Bike-Ride to Australia Sunday 26th-February-2012. Tapan to Butngatangung. 81 miles. No rush to get cycling today. It was raining, and I think it may have been raining all night. I told you it was the rainy season! Thankfully the rain eased off around 8 o’clock, so I decided to leave. The rain soon stopped but remained cloudy all day, making for a nice cool ride today.
I was coming to the end of my day. And had been looking for a hotel for an hour or so, but there was nothing around. Thinking that I would have to camp, I brought some supplies, i.e., beer! Hotels in this part of Sumatra seem to be few and far between. I passed through another village with no signs of a hotel or guesthouse when a man came running out of his house. “hey, mister, you come sleep at my house?” how did he know I was looking for somewhere to stop? I ignored him at first, but then he shouted again. Why am I ignoring him? It has to be better than camping! So I turned around.
It turned out that the man was married with two small children. They were both teachers. He taught English. I’m not sure what she taught, but she also ran the little shop they have in front of their house, as do many others.
A Dry Night
Despite buying some beer for tonight, I was unable, or rather I didn’t feel it was appropriate to drink. They were Muslims, and I didn’t want to offend them. So it’s stayed tucked away in my panniers. That’ll be a good weight to carry around tomorrow!
I always feel guilty taking food from these people. I’m sure they don’t have that much, but they are always more than willing to share. After supper, we sat on their veranda, talking as a steady stream of locals came along to say hello. One of them was his sister in law, who I must admit was rather attractive. She sat right next to me and kept stroking my arm! I was glad when she left! I had the feeling that they were trying to marry me off to her!
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