Day 390 Bandung – Pangandaran (Indonesia) / motorbike GS Dakar RTW overland adventure traveller

• Left – 8am
  
• 30th April 2015
• Miles rode – 184 (294km)

Its a game of two halves…

I’ve loved riding through Indonesia fast, off road at times but I also needed to slow down and experience Indonesia as I imagined it might be.

It took 30 minutes to get out of the heavy traffic, exhaust fumes and madness before the dimples started to appear on my cheeks as I ascended the mountain, I could smell the jungle not pollution. I had seen on the map before I left I had to cross a mountain to get to the Indian Ocean. Mr Dan, as I’ve been called for the past days was very happy, twistys, blue skies, tea plantations, jungle and lakes.

I’m so slow today, so very slow.

I stopped for coffee at a shack in the mountains and there was a group of young biker boys there, coffee 10 pence. I then spent an hour riding through one of the most beautiful places in Southeast Asia, Cisewu, which was high in the mountain, calm, not poor, lovely, tranquil, no rubbish, fertile paid fields in terraces cut out of the jungle, the steepest hills and tightest corners ever. I had to stop and absorb this wonderful place, the only noises were insects and birds, hardly any cars and motorbikes, just me, the narrow road and peace. I had to ride slow.

If I had to live in a jungle this would be perfect for me, small well kept villages, happy people, perfection.

I had been looking for a Cisewu for days, weeks and months, all my senses were on fire, it’s magical. I travelled only 90 miles in four hours.

I then dropped down the mountain and saw the Indian Ocean, blue skies, blue sea and massive waves crashing into the shore. I’ve found it!

At midday I stopped in a remote fishing village only accessible by a dirt track. I stayed for an hour or so, a family with a house (Shack) on the beach gave me coffee and fried banana. How kind.

I spent the next hour or so riding down the coast and then I stopped at 3.30pm for a drink! I noticed some black stuff on the engine and other parts of the bike, I’m no mechanic but knew it wasn’t good. For the next hour or so I took the bike apart looking for the source of the black stuff, it wasn’t oil, what was it? I checked most thing and couldn’t work out where it came from. The bike was running perfectly and all fluids at the correct levels? This was one of those times I wished I was a mechanic! As it sounded perfect and I couldn’t find the source I re assembled everything and continued on.

I felt so annoyed that I didn’t have the skills to establish what the black I stuff was. I’ll investigate further tomorrow.

I got going again at 5pm and had 20 miles to my destination, Pangandaran. I checked into a homestay and later found my perfect bar. Cool 1970’s tunes, beer, no tourist and the waves crashing into the beach behind me.

I spent the evening talking to Teti an amazing woman of 27 who is a teacher at the local school working six days a week. She lives and also works seven days a week at the bar, her room above the bar is very small. She gets up at 5am, teaches from 7am – 2pm and then returns to the bar (on the beach) to work, she finishes at 1am so she only gets about 4 hours sleep a night and she’s feels tired often. That’s seven days a week. At midnight Teti started preparing food for tomorrow having worked 19 hours already today. Teti sends money to her family who live an hour away, she visits once every month.

Teti worked whilst the guy that also worked at the bar drank beer and laughed with his friends…

Teti, your an amazing woman. Yes, I did tell her, more than once.

It’s all about amazing Teti.