Adventures in South East Asia

Thanks Richie,

Can't take all the praise for the pics, Kelly's got a fair few up as well as the ones on the road.
 
Thailand Here We Come

18 - 27 March 2011

Kampot - Sihanoukville - Koh Kong

The next 150km from Kep to Sihanoukville was fairly uneventful, however at one point an overloaded minivan, packed with school kids (possibly a school bus) inside and on the roof, sped past us at well over 120km/hr (We know this as we had to catch up with the van to get the shot). The kids on the roof were having a grand old time, but with only a rail to hold onto, we were astounded at the speed of the vehicle. We’d read an article in the newspaper stating that 23 people in one vehicle died on this same road just a week earlier. Having seen this, we could understand why.

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We found a gem of a guesthouse in Sihanoukville. It was cheap and cheerful, right by the beach, and at a quiet section away from all the crowds. We settled in and decided to stay and relax for a few nights. It rained heavily, every day we were there, so we didn’t get as much beach time in as we would have liked. We caught up with Franco again, and one evening attempted to watch the England v Ireland rugby match. We’d located a pub that was playing the match, due to start at 1am local time. We arrived in time to have a beer before the game, only to find it wasn’t being broadcast on telly. No worries, we were told, we’ll get it live streaming on the internet, and up on the big screen. To start with, it worked well, then when a storm hit, the connection slowed right down. We’d see 20 seconds of play, then it would pause, then the play we’d missed would show in double time, and then it would pause, etc. We didn’t miss any of the action, but the game took much longer than it should have. By half time, we gave up, and found out the next day England had lost anyway.

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Cambodia with English weather​

Our last decent ride in Cambodia took us from Sihanoukville to Koh Kong, skirting the Cardamon Mountains along the way. For the first time in about 5 days, it didn’t rain, and it was a great ride. The scenery was lush and green, the road in great shape, and there was almost no traffic. Perfect. Back in Battambang, we’d noticed some unusual wear on the rear tyre, but hoped it would last until Bangkok. Arriving in Koh Kong, we weren’t so sure. We stayed one night before riding to the nearby Thai border early the following morning.

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Unfortunately/thankfully no elephants seen

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The tyre has to make it to Bangkok, so slow going from now on​

It was quite a warm afternoon when we arrived in Koh Kong, so we both enjoyed an ice cream, depositing the wrappers into a plastic bag in our room. Later when we returned to the room after dinner, we heard a rustling in that bag. Thinking it was a rat, Kelly was mortified, (an unfortunate phobia to have as a veterinarian!) but a quick investigation revealed it to be a friendly little gecko, enjoying the last of the ice cream.

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Lucky Gecko

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The stormy sky over Koh Kong, the evening before heading west to Thailand​

We've now spent time in all five countries in this region (including a 5 day glimpse of far northern Myanmar, and 3 weeks in Vietnam, both prior to getting the new bike), and we both agreed that the warmth and resilience of the Cambodian people make it a really special place.

The border crossing was painless, with no bribes required on either side. We’d obtained our 2 month Thai visas in Phnom Penh, so instead of the usual 14 days entry we’d get at a Thai border, we were stamped in for 2 whole months. With the temporary importation papers for the bike, it is standard to get one month’s allowance. We asked if it would be possible to get it stamped in for the duration of our visas - the first answer was no, and that we’d need to get an extension at any customs office. We asked again, just in case, and all of a sudden, the import papers were handed back with 6 months’ allowance on them - someone had made a mistake but we weren’t going to correct it! Now all we need is a 6 month tourist visa….

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No casinos in Thailand so Cambodia has one just across the border

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Pushing his wares from Thailand to Cambodia to sell at the local market​

It was great to be back in Thailand, easily one of our favourite countries. We took it easy to Pattaya, where it was clear that the tyre was in no fit shape to be carrying two people and a full load of luggage, and decided that Kelly would take the bulk of the luggage and make her own way back to Bangkok from here. We stayed a few days in Pattaya first. It was just as seedy as we’d imagined, and overrun with Russian tourists, which we found quite strange.

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Back onto Thai roads

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The tyre is now living on borrowed time, only 160km to Bangkok

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The infamous Walking Street of Pattaya

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Walking Street, girly bars, bars, restaurants and more girly bars

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The Airport Lounge Girls

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Some ladies were quite tall with deep voices​
 
Back to Bangkok

28th March - 8th April 2011

Bangkok

Apologies for this entry, as there wasn’t a whole lot of riding going on at this time, so not so many pics as usual.

While Kelly was discovering that the train to Bangkok didn’t run on a weekend, after being dropped off at the station a fair way out of town, John was gingerly making his way back from Pattaya, beating Kelly back by a number of hours.* Lugging a large proportion of luggage, and wearing her heavy duty motorcycle jacket in the heat, Kel was not impressed with the incorrect info that the hotel in Pattaya had given us about the train! Instead of a leisurely train ride then taxi to Bangkok, she ended up walking 5km back to a bus station, taking a bus, then a motorcycle taxi, the subway then finally a taxi to reach the guesthouse. Definitely time for new tyres!

We ended up staying nearly 2 weeks in Bangkok. It has been our home away from home since December ‘09, and this would be our last visit. As it happened, we’d met a whole lot of new friends (all touring on motorcycle) in the past few months, and we all met up for drinks on our first night back. There were 11 of us in all, a great turn out. John and Jane (UK) travelling on their Tenere, Emily and James (UK) each on an XT660R, Kate and Will (UK), with Kate on an XT250 and Will on a DR650, Franco (Switzerland) on his GS1200, Dave G (Texas) on his DRZ400, Juan (Spain) on his GS1200, and the 2 of us. Over the next fortnight, we managed to get five of them to stay at our guesthouse, and much of the time was spent socialising. We are all heading in different directions from here, after having spent the last few months touring the region and bumping into each other all over the place. Pic thanks to Emily.

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Aside from spending time with friends, the GS needed some attention. John took it back to Mr Yut at Dynamic Motors for a good going over and most importantly, a new back tyre. The Metzeler Tourances that we’d had on since we got it weren’t available, so he decided to go with a Michelin Anakees

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Always a scary sight

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Some water got into the alarm rendering it silent, having fitted another horn on, it's nothing compared to the original Meta Siren

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Finally time for a new tyre​

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Someone's GS Adventure with a home made racing style exhaust system​

John had also wanted to purchase a set of handlebar risers, and lowered foot pegs, for increased comfort on long rides. There is a Touratech dealer in Thailand, but it is located in the far outskirts of Bangkok, a very long way from the area where we stay. He decided to give the new tyres a spin and rode out there. The fact that motorcycles aren’t allowed on the toll roads in Thailand added to the distance, and three hot and sweaty hours later, he arrived, seething with anger. On the way, he had been pulled over by a policeman, asking to see his driver’s license. We’ve been in Thailand on and off for 16 months, and this had never happened before. He didn’t have it on him, all he was carrying was a wad of 1000 Baht notes ready for the big Touratech transaction. The copper asked for 500B as a fine, but wouldn’t give any change from the 1000B, or even a receipt. Basically, John felt he had been robbed. He was so angry, he didn’t think to snap his photo to get an ID number. He was late in getting to Touratech. He had no idea where he was (Bangkok is a huge maze) and no idea who the bent copper was, and had no way to make a complaint. It was not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but it was the first time we had been duped in the whole time we had been here, and it’s the principle that counts. He was at Touratech for a matter of minutes, paying his money, collecting his goods, and then having to battle to roads back home. On the return trip, he got caught in heavy peak hour traffic, and the journey took another 3 stressful hours. In hindsight we should have just had the parts sent to us, it would have been cheaper and much less stressful.

After all of that, the parts went on well, and we looked forward to trying them out. One by one, our friends were heading off in different directions - Franco to Japan, Emily and James to Canada, Dave to Europe, Juan to Myanmar, Kate and Will to Nepal, and John and Jane to India. We bid farewell to our friends, and the guesthouse staff, who have come to know us well after staying on and off for the past 16 months. (Penpark Place in Bangkok is a great place to stay, with secure parking for your vehicles, it is a quiet little gem in a great location, highly recommended!)

Finally we were ready to leave Bangkok for the last time - bound for Kanchanaburi and the Bridge Over The River Kwai.

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The Penpark Place Crew​
 
Escape from Bangkok

9th - 23rd April 2011

Bangkok to Phuket

We took the scenic route from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, trying to stay off the less interesting highways. We arrived mid-afternoon, so after finding a guesthouse, we set off to have a look around. After visiting a rather bizarre, but interesting war museum, we made our way to the famous Bridge Over The River Kwai. Actually it isn’t the original bridge, just a copy of the original. We were fascinated by a group of Japanese tourists, performing a ritual that involved running in circles to reach an almost trance-like state, chanting, pulling hair out, and running over the bridge, throwing water all over the place. As one member explained to us, it could have been them in a past life who treated the POWs here so atrociously, so they were performing these actions to repent any possible sins they may have done in the past…

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A worrying sight in the midst of the souvenir shops here was a cage with a baby tiger and a baby leopard inside. The keepers would pull one out at a time, and you could pay to have your photo with it or feed it. Initially drawn to these beautiful creatures, we were rather concerned about this form of tourism. They were promoting a zoo, but surely these animals were too young and vulnerable to be handled by so many people, in this manner. They were clearly stressed by the experience. Then again, we thought, how is it different to the Tiger Park we visited in Chiang Mai? At least there, the number of people interacting was controlled, and the tigers seemed to be in good shape, and not distressed.

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After visiting the sobering Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, we set off the next morning, not really having a destination in mind. Kelly’s parents were coming to Phuket for a holiday, and were due to be arriving in 3 days time, so we headed south. We were very fortunate with the weather, as James and Emily had been stranded just a few days earlier with severe flooding in the southern parts of Thailand. There was no sign of any problems on our way down. We ended up stopping in the stunning seaside town of Prachuap Khiri Khan, where we had the most magnificent seafood dinner.

The next day we rode further south, and this time the weather turned. The road was brilliant, but we had to take it slowly as it started to rain pretty heavily. We were soaked in a matter of seconds, and as it was still nice and warm, didn’t bother to seek shelter or don our waterproofs. The sun eventually came out and soon enough, we were dry again. We explored the Andaman coast, riding up and down little sandy tracks, searching out a great place to stay right on the beach. We didn’t realise we’d stumbled into 5 star digs, all the way down this part of the coast! We rode on, past dark until we found an average but not too pricey place to stay in Khao Lak. The next morning we rode into Phuket, finding a great guesthouse on Karon Beach, just a five minute walk from Kelly’s parents’ hotel, but with a sea view and at a fraction of the price.

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We reckon over 90% of the Thai roads we've rode on are perfect

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Karon Beach, the quieter side of Phuket

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5km away the livelier side of Phuket, Patong Beach where all the girly bars are​

As well as catching up Kelly’s parents, we took our Padi Open Water Scuba Course in Phuket. Originally, we were going to do the course on Koh Tao, but the recent floods had delayed us getting there. We went with Dive Asia, who were wonderful. Although we paid a bit more than we would have in Koh Tao, our class consisted of just the two of us, and we had a great instructor. After 2 days doing theory and training in the pool, we did 4 training dives and 2 fun dives, all from their boat, including a day around the Phi Phi Islands. Wow. We both loved every minute of it! After we were qualified, and were on our fun dives, John took his GoPro down, and Kelly her Canon G11 with underwater housing. We bought that housing in Hong Kong, in July last year, and have been lugging it with us since then, so it was great to finally use it!

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A great new hobby but I dare say it will be an expensive one​

Aside from diving, we had a relaxing time in Phuket. There was a pool at Kelly’s folks’ hotel which we frequented. As well as her parents, there was a big Aussie contingent in town, and poor John was the lone Englishman of the group. At least his Aussie accent is coming along nicely. Kel’s mum had made her favourite fruit cake and brought it along for a belated 30th birthday celebration. The hotel head chef happened to be walking past as we were cutting it up. We didn’t exactly lie, but he assumed we were also guests, and promised to make a special cake for the occasion! It was delivered later that evening, and was delicious. At this time Songkran (Thai New Year Celebrations) was going on, fortunately in Karon Beach it only lasted 2 days.

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Kelly with Mum and Dad after being drenched and splattered with talc for Songkran​

One day, we went for a ride over to Patong to have a look around. On the way back, we were stopped, along with every other ‘farang’ (foreign tourist) on a hired scooter. As John didn’t have his driver’s license on him (you think he would have learnt his lesson after last time!), he was fined 500 baht. Not happy! Most of the tourists who had hired bikes didn’t have a license at all, so the police were supplementing their incomes very nicely that day. In the line to pay, we spoke to one guy, who was fined because his rental bike’s registration was out of date - hardly his problem, but he was due to pay 500 baht nevertheless.

We eventually said our goodbyes to Kel’s folks, and having caught the diving bug, made our way over to the other side of the Thai peninsula, and over to Koh Samui.

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This truck's loaded overhang was pretty hard to believe​
 
Phuket to Malaysia

24th April - 24th May 2011

Phuket - Koh Samui - Koh Tao - Krabi - Malaysia

The ride from Phuket to Donsak was non eventful, other than it being our first sighting of trucks loaded with the large palm fruits that are converted into palm oil. From here on down the palm plantations started to dominate the landscape. We got a little lost when looking for the ferry over to Koh Samui, but once we located the right port, we bought tickets and rode immediately onto the ferry - 5 minutes before it set off, great timing. After a night spent en route, we settled into a little bungalow right on Chaweng Beach and relaxed for a few days. The bike was reasonably secure, so we left it in hopefully good hands while we headed to nearby Koh Tao to continue our diving lessons. The experience was totally different to Phuket, here it was a bit like a factory churning out dive qualifications, but good fun nonetheless. We completed our Advanced PADI course which allows you to dive to 30 metres, then did some fun dives as well. Our last day there was spent snorkeling the various sites around Koh Tao. It was great fun, especially when the Black Tip Reef Sharks made an appearance, and we enjoyed getting good use out of the camera.

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Chaweng Beach

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Coconut Seller

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Pickup overloaded with palm fruit

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Black Tip Shark, we were lucky enough to see 5 of these in Shark Bay

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A Goby, always a little entertainer on the bottom of the sea

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These are colourful Christmas Tree worms​

We made it back to Koh Samui in time for Bike Week, which was a misnomer as it only lasted for 2 days. We went for a ride out around the island with over 100 bikes, mostly Harleys and choppers, and stood out as the only foreign bike (apart from a couple of Malay riders). At the party that evening, where Thailand’s top rock band performed, over 1000 bikes were parked in the car park, a great turn out. It was also good to meet and chat with local and expat bikers.

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A brief stop on the Samui Ride Out

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Not quite Hells Angels. The King as in all over Thailand still gets the No1 spot

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A charming chopper with the rusty look

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A few of these BSA's were knocking around, complete with oil leak​

Kelly, a veterinarian in her normal life, spent a day working at the local animal rescue centre on Samui. It was a bit of a shock to the system after travelling for so long, but she was relieved she remembered how to castrate a dog! With that in mind, a few days later, she left Samui, and headed back to Bangkok and then back to Australia for 10 days, and successfully organised employment for her eventual return later this year. After a week of chilling back at Chaweng Beach, John finally dragged himself away from the island, and headed south. In Krabi, he managed to get his seat cover replaced at a great cost of £10 as the tears in it were getting bigger. He also met Jimm, a GS rider from Singapore, and in Hat Yai, met up with fellow GS rider Juan from Spain. Juan and John travelled together to the Thai-Malay border, where the border crossing was straightforward enough until they attempted to obtain insurance. To get insurance, they needed to purchase a driving permit for Malaysia (ICP). They also needed to have their number plate visible on the front of the bike - a vinyl number plate was made up and affixed to the screens with selo tape.* That done, they were free to go, and made their way to Alor Setar to wait for Kelly to arrive back in a few days time.

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Kelly's colleague for the day at the Animal Rescue Centre, Koh Samui

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A great new seat cover as good as the original

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Grim weather encountered from Krabi to Hat Yai

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Juan, chuffed about his new number plate​

We’d had a good time relaxing in Thailand for the last month, but were looking forward to hitting the road again, and exploring a new country. *The Thai roads were always good to be back on after being in Laos and Cambodia. Now we were interested in what lay ahead.

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The Menara, the main attraction of Alor Setar​
 
One hit too many

Just as we were making an effort to get the blog up to date, a woman in a Toyota 4x4 decides to take John out, resulting in all the data (new MacBook, and hard drives) drowning in a swamp in north western Sumatra, Indonesia. It has been a busy past few weeks, and we have decided to tell the story while it is fresh in our minds.


We had just spent 5 days diving on Pulau Weh, an island off of the northern tip of Sumatra. On the ferry on the way back to the mainland, the month old, YSS custom-made rear shock decided to collapse when the bike was moved, without our knowledge, on the vehicle deck. We were not impressed, and even less so when the crew wouldn’t own up to it, or help us out. They were more interested in posing for pics on the bike, which infuriated us. Admittedly, they did help us by organising a small flat bed truck to transport the bike to our guest house in Banda Aceh, at our own expense of course. Now another problem to solve, after only 1 month the shock has given way and now Kelly is pushed for time as she has a job to start back home in Australia in October. We had organised an itinerary to get her as far as eastern Java on the bike, from where she would have had to make her own way home. We knew that getting a new shock to us in Banda Aceh would take time, so the planned route would now no longer happen.

We made a few phonecalls and sent a few emails to all that could help us and a Mr Grattianno from Jakarta could help us out with a second hand BMW original shock to get us on our way. By the time we had arranged this, we had already been in Banda Aceh for 7 days. The part arrived and was fitted immediately, but we both felt that it wouldn’t be able to carry a rider, pillion and luggage, so all of a sudden, that was the end of Kelly and John’s adventure. We had met over two years ago in India and to have to part like this was a real kick in the guts. Kelly would now head south towards home through Indonesia and East Timor backpacker style, definitely a shock to the system after all this time on the bike. After an emotional farewell I set off down the west coast, hoping to catch Kelly at Lake Toba. The first section out of Banda Aceh was roadworks, and this stretch seemed to go on forever but no problems were had going through the fresh sand and gravel. Due to the late start I only made it 100km from Banda Aceh, to a place called Calang.

The next morning I set off, hoping to get as far as possible. The road was good (totally rebuilt since the 2004 tsunami) and the coastal views of small islands made it a pleasant ride, that was until a lady in a Toyota 4x4 decided to take me out.

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Passing through a village just 7km north of Meulaboh, the road had a series of small bridges. The road didn't change in width with the bridges, but this woman obviously thought it did and as I passed by she swerved in my right rear pannier causing it to explode and launch itself 15ft up across the bike and land down the embankment into a stream/swamp. I had a bit of a tank slapper which sent me down the embankment, I tried to recover to go back up but the rear end just slid away. Time for an adrenalin rush as I got off the bike and examined the poor thing lying there. I took a few snaps as the camera was around my neck, then with the help of the locals we pushed it up the bank onto the road. Noticing that the pannier was missing I went back to the bridge where one of the guys had picked up a few items and was just about to wade into the swampy undergrowth to recover a pannier box in the water. It was on its side and my new laptop was still in it under the water. He pulled it up the bank and returned to look for more items, we piled all the bits of kit up and then pushed the bike into a shop forecourt. I turned around to thank and reward the young guy who pulled my kit out of the swamp only to find he had run off to the Mosque as he was late for prayers. The woman driver turned up then, all happy and smiley - whether this was seeing me ok or the shock I couldn't tell. Next a little inspection of the poor old bike, the rear pannier rack had folded back and up, this sent me another shock as I thought about what would have happened if Kelly had been on the bike, it wouldn't bear thinking about.

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The police turned up and as no one could speak English I was a little unsure of what was going to happen, normally foreigners are always to blame and always have to pay out. The ribs by now were starting to hurt along with a bit of groin strain and when I took the jacket off I also had a friction burn on my right elbow, which was also becoming a little stiff. We picked up the gear and loaded it onto the police wagon and went off to the cop shop. The wet gear was spread out there to dry and the Mac which took the full brunt of the impact was stuck in its case by a broken zip, so having cut the zip we emptied the water out. It is only a month old and so I wasn't impressed with the woman. I kicked up a bit of a stink as the evidence of the collision proved it to be her fault, I made this point several times while we waited for an interpreter to come out of the mosque. When he arrived, he explained that normally with things like this, each party pays for their own damage. Me being stubborn and a bit p***ed didn’t agree, they also told me that she like most people do not have insurance. So now it was time to involve the Chief of Police of the traffic division. This involved going back to the crash scene then heading further on to Meulaboh. The bike was rideable and didn't sound too bad, the master cylinder was leaking some fluid so after a little bending of framework we set off to see the Chief.

On arrival we got out all the gear to dry again and then waited for the boss, he turned out to be a good guy. Initially he suggested that each party pays for itself, I declined this and was still adamant that as it was her fault she was to pay, or at least pay for the mechanic’s bill. I also made a fuss over my new broken laptop. He called in the mechanics from the Yamaha dealership and after 20 mins we took the bike off to their workshop. More metal bending and they'd got the frame back into a reasonable shape. The pannier I thought was a write off, I'd be back in the morning to collect whatever they could do with it. Back to the police compound to pick up my gear then they took me off to a good hotel to rest and we'd carry on the discussion tomorrow.

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The ribs that evening played up so not much sleep was had, then just as I nodded off my bike alarm went off, I ran out of the room only to catch the culprit riding off on his scooter, me in a towel in great pain - what could I really do if someone wanted the bike?! Next morning I got to the workshop when after 20 minutes they turned up with a nearly as good as new box, only thing lacking was hinges and a lock but as I wanted to get to Kelly asap I said I'd sort that later. The police turned up and said it was time to see the Chief and off we went. In his office were a few extra people: an interpreter and his friend. I explained that I'd thought the mechanics bill should be settled and at least a donation given for me to send my Mac back to Singapore for repairs. The Chief told me that a request for anything more was possible as it was her fault, but may take several months in the courts, so I just settled for being a little necky. The woman and her husband were briefed about my request and then brought into the office. This method they call the village or family way and keeps it all very informal. They agreed and offered 120 GBP towards the postal costs and the Chief said he had paid for the mechanics himself as a goodwill gesture and that he hoped I was happy with the outcome. He said he hoped that I would still enjoy the rest of my time in Indonesia, and after lots of handshakes and photographs it was time to head off. I was actually quite impressed with the outcome, as I was expecting to pay for it all myself. Just goes to show that not all police are bad or corrupt.

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I got back to the hotel, packed up and headed off for a 200km ride down to Tapaktuan. On arriving I thought the pain I was in warranted a couple of days rest. This town doesn't really have much going for it apart from some lovely beaches to the north. Checking these out made me realise that this country has to be the most smiley country I have visited, everyone sees you coming and greets with a big smile or for those curious but shy, you always get one back after a little grin. The only confusing issue I've had here was on arrival checking out some guesthouses you ask if they have vacancies and they reply “sorry full“, even though it's clear they aren't. Maybe it's a foreigner thing? After a little rest it was time to get to Lake Toba. The distance or time quotes you get off of everybody are always different so I just go at my own pace and stop once the sun begins to set.


The next day and another close call, this place is getting more like India everyday. The ribs are killing me but as Kelly is up at Lake Toba I made it my mission to make it there and have a little rest. Unbeknownst to me that it was going to be another close call.

It had just stopped raining and I was heading up a steep incline with a minivan not too far ahead of me when a car came sliding around the bend all out of control fishtailing downhill towards me and the van. Rock cliff face one side or a steep drop into the unknown the other. It was a bit of twitcher. Thankfully the car hit the minivan first then came to a stop on the other side. The van started rolling backwards towards me out of control as the driver looked out of the window with a look of horror on his face. He then threw himself out of the window and landed in a snotty heap. The van carried on swerving over the edge of the embankment into a big ravine never to be seen again.

I raced up to level ground to park the bike up and ran down to help the fella, then a hysterical blood soaked woman made her way up to the top. I ran back to get a towel to help stem the blood flow from a gaping wound to her head (it looked like a seat belt bolt had pierced the side of her skull). I tried to calm her down and stem the blood flow while others just watched on. The ambulance wasn't coming so when a fruit truck came by it was commandeered to take them to hospital. The man was just lifted without concern for his injuries and they wanted to do the same to the woman. I negotiated with my gestures as my Indonesian is pretty non existent that we will get her in without just picking her up like a rag doll as I didn't know if she had jumped out of the van or crawled out of a wreck (the van was out of sight and could have been up to 50 or 100ft or more down the hillside). The idiot driver of the fruit truck also tried to pull away as we were just getting the lady into the back and the person who volunteered to go in was also just hanging off, when the driver tried to pull away a second time.

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One of the car crew helps the injured lady up the embankment

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This is the poor bloke who threw himself out of the window

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The items you see are the supplies that had fallen out of the van, the van is no longer visible, I presume the lady also jumped out here before it was too late​

The police turned up a few minutes later and weren't too concerned about a statement - a bit like the drivers and passengers in the other car, they were not too concerned either, looks like just another day on the roads of Indonesia.

Hopefully they will be ok, I've just contacted my mate the Chief of Police who helped out with my accident, to find out if he can help.

Thankfully, I made it to Lake Toba and Kelly, without any more incidents, and look forward to resting here for a while with no more dramas to be had.
 
Hi John, I see you are having a tough time of Sumatra... you need to take it easy there, but it can be done I survived 9 years on bikes in Indonesia without a scratch...but many close call, luck needs to be with you, but you also need 8 eyes. I you enjoy the rest of Indonesia.
 
Thanks Deaninkl and Richie,

Yep, this place seems to be on par with India but the amount of traffic here makes it worse. There is always a close call or an incident on every long ride between places. A few days ago a 4x4 tried to overtake on a blind bend then didn't drop back enough then nudged me pretty hard, I saved the bike from going over, thankfully it wasn't at speed. I pulled over then he did and he had the look on his face as if I was to blame. Another driver I would have gladly put down if it wasn't illegal.

Scooter riders here are a bit more reckless than other Asian countries, too many accidents seen here to mention, only today one tried to shoot a red light in front of me, saw me coming and panicked, braked, locked up the front and slid across my path, I just slowly swerved and looked at the idiot on the ground. You reap what you sow, came to mind.

Anyway, apart from being on the road Indonesia is a great country and well recommended, hopefully I'll get some updates done soon as I have a new Macbook, all in the accident in Sumatra has cost me roughly 1400 GBP thats not including the price of a right hand side pannier and frame.

Life on the road still pretty good, hopefully it will get better the further west I go.
 
The roads do get a little more sensible in Java, but again its really defensive riding that is your best freind. Indonesians put a lot of faith in god, believing if its their day..then its their day... I new pilots that felt the same way their, that was scary. The carnage on the roads is quite at odds with the general laid back and friendly culture, especially in Java. But lets face it, in general, most of Asians turn into complete lunatics as soon as the get behind a wheel of a car or sit on a motorcycle.

Get there slowly, and enjoy the view.
 
Oh dear John, hope you are keeping a count of all the offs. One hell of a trip though, that's 2 and a half years to get from Chennai to Alice Springs, now that is RTW adventure travelling.:thumb2
 
Cheers Ritchie,

Thankfully it's been a year on the road since my big last hit, hopefully that will be the last till I get to South America. Just over 4 years on the road now so not doing to bad on the offs so far, only the poor old bike has suffered a bit through Indonesia and these corrugations aren't doing me or the bike much good either.

Oh well, worse things happen at sea. Just need to get back on me feet and get the bike roadworthy, then go explore this sunny island.:)
 
Excellent write up.

Done some of the GT loops around Chaing Mai, superb biking :)

Enjoyed reading your ride reports, some good info, especially regarding Laos. Hopefully get back there one day soon :beerjug:
 
Cheers Duggsy,

Yep, it's a great place to ride, one day I'll be back, just hope to survive the rest of the journey. Laos was a bit more special as its a less developed country and heading to the very north, a lot of villagers hadn't had contact with our sort.

Only five months left in AUS then it's off to New Zealand. :)
 


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