INDONESIA - two weeks on SUMATRA island

Indonesia, the last great challenge of our trip. Challenge in many aspects, but particularly concerning the timing: crossing a multitude of volcanic islands, each steeper than the other, in a short time of 60 days, the maximum duration of our visas... It was a race, but we knew it! In addition, we had worrying feedback regarding the reliability of ferries for the various sea crossings, with some only operating once a week or only in good weather. In short, we needed a little organization so as not to miss the fateful date.

So off we went for an unstoppable crossing of 8 islands and as many boats to connect them: Batam, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and West Timor... Quite a program!

Batam Island

Batam is a very small island opposite Singapore, but very Indonesian, so it was our perfect entry point into the country. The crossing only lasted an hour but it was representative of the change of country that we were doing. We finally left behind us the Eurasian continent, traveled by bike along its entire length during more than a year. This boat was the first of a long list and it allows us to get our bearings: how to prepare our bikes, store them in the ship, keep an eye on them while enjoying the journey... Arrived on the other side, the real adventure started again. The roads were bumpy and the locals called out to us and greeted us. It felt good after 10 days in Singapore where the atmosphere was more… organized and tidy !

So here we were, wandering the streets of this Indonesian neighborhood after dark. We asked a first family if we could put the tent in their garage but it was too packed. We continued. A few minutes later we met a man returning from the mosque. He told us that we could sleep there without problem. We were once again demanding and preferred at someone's place. He then told us that his neighbor could host us, he lived a hundred meters down the road. We met him, there was no problem for us to sleep in his second house, uninhabited. He was delighted to meet us despite the late hour and after putting up the mosquito net of the tent, we discussed, via translations, aout our trip and ask him questions about his life, his family.... We were in Indonesia since few hours only, but already blending in!

Sumatra Island

We didn't stay long on the island of Batam and the next day we jumped on the first ferry to cross the strait of Malacca and connect in 7 hours to the 6th largest island on our planet: Sumatra! We were hesitant to cycle there, as a very long ferry went directly to the next one, Java. But we heard from several cyclists who told us that Sumatra was their favorite place in Indonesia. So we had to experience it by ourselves. We disembarked at Dumai and began our exploration. We had in mind a volcanic island covered with mountains, that was not yet the case. An infinite plain and already teeming traffic: keep in mind that Indonesia is the 4th most populated country on the planet! We cycled for a few days before arriving at the mountains, which run through the island like a cordillera on the North/South axis. Passing through Pekanbaru, Roxy took the opportunity to do a quick service on her bike and changed the brakes: after several months on the coasts of Asia, the mountains were back! In the middle of a climb, we passed a symbolic milestone: the equator line. We were leaving the northern hemisphere to enter the southern part of our planet and for a while! Ironically, we would have two summers in a row! It's not getting colder soon!

Finally we arrived on a sort of plateau at an altitude of 1000m, surrounded by volcanoes. It was finally an acceptable temperature. Here the landscapes were breathtaking: immense cones which form passes, valleys and lakes. There were also fewer people in these mountainous lands, we were in heaven. Rather than going back down to the other side on the west coast, we prefered to follow this plain towards the south and towards the summit of the Indonesian territory: the Kerinci volcano. We needed a few days of pedaling on splendid and wild territories but with gradients far too steep for our loaded bikes. We crossed villages with an architectural particularity: the houses looked like boats, their roofs pointing and rising to the sky. Gorgeous !

Finally, we were there: at the foot of the Kerinci volcano. We arrived at noon in a guesthouse with a view of the mountain. We were attracted by this summit, the highest volcano in the country, in front of us, majestic and within arm's reach (or legs'). A quick tour on Camp2camp.com and we learned that this highest point could be climbed on foot, without a mandatory guide and one person even did it in one day, despite the 2000m of elevation gain! The only catch was that you had to be at the top for sunrise, before the clouds arrived. So no choice, we had to leave the day before and sleep in one of the many camps on the way up. It was 1 p.m., we looked at each other… Come on, let’s go!

The owners of the accommodation loved our spontaneity and offered to take us on a motocross ride to the foot of the volcano, where the hike begins. We were there, an hour later, after having paid the park entrance fees, 18 euros each.

3 p.m., we started the hike, the backpacks that we carried on our bikes from France were very useful. 3:30 p.m torrential rain, we were soaked. It was starting well ! We needed to hike at least 1000m of elevation gain this afternoon to had less than 1000m to climb the next day. We finally arrived at camp 2 around 7 p.m., it was dark and at 3100m, it was pretty cold! But deep down, we were delighted, why? Because finally we could justify carrying with us meat bags, sleeping bags, down jackets, gloves and technical clothing, not used from Kyrgyzstan. Our Indonesian neighbors at the camp had none of that but seemed to be holding on, very motivated.

We left the camp at 3:30 a.m. and went up the last 700m at night to find ourselves alone at sunrise over the volcano crater. The panorama there was breathtaking. The sun gradually warmed our bodies, which had cooled a little at 3805 m altitude, and set the Kerinci ablaze. We went back down with beautiful landscapes in our heads. At noon we returned to the hotel, exhausted. It is definitely not the same muscles that work when cycling and when hiking…

A good night's sleep and we were back on our mounts, heading to the west coast this time, for, we hope, flatter roads. To come down from our plateau, we took a small winding road, in the middle of the wildest jungle we had encountered since leaving France. That's it, were are on the famous island of Sumatra!

But our joy was short-lived, from the first kilometers on the coast, we encountered a multitude of climbs and descents, short but very steep. It broke our legs, it was very, very hot at sea level. In addition, the wild nature of Sumatra gave way here to expanses of palm plantations, for the production of the oil of the same name... And yes, Indonesia is the leading producer of palm oil on the planet, with 60% of the world volume! It was a very depressing ecological disaster to see, even more so after having traveled sections of jungle where the flora and fauna were incredible. It even looked like a desert: nothing, absolutely nothing as far as the eye can see except these palm trees, planted equidistant from each other. The road, in addition to being a real roller coaster, was now clogged with numerous trucks transporting palm fruit from the fields to the cities. In short, we were on another side of Sumatra, behind the scenes. We had moved from untamed nature to tamed nature. This made us a little sad and we reflected a lot during our numerous bivouacs at the foot of these palm trees.

Finally we arrived at the historic town of Bengkulu. Here there was an old Portuguese fort in bad condition, but above all; a Couchsurfing host! It had been ages since we last spoke with a local in English and it felt good! We took the opportunity to ask him a multitude of questions that we had accumulated over the last ten days. We ate with his family at the shopping center, a very popular outing for the Indonesian population who can afford it. The dishes were three times more expensive than in the street, but it’s in a restaurant! We spent a few nights in this city, time to do laundry, dry the tent, go to the hairdresser and above all make a decision: continue by bike or bus to the south of the island, to Bandar Lampung...

The 550 km to connect the two cities promised to be identical as the past days, a roller coaster road and palm plantations. We thought about our visas and chose to do this section by bus in order to have more time on the following islands.

After about ten hours of being shaken around, we arrived in the last southernmost town of the island: Bandar Lampung. We were relieved when we opened the luggage compartment of the bus to see that our bikes were intact, this was not the case with our bodies after this long journey. We arrived in the center of this town at midnight, we had booked accommodation but had no confirmation of our late arrival… Suspense... Finally, after a few kilometers in the dark, not completely peaceful, we arrived at the guesthouse and woke up the owners, no problems! We spent the next day visiting the city. On the program, meeting with Kurt, an Austrian cyclist who is in his sixties and who is also traveling through Indonesia but in the other direction. He gave us information that will change our entire stay on the next island, Java. He told us about the Indonesian cycling federations. "In every town in Java, there is a very active cyclists' association and very interested in meeting travelers, hosting them". He told us. We were curious and Kurt put us in contact with the first Federation, just on the other side of the strait of Sunda, on Java.

We finally cycled the hundred kilometers that connect the city to the port from where the ferries leave. We were happy, we had just spent 2 weeks in Sumatra. We had the pleasure of climbing the highest volcano in the country, meeting incredible Indonesians, admiring the local architecture and tasting the local cuisine (Padang Buffet, way too spicy for us). We had also seen the consequences of the demand for global palm oil and the lack of infrastructure and education on plastic wastes. Indonesia presented itself to us, we liked this first draft and we can't wait to see what happens next. The next part, we could see it on the other side of the strait: Java and its sprawling city of Jakarta. The Indonesian adventure had only just begun!