Bike-Ride to Australia Thursday 23rd-February-2012. Pangkulan Kotabaru to Bukittinggi. 48 miles. Blimey, what a noisy place the jungle is at night! And where was my air con!? I struggled to sleep last night, and I usually sleep through most things. But the noise and heat were too much. But it was nice to be camping again. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed it!
I was up at first light and packed the tent away. Disappointingly it had been raining in the night, and my tent was still wet, so I had to pack it away wet. It’s currently draped around my hotel room drying out. A soggy tent also adds extra weight, which is the last thing I need with the hills around here!
Some things just work out for the best! I’m so glad I got persuaded to stop last night. Right from the off this morning, I was peddling uphill! And as told yesterday, it was a 17km climb, which took me three hours! And that was on fresh legs. God knows how long it would have taken me last night! There was also no sign of a hotel for a good couple of hours afterwards.
I’m In The Southern Hemisphere
I’ve now crossed the Equator. Well, I think it was the Equator! There was a white ball beside the road, and knowing the Equator was somewhere around here, I’ve taken that as being the marker!
I got invited to a girl’s house today, ding dong! Not for that! As I was cycling along, two girls pulled up alongside on their scooters. After stopping and talking to them, I was persuaded to follow them to their house. I drank coffee with one of the girl’s dads and his friends. I spent a good hour chatting to them before setting off once more. The people are so friendly and welcoming! I like Indonesia.
After leaving Any (that is the correct spelling of her name) and her dad, I had another 30km climb! This is worse than Laos. I remembered why I was dithering about my route the other day, which one had the least hills! But, I suppose I’ll never know! I reached Bukittinggi and saw a hotel. I had hoped to get a bit further today, and I debated whether or not to cycle on. After all, it was only another sixty miles. Sixty miles! What was I thinking about? It was already 4 o’clock, and the last fifty miles hadn’t been exactly easy! In the end, I stopped and had a short day!
There have been plenty of monkeys around today, particularly when I was near the Equator. There has also been an alarming amount of mosquitoes! I hope my anti-malaria tablets work!
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