Day 83 - A day of the finest travel - to Gilimanuk - Unfinished Business

July 22, 2023

Day 83 - A day of the finest travel - to Gilimanuk

Well here I come hoping to start my cycle across Java, the World's most populous major island, with over 50% of Indonesia's 300 million people. I imagine there may be the occasional traffic snarl. Waking to a Gamelan orchestra was a very good start.

I was too early for breakfast and so, instead, headed for the Gamelan sound and ended up on the beach where a practice was underway. A local, Putu, came up to me and said that the festival is all about garbage. The place was a disgrace with cleaners sweeping the beach. Putu is a filmmaker and was filming the scene. He recorded our discussion and then we went back to his house to meet his family and to have a cup of tea. He made a great comment, something like "you can always meet friends through garbage". A couple of things resonated. He understood the mental challenge of cycling in a filthy environment. He mentioned how bad he found the garbage situation in Sumbawa. I wasn't imagining it!

I could have gone dolphin spotting on the Queen Mary.

But...........Why bother with bins when you have people to sweep the beach?

Putu Kusuma Wijaya- terrific to meet someone who is thinking about this issue. It's a pity, though, to meet just for an hour; a crowded hour, nonetheless.

The view from Putu's house, Rumah Kita, in English "Our House".

It was after 9 when I got back for breakfast. I met an interesting Taiwanese fellow, Ryan, having a holiday to escape work. I've often wondered how the Taiwanese feel in this present political climate, especially with the radical changes imposed on Hong Kong. Ryan could explain things.

It was after 11 by the time I was on the road; there's nothing like starting in the heat! So much for that rule about early starts when the day involves ferries. But, at least I'm traveling rather than sitting around wasting time with totally useless websites.

And now, for a completely different issue, look at this pair of Volleys. When did the soles of the original volleys ever split. It was the top of the shoe that wore out! I remember, it was one of those days - I needed a new motorcycle battery, lost a pair of glasses and, even worse, got a crap pair of Volleys.

John, these shoes you gave me are crap. Did you buy the cheap Chinese version? Horrible stuff gets through the splits. I've a good mind to send them back, but I'm in Bali. The cracks may harbour foot and mouth.

I cycled fast today. All of that climbing l've done makes me feel like I'm in that Tour thing everyone talks about. Even though I stopped quite often for photos, I had done 45 km by 1 pm, aided by a slight headwind. Yes, aided! The problem in the tropics is losing heat. The headwind allowed me to push harder!

I had not gone 3 km, when I came upon this cyclist. I whipped to the other side of the road and said hello, gave him my loose notes and a few mandarins. You should have seen his smile when he saw the photo.

This fellow pedals along with his arms. Talk about tough. It reminds me of my first blog entry "The luckiest person". If you've got some loose $, I think the indigo foundation would use it wisely.

I hadn't gone much further when I met a bunch of local cyclists, the Bali version perhaps of Canberra's Pedal Power. I hadn't seen anything like it since leaving home. I noticed bikes of differing quality, while the cyclists had different pedaling styles - all rather refreshing.

All over Indonesia I have seen gas bottles being replaced. It could be a motorcycle with a dozen, a ute load or a truck full of them.

I checked them! They're all good - not one exceeds the expiry date stamped on the bottle. My worry is that Indonesia has plans for nuclear power. That's basically a lot of rusty gas bottles in one place! It seems better to spread them out.

There were numerous temples along the road to Gilimanuk that I admired as I cycled past. Occasionally, I stopped for a closer look.

Adolf, you little turd, we've been using this symbol for 15,000 years. Then you go and wreck it for everyone.

I was keen to get to Gilimanuk but, as so often happens, I ran out of juice. I stopped under a tamarind tree and gorged on biscuits and fruit including, surprisingly, grapes.

I conceded defeat and pulled into this seaside warung for a couple of bowls of noodle soup with tofu.

I had hardly got going again when I saw a sign indicating Gilimanuk was 35 km away. I thought that it was 15; my mistake! Right then I met another group of cyclists, all on decent road bikes doing a 360 km tour of Bali. The first question they asked was "how much does your bike weigh"?

They went east while I went west. It wasn't long before I reached Taman Nasional Bali Barat (West Bali National Park), but before I did I saw the odd thing to amuse.

Such honesty - the first rule of Asian travel: avoid the chicken.

It was a nice ride through the national park, although I'm confused about parks here. They seem to have so much commercial stuff going on and people gathering forage and cutting timber. But, this national park boasts something rather special.

The place has God's Secret Courtyard. Is that anything similar to the waiting room?

The big Bali Starling: this is probably as close as most will get to this mynah. Although critically endangered, they're easy to breed in captivity and the number of wild birds is increasing.

I saw hundreds of these macaques - Macaca fascicularis, the same species I saw in Timor Leste.

I got to Gilimanuk around 4 pm and, although the crossing to Java is short, decided to stay the night.

The entrance to Gilimanuk - an impressive arch.

Its been a terrific day so why not finish with a bicycle?

A gorgeous stand and a fine contraption to enable a big load.

Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles)
Total: 6,248 km (3,880 miles)

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Joel KrewazIan, terrific to hear all the stories. Even better to hear of your recent good food, the appearance of other cyclists and lux accommodation. The scenery is superb and, as usual, you are making interesting new friends, all well deserved.
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9 months ago

Ian WallisTo Joel KrewazThanks Joel; you back in Canberra? Ian
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9 months ago

Joel KrewazIndeed Ian. -4 C at morning coffee the other day. No sweat glistening on anyones forearms here.
How goes the traffic? I gather the drivers are considerate of small motorbikes and people.
The food sounds amazing.
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9 months ago

Ian WallisTo Joel KrewazJoel, hard to believe that there is anywhere cool in the world. Pleased to know that there is such a place. The traffic is fine. I hope I covered that in my blog entry from Lombok where I talk about being amongst it. I'm very used now to taking off without looking behind. Of course, sometimes I do but only if I hear something heavy. The key thing is to be consistent. I've just got off the ferry and am now in Java. I speared across a busy road in a diagonal to get to the LHS. Otherwise, I'd wait until the next public holiday. The food is getting easier - more variety. It's very easy to eat the same thing at the little warungs. Through Timor, Flores, Sumbawa and Lombok, they all have the same thing. This is typically food that sits around, albeit with quick turnover. Eat the tofu and tempeh and not the chicken! The fruit is terrific; it has flavour that we often don't get in Australia. People here would laugh at our pineapples and papaya. They'd probably dump sugar on them. Ian
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9 months ago