Bicycle Touring to Australia: Indonesia, In Denpasar

My latest bicycle touring update from Indonesia, cycling to Australia. In Denpasar. After my phone call with the phone company yesterday, I had rather a lot to drink! But at least it de-stressed and relaxed me. And maybe I had a slight hangover this morning. I slipped and fell getting out of the shower! But at least I didn’t smash the shower screen this time! Serbia, 18th November 2011!

After breakfast, I finished packing my bike away and spent a few hours uploading photos to my Flickr page. By midday, I’d finished, and I went out for a walk. I went along the beach. It was very quiet, and there was hardly anybody there. And the few people on the beach were having surfing lessons. And thankfully, there weren’t rows of sunbeds littering the beach.

Denpasar, in some respects, reminds me of Spain, but instead of the hordes of Brits, it’s full of Aussies! It’s very touristy. There are plenty of little shops here that my wife and daughter would have loved. The sort of place that, when the kids were small, we used to holiday at.

I ended the day watching the Formula One qualifying in a bar. I enjoyed that, and it did make me feel that I was on holiday. That’s exactly what I used to do on family holidays. Find a bar to watch F1 while the family were on the beach or by the pool! Shame I’ll be at the airport for the race tomorrow. I stayed at the bar for most of the afternoon, talking to the staff.

Vodafone phoned me, but I ignored their call. I wanted to enjoy my last night in Indonesia.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring to Australia: Indonesia, In Denpasar

My latest bicycle touring update from Indonesia, cycling to Australia. In Denpasar. The day got off to a good start, with the most English breakfast I’ve had in months. I had sausage, bacon and eggs with toast and marmalade. After breakfast, I found a box for my bike in the first shop I went into! And I quickly found some bubble wrap after that, a very productive morning.

The bike was so dirty I thought I’d better clean it before packing it away. I didn’t have any means of doing it myself, so I took it to the local car wash and left it with them to do! And what an excellent job they did, too. And it only cost me fifty pence!

After lunch, I started to dismantle the bike, ready for packing away. But one of the two Alan bolts that keep the handlebars straight had sheared. There was no way I would get that out without cutting it. So I borrowed a saw from the hotel and sawed it off. I’ll have to sort it out when I get to Australia.

It was late afternoon when I finished packing my bike away. But it was one job out of the way and probably the one I was most worried about. I thought now might be a good time to phone that mobile phone company! They’re now telling me that customer service is outsourced to a different company, and it’s not actually Vodafone that I’ve been talking to! That’s when my stress started! But on the bright side, my phone seems to be working, but I think I may have been here before!

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring to Australia: Indonesia, Banyuwangi To Denpasar

My latest bicycle touring to Australia update: cycling through Indonesia, Banyuwangi, Java, to Denpasar, Bali. 88 miles. After breakfast, I cycled the mile or so back to Ketapang to catch my ferry to Bali. I’d found out last night that the ferries run day and night and every hour or so. So I wouldn’t have a problem getting on.

I arrived at the ferry terminal, and it reminded me of a European port with its big roll-on roll-off ferries. I cycled up to the booth/ticket office. I was hoping they wouldn’t charge me, as they hadn’t on the crossing from Sumatra to Java, but I wasn’t going to get away with it this time! Mind you, it was less than a pound anyway!

The crossing only took forty-five minutes, and the sea was very calm. I got invited up to the wheelhouse to meet the captain, who let me steer the boat! Basically, I just stood there with the wheel in my hands! But it made a good photo opportunity. We arrived in Bali, and once again, the ferry seemed to take forever to dock. It was a busy port.

In Bali

Considering how calm the sea was, it was a bit of a shock when we landed, and I started pedalling. It was blowing a gale. And there were a lot more hills here than I’d been used to on Java. But this wind was a real problem. I went over one hill and had difficulty cycling in a straight line! Luckily, it was on a quieter stretch of road with little other traffic. The wind was so strong that there were a few trees down. One had even hit a bus! But I don’t think anybody was hurt, think. It just broke the front windscreen and crumpled the front side. Another tree fell onto some power lines, making a loud bang when the transformer blew. I was glad to get off the top of that hill before a tree blew on me!

I realised two things today. First, I’ve passed through two time zones since arriving in Indonesia. And I’m now eight hours ahead of the UK. And two, I never saw a single dog on Java. But the first one I saw here decided to chase me!

I’m only in Denpasar, but it feels as if I’ve already reached Australia. All I can hear are Aussie accents.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring to Australia: Indonesia, Problinggo To Banyuwangi

My latest bicycle touring to Australia update: cycling through Indonesia, Problinggo to Banyuwangi. 115 miles. Mission accomplished, I reached Ketapang but cycled straight through! Although it was through choice today! There weren’t any hotels there, so I’ve cycled a mile or so down the road to Banyuwangi.

It’s been a tough few days, and I’ve been on a mission covering over 350 miles in three days. But I’ve made it to the Bali ferry. For much of the past three days, I’ve been cycling along the coast, just yards from the sea. Passing through plenty of small fishing villages, with their boats lined up on the beach, waiting to go out on the next fishing trip. It all sounds pretty nice, which it is until you look at the beach itself. Many aren’t the picture-postcard golden sands and blue sea, dotted with the odd palm tree. Most of them are covered in rotting, smelly rubbish, with the sea a dirty brown colour!

After I’d Finished Cycling

I ordered a whole fish for supper tonight and was looking forward to eating it until I remembered the pollution in the seas around here! However, as soon as the fish turned up, I forgot that and woofed it down! It helped that the power went out, and I couldn’t see it too well!

No wonder it’s rained nearly every day since I’ve been in Indonesia. I found out tonight that it’s the rainy season! Mind you. It’s probably kept the temperature down a bit. I thought I’d better wash out my water bottles tonight. They’ve gone rather green inside!

Why do I always get a hotel next to a mosque? Mind you. I won’t have to worry about that after Sunday when I fly to Australia. At least I don’t have to worry about setting an alarm clock! My phone is still not sorted. I’ll call them when I get to Denpasar. I need to be calm and relaxed with them! Thanks for all the offers of help with the phone, but unfortunately, it’s me who has to ring and sort it out. I’ve been avoiding it and the stress!

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.