The food in Indonesia is overall ok, but at some of the places where I have been, the menus are not in English, so I order what I think is fish or chicken and wait for the surprise that comes out of the kitchen. During a full day of biking I can easily eat 5 times a day to keep my energy levels up. So my meals are important, and it can get tricky sometimes when you don't know what you are ordering...
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| Looks a bit like a flying fish |
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| I thought I ordered chicken, but had to leave the heads, couldn't eat those |
Surabaya was my first big city since Brisbane. I started out early in the morning so I had enough time to find a place to sleep, and make sure I did not lose the way. There was lots of traffic once again, and I found myself at the Art Hotel - it was such a nice experience. A beautiful place with nice people and amazing art. They let me keep my bike with me in the room on the second floor. If you come to Surabaya, stop over at the Art Hotel - definitely worth having a look.
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| My room at Art Hotel |
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| The Art Hotel |
I had to keep pressing on and biking harder than ever to get to Jakarta in time before my visa expired, so there was not much time for visits or socials. It was great however to always have smiling, friendly faces wherever I went. I cycled through many towns which don't see a lot of tourists, so I felt a bit famous as everyone smiled and waved, or offered me a place to sleep, or wanted photos of me and the bike. When I passed a school early one morning, all the children came running to the gate to wave to me. On another occasion I was invited to a wedding, first for photos, then drinks and then a tasty meal of Satay Ayam, and of course plenty of smiles.
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| Friendly faces and smiles wherever I go |
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| A school in Kudus early one morning as I cycled past, they all came to wave to me |
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| Me and the wedding couple |
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| Satay Ayam |
The next leg of the journey was over the ocean to Batam and from there a ferry to Singapore. Whilst waiting for the ship I managed to catch up on some sleep (12 hours a night for 3 nights in a row - amazing). And of course the inevitable happened - I got sick from something I ate. Unbelievable that it didn't happen sooner! Thank goodness there was a couple of days before the ship arrived, and there were great people there to help get me to a doctor and get medicine before I had to board. It also gave my knees a chance to rest as they were taking strain after all the long days of cycling.
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| Waiting for the ship |
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| Early morning boarding |
I got to the ship at 5am in the morning. It is only a passenger ship, which is divided into 4 classes. They first put me into the 4th class, one big space with foam mattresses and 600 people in one space! We are really spoiled with the Cook Strait ferry. The people are really nice, but speak very little English and me only a little bahasa Indonesia, I am the only foreigner. Still very warm, around 28 degrees, and it is 8pm at night. So after the 27 hour journey, and then the ferry ride to Singapore, I get back on the bike again for the next adventure! Selamat Tinggal :)
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| Selamat Tinggal |
