists we encounter. Just earlier that day we had another weird run in with Germans that re-affirmed our dislike for “touristy” areas. We got asked the same disinterested questions and then got ignored while answering because they had to purchase ridiculously overpriced rubbish from hawkers. Anyway, we gave a business card to Alexandra and Patrick when they left and soon after headed out ourselves.

german welcome for a german bike

german welcome for a german bike

The last itinerary for the day before finding a place to stay. Back in Dili, we got an address from fellow German traveller Hubert – go and say hi to Richard at his place in Lovina. Aptly named “Deutsches Eck” (German corner) we were in for a rough culture shock. Richard has build himself a good life here, with a family and a good little hotel. As we were ready to head out again to find a place to stay (the rooms here are a bit too pricey for us) Richard offered us to stay on the bale bengong (A 3x3m raised platform with a roof for shade that is out front most houses for chilling during the day). We got a mosquito net and there were even blinds, all for an unbeatable fee for the night. When he threw in the promise of “Leberwurst” and sour dough bread, we could not refuse, could we?

So we stuck around for the night, chatted to Richard’s sons, other guests and German expats that came by and gathered further contacts along what we dubbed the “Leberwurst Connection” – a row of German expats along our further path through Indonesia. Speaking German again and even seeing German dishes on the menu was cool and supremely weird at the same time. Definitively something we will need to process a bit once back on the road.