Tag: Sumatra

Garry McGivern (Travelsonabike2) bicycle touring in Sumatra, Indonesia, on his trusty bike, Passepartout

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Cycling Indonesia: Butngatangung to Ketaun On This Day 27th February 2012 | Travelsonabike2

Travelsonabike2 this day 27th-February-2012 Fishing boats

World Bicycle Tour: Cycling Indonesia on this day in 2012

My on this day bicycle touring post comes from Indonesia on the 27th February 2012. Maybe local advice isn’t always the best, and a hasty exit

Monday 27th February 2012. Butngatangung to Ketaun. 75 miles.

I think it might have been better to have camped last night. Not really, because it’s always nice to stay with a family. But I wasn’t so keen on the sleeping arrangements. I slept on the floor in the same room as the man of the house! I was also ravaged by mosquitoes, but at least it was only mosquitoes! Before the man and I retired to bed. He’d insisted that I put some mosquito repellent on. Repellent, I got bitten more last night than I have in my whole time in Indonesia. I was reminded of what that idiot American had said to me in Bangladesh. “Why would you want to go to a mosquito-infested island!” He was wrong. The people and scenery far outweigh one night of mozzies.

People standing and sitting
My host family from last night

I thanked the family for their hospitality this morning before setting off on my way. I was keen to move before they bought the vicar out to officiate over our wedding after his sister-in-law had returned this morning.

Not A Good Day

There’s not much to say about today. I’ve not enjoyed myself. It’s the sort of day that I really don’t like. It’s been short, steep hills all day. Some of them are so ridiculously steep you’d have trouble walking up them. I think it’s more of the same tomorrow; that’s something to look forward to, not!

The only good thing about today has been the happy people, who always smile and say “Hello, mister”. I think that’s the only English phrase a lot of them know. I asked one of the locals this afternoon if there was a hotel up ahead. Yes, sir, about thirty minutes. How many kilometres? 300!! That was useful!

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Cycling To Australia: Indonesia, Tapan to Butngatangung | Travelsonabike2

Bicycle Touring to Australia: Indonesia, Tapan to Butngatangung

My latest bicycle touring to Australia update: cycling through Indonesia, 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 it remained cloudy all day, making for a nice, cool ride today.

Man and children by table and chairs
Friendly children

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!

Tour Information

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

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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.

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