After the split
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Day 19
Start - Best western, Jakarta Finish - Random roadside hotel Distance - A bit further Words by - Johnny Bang |
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Night was about to fall so Dan and I left the McDonalds and made for the beach – about 120km -and then it began. Raindrops as big as grapes pelted us down the road. Well-aware of the shortcomings of my jacket, I pulled into a convenience store and invested $10 on the largest rain jacket and pants they had. They were still too small and I smiled awkwardly to the crowd of 40 people who had gathered to watch me as I immediately split the crotch of my new rain pants.
We tried the service station sleeping trick again but this time they moved us on to a hotel. I was stoked when the hotelier came out – a rather dishevelled white guy in his late 60’s - at last, someone that can speak English - or so I thought... Not a word. His hotel had a stained glass window with a windmill on it, so I am going to assume he was Dutch. God knows what he is doing in the southern Jakarta slums running a hotel. At least he let us keep the bikes in the lobby.
Dan’s navigation device took the scenic route through the mountains, which wasn’t ideal as the roads quickly turned to gravel and then seemed to stop altogether. The darkness and the rain combined to hide the majority of obstacles ahead. It was almost midnight and we were only halfway there. It was time to stop.
We tried the service station sleeping trick again but this time they moved us on to a hotel. I was stoked when the hotelier came out – a rather dishevelled white guy in his late 60’s - at last, someone that can speak English - or so I thought... Not a word. His hotel had a stained glass window with a windmill on it, so I am going to assume he was Dutch. God knows what he is doing in the southern Jakarta slums running a hotel. At least he let us keep the bikes in the lobby.
Dan’s navigation device took the scenic route through the mountains, which wasn’t ideal as the roads quickly turned to gravel and then seemed to stop altogether. The darkness and the rain combined to hide the majority of obstacles ahead. It was almost midnight and we were only halfway there. It was time to stop.
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