Getting the job done
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Day 14 – 14/03/15
Start – Floor of roadside hut, eastern Java jungle Finish – Service station prayer room (mushola), city in central Java Distance travelled – 500km (est) Words by - Johnny Bang |
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We slept on the floor of a roadside jungle hut. It was about midnight when we stopped, and it was free (if you don’t count the $4 we spent on street food with the vendor first). I am beginning to really like the laid-back attitudes of Indonesian people - when we asked if there was anywhere nearby to sleep, the old laid just pointed to the floor and said ‘sleep’. I was only too happy to oblige – I just politely smiled and lay down where she pointed. I was too tired to even take my jacket off.
We were woken up a lot by passing trucks, a 150cc road bike gang hitting the nearby mountain pass, and some curious locals checking out our ‘big’ bikes. Not the best night sleep I have ever enjoyed - but after 14 hours on the road I could have slept on a bag of rusty nails.
I am impressed by the variety of vehicles on the road – there seem to be no rules - if you can find a motor, weld a frame and bolt-on some wheels, presto! You’re on the road.
I mean, I thought we were doing this trip on the cheap with our 250cc bikes, but then we got chatting to a local dude that just grabbed a bit of steel tube and knobby tyres and knocked-up his own dirt bike. Refer picture below next to Shaun’s Super Sherpa (Shaun’s Sherpa is the one at the back).
On the outskirts of a city I also noticed groups of kids building their own wacky carts. It was real mad-max stuff - like an 8 wheeled 7 seater go cart, a stretched 4 seater Vespa, and a mean 2 stroke stand-up scooter. I tried to take a photo but it didn’t turn out (a photo while riding one handed at 60km/hr at night in the rain didn’t turn out – who would have thought?). I promise to get a photo before I leave (in safer circumstances of course).
These vehicles, and some of the buildings we have stayed in, has made me appreciate the Indonesian ingenuity and spirit of just ‘get the job done’. Sometimes I think Australia is more like, ‘let’s make a resolution to form a committee to discuss writing procedures to plan to get the job done’. When I see what is achieved with so little resources over here I mourn what feels like a strangulation by red tape and fear of litigation in Australia.
In other news, we rode for a few hours in the wet today, which was a fantastic opportunity to test my wet weather gear. Where to begin? Let’s start at the top. My helmet was given to me by a mate and the visor is from the wrong model, so at speed it shoots water into my eyes. My $40 gumtree jacket leaks like a sieve and has now turned blue (I think the previous owner just spray-painted it black?) and my ‘waterproof’ hiking boots are better at keeping water in than out.
My wet-weather pants probably performed best, but unfortunately when everything else is wet, it doesn’t make much difference. So all in all, in a good shower my gear keeps me dry for about 5 minutes (about as long as it takes me to put it all on when I see the rain coming). Oh well, it’s not like we are riding across Asia in the monsoon season…
That reminds me – Shaun’s Sherpa is great, but he has somehow managed to find and buy a bike that doesn’t work in the rain. Every time it rains I am waiting for the radio call from Shaun: ‘Sherpa’s Dead’
In other other news, today there was a moment riding up a mountain pass in eastern Java when I looked to my right and watched a volcano explode in the (not-too-distant) distance. That single moment was so awesome it has justified all the challenges I have had to overcome to be here. Stoked.
We were woken up a lot by passing trucks, a 150cc road bike gang hitting the nearby mountain pass, and some curious locals checking out our ‘big’ bikes. Not the best night sleep I have ever enjoyed - but after 14 hours on the road I could have slept on a bag of rusty nails.
I am impressed by the variety of vehicles on the road – there seem to be no rules - if you can find a motor, weld a frame and bolt-on some wheels, presto! You’re on the road.
I mean, I thought we were doing this trip on the cheap with our 250cc bikes, but then we got chatting to a local dude that just grabbed a bit of steel tube and knobby tyres and knocked-up his own dirt bike. Refer picture below next to Shaun’s Super Sherpa (Shaun’s Sherpa is the one at the back).
On the outskirts of a city I also noticed groups of kids building their own wacky carts. It was real mad-max stuff - like an 8 wheeled 7 seater go cart, a stretched 4 seater Vespa, and a mean 2 stroke stand-up scooter. I tried to take a photo but it didn’t turn out (a photo while riding one handed at 60km/hr at night in the rain didn’t turn out – who would have thought?). I promise to get a photo before I leave (in safer circumstances of course).
These vehicles, and some of the buildings we have stayed in, has made me appreciate the Indonesian ingenuity and spirit of just ‘get the job done’. Sometimes I think Australia is more like, ‘let’s make a resolution to form a committee to discuss writing procedures to plan to get the job done’. When I see what is achieved with so little resources over here I mourn what feels like a strangulation by red tape and fear of litigation in Australia.
In other news, we rode for a few hours in the wet today, which was a fantastic opportunity to test my wet weather gear. Where to begin? Let’s start at the top. My helmet was given to me by a mate and the visor is from the wrong model, so at speed it shoots water into my eyes. My $40 gumtree jacket leaks like a sieve and has now turned blue (I think the previous owner just spray-painted it black?) and my ‘waterproof’ hiking boots are better at keeping water in than out.
My wet-weather pants probably performed best, but unfortunately when everything else is wet, it doesn’t make much difference. So all in all, in a good shower my gear keeps me dry for about 5 minutes (about as long as it takes me to put it all on when I see the rain coming). Oh well, it’s not like we are riding across Asia in the monsoon season…
That reminds me – Shaun’s Sherpa is great, but he has somehow managed to find and buy a bike that doesn’t work in the rain. Every time it rains I am waiting for the radio call from Shaun: ‘Sherpa’s Dead’
In other other news, today there was a moment riding up a mountain pass in eastern Java when I looked to my right and watched a volcano explode in the (not-too-distant) distance. That single moment was so awesome it has justified all the challenges I have had to overcome to be here. Stoked.
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