Simply cycling around
[wpgmza id=”100″]
This is my first indonesian cycling step. First thing I can say is people here are extremely friendly. I’ve been cycling two days in Bali and have been invited the first night. Bali being small I quickly reached the ferry and arrived in Java. From there I visited the north side of the island and then went inland towards Bromo. This place was really impressive. Finally I’ve been cycling through the center and met a nice Family with who I stayed a week.
Today is not as tough as yesterday. I’ve spent maybe 40min on a hill this morning and all the rest of the trip was mainly downhill. For lunch I’ve stopped in a rest area which was next to a lake. The warung was specialised in prawns so the meal was a bit more expensive than usual. Then I had a nap of two hours in my hammock next to a river. It was fantastic :-) Finally I made my way to Pare where I’ve stopped for dinner and expected to find a place to sleep around. But I got lucky again! I met Maria and her family and they invited me to stay in her house for the night. How lucky is that :-) Let’s discover this day right now :-)
Really tough day today. The last one like this was when I was in New Zealand doing the Heaphy Track. I had to walk with my bike during a good 10km, onto sand, rocks and steep hills. I’ve finally reached the summit at 2722m (from what said the GPS). I was very happy to be there because of the view first, and secondly because I knew I would do some downhill for the rest of the day which is very cool :-).
Today I visited Mount Bromo which is very impressive! The volcano is still active and this huge landscape let speechless. I had a guide for myself and paid certainly more more than I should because the package normally includes a trip to a higher lookout to enjoy the sunrise. I did not want to wait until tomorrow so I’ve stated the visit late this morning. Because I was alone with Neto, the guide and driver he came with me up to the top of Mount Bromo when normally he stays down there, sleeping in his car (each sunrise tour starts at 3am). When we finished the tour, he invited me in his home for lunch and I met his family. I don’t know if it was a special treatment or if he does that everytime but it’s was nice. Neto is a good guy :-)
Last night was hard, hard on my back as I slept in a motorcycle workshop. I did not dare to use my mattress as some people sleep the same way like I just did but every night or at least very often. It was hard to get asleep at the beginning because of the constant traffic but after a while I got used to and released the pressure. The guys were very nice with me this morning and the manager of the next door warung wanted to offer me the breakfast. I must refused this offer after they did help me to find a safe place where to stay overnight.
Today I’m still riding along the Java north coast towards Surabaya. I will definitely avoid this city as it’s the second biggest after Jakarta and I won’t enjoy the heavy traffic. After having done some few research online I will turn left towards Malang which is in land. Again today I had a different experience when I stopped on a rest area. I did the “adventurer model” for some people I met on the street and say “Halo” 1000 times, at least :-) Hard life!
Unfortunately last night was not as good as I expected. My hammock did a perfect job but the guys singing yesterday until 22pm (maybe more) and so early this morning broke all my expectations. Anyway, today is the day when I come to Java. It’s going to be a new adventure and not as scary as balinese people told me. I met very friendly Javanese people today!