Kuala Tungkal the phantom city
Day 25
Start – Banyuasin III, Sumarta Finish – Kuala Tungkal Distance Travelled – 231 km Words by - Johnny Bang |
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The problem with riding at the rear without communication is you are quickly forgotten when you do have to stop. This is what happened to me this morning when I got a flat tyre. I coasted to a stop at a shop with a large air compressor out the front – a sure sign in these parts that the premises was in the business of fixing tyres.
I decided I could do with the practice and went about the tyre change on my own. I found a stick to balance the bike and removed the wheel. At this time Dan and Shaun had returned and compulsory help was forthcoming as soon at the shack with the compressor realised we were there.
There was no freight service from Jambi as we realised we had been interpreting our instructions incorrectly (in much the same way I might tell someone on the Sunshine Coast going to the Gold Coast that they had to go to Brisbane and then onto the Gold Coast). We discussed this over a buffet lunch consisting or fish, rice and other unknown condiments being warmed in a window by the midday sun.
So onto Kuala Tungkal we rode, losing Dan to a wrong turn somewhere along the way, we had to use precious international sim credits to relay a new plan to meet at the biggest concrete jetty in town. Navigation was difficult as all our devices insisted that we were in the middle of a mangrove swamp something to which I am sure the 100,000+ citizens of this bustling riverside city would disagree. I entertained a gathering crowd of people by eating some fried chicken while Shaun was looking for some water.
When we finally met Dan on the jetty we also met our new friend Samsi who was quickly a part of the adventure team as we trawled around ferry operators hoping to find a lead. Phone calls were made and all options where exhausted while we entertained the local kids in the street.
We came up empty, and always a fantastic host, Samsi took us out for a buffet dinner of more food than we could possibly eat, before helping us find a hotel and insisting on meeting us the next day to show us out of town.
I decided I could do with the practice and went about the tyre change on my own. I found a stick to balance the bike and removed the wheel. At this time Dan and Shaun had returned and compulsory help was forthcoming as soon at the shack with the compressor realised we were there.
There was no freight service from Jambi as we realised we had been interpreting our instructions incorrectly (in much the same way I might tell someone on the Sunshine Coast going to the Gold Coast that they had to go to Brisbane and then onto the Gold Coast). We discussed this over a buffet lunch consisting or fish, rice and other unknown condiments being warmed in a window by the midday sun.
So onto Kuala Tungkal we rode, losing Dan to a wrong turn somewhere along the way, we had to use precious international sim credits to relay a new plan to meet at the biggest concrete jetty in town. Navigation was difficult as all our devices insisted that we were in the middle of a mangrove swamp something to which I am sure the 100,000+ citizens of this bustling riverside city would disagree. I entertained a gathering crowd of people by eating some fried chicken while Shaun was looking for some water.
When we finally met Dan on the jetty we also met our new friend Samsi who was quickly a part of the adventure team as we trawled around ferry operators hoping to find a lead. Phone calls were made and all options where exhausted while we entertained the local kids in the street.
We came up empty, and always a fantastic host, Samsi took us out for a buffet dinner of more food than we could possibly eat, before helping us find a hotel and insisting on meeting us the next day to show us out of town.
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