May 2012 - Round the World by Bike

Arrival in Tanjung Balai; Getting lost on the way; Beautiful Lake Toba in Northern Sumatra

Early morning we left Malacca heading direction Port Klang. When we arrived Martin with his Honda CB400 was already at the meeting point and shortly after us Nick and Kanchan arrived on their BMW GS 1200 Adv and as well our agent showed up. Still we all were not sure if the ferry will go and if everything will work out… and we were all really nervous ;-)

Having some breakfast we were discussing the upcoming procedure and the papers which we would need. Nick and Kanchan did not have the Visa yet so unfortunately they had to stay in KL. Now only Martin and we were left… and we drove to the port. Sascha and Martin left with our agent to get the paper at the customs done while Kerstin was waiting with the bikes… chatting with all the people passing by… Finally it was time to pass the customs with the bike – no problem at all! We parked the bike in front of the ferry and were taking of the gears. And faster as we could look the ferry guys lifted the bike down the stairs and onto the boat! The ferry trip took 5 hours. The people were incredible friendly and we had to take pictures with everybody. As soon as we could see the land coming we went on the deck, chatting with the captain and what we could see was already very different to Malaysia and we were soooo exited!

The landing was as easy and quick as the loading – thanks to all the helping hands on the Indonesian side as well – and a few minutes later we were standing in front of the customs. Again Sascha and Martin were busy with the papers and Kerstin outside with the bikes and the luggage surrounded by half of the village. Not much later the custom procedure was easily done with friendly smiling people. We put the gears on and left in the dawn. Now we had to find an ATM, a gas station and a place for the night. Driving through the darkness direction center through a mad traffic on a dirt road we stopped at the gas station when a woman was asking us what we are doing here and if we would need help. She introduced herself to us and told that she is working for the government in Sumatra. Afterwards she was leading us to a hotel where we could park our bikes safely and spend the night. As well she offered us to come back the next morning and accompany us to the police station to get our police letter written and stamped. How great is that!

So happy we were!!! We left to a shop to get our well rewarded beer! Inside the shop we accidently met a guy from the police who immediately offered his help to us… HELLO INDONESIA WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING PEOPLE!!! Tired but very happy we were enjoying our beer back at the hotel when a hard rain came down…

The next morning we got up early to check the bikes before we would go to the police. Ida came like promised with her friend and all together we went to the police station. It took a little while to explain what we need but thanks to Ida they understand what we asked for. We were waiting and chatting to all the police guys and at noon we got our letter– hurray!

Now it was time to hit the road! As the first destination we chose was Parapat-Lake Toba in the north together with Martin. Unfortunately our GPS was broken and we were tired a bit. Actually we were not taking attention enough and we went the wrong way, south… what we noticed after 150km in 4 hours! The traffic here is crazy, mad, horrible,… overloaded trucks, minibuses, pickups, betschas (tuktuks), bikes… and all driving like there is no tomorrow!

Nevertheless we all still wanted to go to Danau Toba which is a 1707-sq-km, 450m-deep lake 900 m above sea level and set in the collapsed caldera of an extinct volcano. The gasoline is really cheap and we just lost a bit of time… and now we chose a different road over the mountains instead of taking the ferry from Parapat. The next morning we left early and very soon the street became more narrow, the traffic less and as closer we came to the mountains the landscapes and villages became more and more beautiful. Now we were all enjoying riding the bikes most of the time above 1400 meter above the sea. Absolutely breathtaking it became when we were driving down from Tele direction Pulau Samosir, the volcanic isle which is connected to the mainland on this side by a narrow isthmus. It was clear: this place is worth to drive to even though we had to make a few km extra ;-)

In Tuk Tuk we found a real lovely place at the lake side to stay in one of the traditional wooden houses. There is a little tourism around but the whole region has seen busier times – before the Tsunami in 2004 it was a major holiday destination but these times are gone now. The people are warmly welcoming you and you feel more or less adopted. The next day we met a Kiwi who organized a pig on a barbecue at his friends place, a local guy and they invited us to join in their home place. We had a great evening, laughing, dancing, singing, eating and drinking all together. We found a place to relax, meeting people, to catch up our updates and paperwork, to explore the surroundings… and we will stay a couple of days… Anyhow we ordered a spare part for our GPS to be delivered to friend of us in Medan. It will take a few days to arrive…

What we have seen and experienced so far here in Indonesia within this few days is just great and lovely and we are very excited already to explore more!!!

[Show thumbnails]

These will be definitely a longer reading as we have experienced a lot within the last 2 weeks. Therefor we divided it into two parts. Ee hope you enjoy sharing our adventures and the pictures we kept for you!

Goodbye Malaysia: Port Klang, Kuala Lipis, East Cost, Chini Lake, Malacca… working out our ferry to Indonesia

When we arrived early morning at Port Klang we had difficulties to find the meeting point with the agent and we turned up late. Finally we met but he was telling us the Ferry just left! Bad luck? Destiny? Anyhow we took it as it was! At least we met the agent personally and we could talk about the details for the ferry which is supposed to go one week later then. And we had the great opportunity to explore a little bit more of Malaysia…

For us was clear we want to go back to the mountains. It was already noon and we left immediately direction north east. It was a quite long and boring ride but in the end we reached Kuala Lipis shortly before it turned dark. We found a hotel where we were surrounded from a group of Chinese and a group of Indians within seconds. One of the Chinese businessmen invited us spontaneously for dinner and we spend a nice evening together with his wife and friends.

After a relaxed breakfast we drove further north. Leaving again the main road and we were driving along small villages passing waterfalls and we ended up in Tanah Merah before the usual night thunderstorm started. Now it was time for the beach and we went over to the East Coast. We choose the road going directly along the seaside and from there we were sometimes driving 2m narrow streets under palm trees along the beach through the villages. Over here, shortly before Dungun, we found a nice place to put up our tent directly at the beach and we spend the night at our fireplace watching the lightening around us and breathing fresh sea air.

Following the coast direction south we drove until Pekan, where we turned back to inland. The aim was to reach a nature park at Lake Chini. Again we just arrived before it turned dark and we put up our tent next to the lake. On the landing stage we were watching the stars and the lightening which were again surrounding us from all directions. It really seems we carrying a “hole in the clouds above” with us ;-) Sitting there we had a nice conversation with a family from Port Klang. And later on they just passed us a delicious dinner which we were enjoying together on the landing stage. So enjoyable!

Of course we kept in contact with our agent all the time to get news about our supposed ferry departure date and time; sometimes everything just change in a minute. He confirmed the boat will leave on Thursday and we decided to go to Malacca where we arrived on Monday evening. Time enough to get sorted our things before we leave to another country: laundry, copies and printings of all papers we will need, exploring Malacca and meeting up with another couple 2up who wants to catch the boat to Indonesia, Kanchan and Nick. Now we were already three bikes hoping to go over to Indonesia on Thursday (Martin is prepared and waiting in KL).

Anyhow we really enjoyed Malacca! We found a lovely Guesthouse in Chinatown with a rooftop overviewing Malacca with a fresh breeze and parking the bike with video surveillance in front of the hostel. Malacca has a very own spirit which we really liked: nice lanes, multicultural, open minded very friendly people and reasonable prizes all around. Noon at Tuesday Kanchan and Nick arrived and we could exchange the status about the “ferry news”. At around 8pm we were looking for a place for dinner when suddenly our agent was calling and informing us the ferry will go already tomorrow. WOW! What to do? Is it makeable? We decided YES!!! Dinner, back to the Guesthouse, packing and putting the alarm clock on 5am we went to bed late with a much exited feeling… Will we really go over tomorrow to Indonesia???

Second part will follow within the next 24 hours…. We promise!