POISONED in Sumatra // Bike Touring Southeast Asia EP6

POISONED in Sumatra // Bike Touring Southeast Asia EP6

All >> [music] >> right, first pedal strokes in Sumatra. Let’s go. After a month on the road, I had finally crossed the island of Java, the most populous island on Earth. Java had been an incredible start to my time on the road, and [music] I’d learned so much about Indonesian food, culture, history, and its people, and racked up plenty of miles while doing so. Epic volcanoes, sprawling temple complexes, crazy traffic, and super friendly people made it a [music] ride I’ll never forget. But my time in Java hadn’t gone completely smoothly, although through no fault of the island itself, [music] and I landed on Sumatra, feeling ready for a fresh start. My plan was to cycle along Somatra’s [music] west coast before turning inland and making my way to Dumai to catch the ferry to Malaysia. And I was looking forward to seeing what I’d heard was a beautiful stretch of coastline and finding out what this new land had to offer. Oh, these ferry ports are so confusing. I can’t read any of the signs and there’s just stuff going on everywhere. Oo, I think I’m in the right place. [music] [music] I just saw a little snake chasing a little frog. That was cool. Okay, first impressions of Java. Sorry, I just left Java. First impressions of Sumatra. You might be able to tell from the absolute state of me right now. It’s hot. It’s humid. And it’s hilly. Right out of the ferry port, I’m up a ridiculous hill. Oh my god. This is going to be rough. This is going to be really rough. Okay, I need to find some food. Found a back place. Let’s go in and see if we get something. >> Hello. >> Uh, some backo. >> Baxo. Uh, Let’s go translate. Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Make a seat. Next place, I guess. [music] >> [music] [music] >> That was a lovely place. Really nice. And that chicken was probably the best I’ve had in Indonesia. No joke. That was really delicious. I haven’t got any footage of it cuz I ate it so fast. Terrible film making, but I haven’t eaten [music] today at all. But I hadn’t until I got back because I got up early to go for the ferry. Didn’t eat anything on the way. Didn’t get anything on the ferry. And then when I got off, I couldn’t find anything. Bloody disaster. But anyway, timed it really well, too. Right as I was leaving, an entire coach load of people turned up. And I’ve heard about these coaches in Somatra. I don’t know what the deal is. I don’t know if it’s like just really popular to go on these big trips via coach where loads of people pile in or if it’s do with school or business or I don’t know what is but there’s tons of people doing these big coach rides everywhere and little calling you a ble anyway. [laughter] Hello. Hello. Oh man, it’s so hard to do these little bits to camera around here just constantly. Hey, hey, hey, hey. And again, it’s just nonstop non-stop interruptions out here. Anyway, um so yeah, I ate some food. Successful day in Somatra, I suppose. Yeah, it it is different. It’s kind of the same to Java, but it’s kind of different. I’m starting to see a bit of that familiar crop that we’ve heard all about in Somatra. So, first destination in Sumatra, Bandar Lamp. That’s where I’m going. I’ve got a hotel booked and it seems to be the hub for everyone coming through. There’s a warm showers there who I wanted to stay with, but I haven’t been able to get in contact with them. And there’s a Dutch couple there who are cycling towards Java. So maybe I might be able to hook up a meeting with them tonight. Maybe go out for dinner or go for a beer or something. That’d be kind of nice. And then I think a day or two later, there’s a Polish couple who are heading into there. So I’ll be out of there by then, but I’m going to see if I can meet up with them on the road cuz I have been talking to those guys on uh WhatsApp and Instagram and whatnot. So we’ll see. So yeah. Um, hardly see any bike tourists in Java. And then in the second I get off the ferry, I’m going to see four of them. Crazy. Yeah. First Sumatran selfies in the bank. Two girls pulled over on a moped and shouted, “Poto, photo, photo.” Hey, that was them. Yeah. So that was them. And then as I’m taking a photo with each of them, that guy who went past that, he pulled up and got a photo as well. Three photos in 30 seconds. All right, let’s go. Hey, more people shouting at me. Let’s get to Bandang. Jeez. Ride to Bandar Lampang was mostly uneventful save for a few selfies and at first the busy thorough affair to the port didn’t seem all that different to Java but there was definitely a different vibe to the place and that would manifest into a very different experience over the coming days. Once I reached Bandalam I arranged to meet the Dutch couple Sana and Euron to go out for some beers. It was a late night. [music] [music] [music] All right. So, yesterday bit of a weird day. Started off not really feeling it. I was still a little bit raw, still kind of struggling to get into the vibe. But by later in the day, I mean, I don’t know if it came across, maybe it came across in in the footage, but as the day went on, I started picking up a bit and I started getting like back into the vibe, you know. And around that time, I got a message from uh a couple of Dutch bike tourers, made it to Bando Lampang, and went out for far too many beers with them. I’m sure you can tell I’m feeling a little bit ropey today. This is much later than I normally get up, but yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s what I needed. Um, I think after everything I’ve had going on and the weird head space I’ve been in, I think meeting a couple of bike tourers and being able to chat about travels and all that stuff and have a bunch of beers, I think it’s done me some good. Maybe not physically, but mentally. So, um, today I start making for the West Coast. I’m going to head out of Bando Lampang. Not too much interesting about this city as far as I can tell. It’s just kind of it’s like the hub of South Somatra, you know? It’s where everyone goes before they get the ferry or after they’ve come off the ferry. But other than that, there’s not really anything here I want to see. So, yeah, it’s time to make for the coast. The guys last night said that the West Coast is really beautiful. Hopefully much quieter than Java and a nice change of pace. So, let’s go. >> [music] >> Oh man, felt like it took forever to get out of the city. We’re in a rare quiet patch right now. I’m sure it won’t last. Um, this morning was good. Managed to get some chores done. Um, added some straps to my rear panas because yesterday when I was flying down a hill at 60k an hour, someone pulled out in front of me, swerved to miss them, hit a pothole, and ejected my PA and sent it flying down the road. So, getting some licks. So, I don’t want that happening again. But yeah, it’s Sunday and they have the Sunday market on which meant part of the road was closed. Town was just hectic, man. I had to [music] detour around closed roads. The traffic was insane. The city just seemed to go on forever. It took me ages to get out of there. So, we’re going to come into a fairly decent sized town quite soon. And I’m going to have a look to see if I can find some sort of electronic store or a DIY store or something. I left my charging cable in uh in Jakarta. Um I have an alternative means, but it’s been very difficult keeping myself charged by then. So I need to replace it. It’s just like a standard cable. It’s like almost like a kettle lead one. It’s nothing special. So hopefully I should be able to get one of those fairly easy. That’s today’s mission. If I don’t get it today, it’s I guess it’s going to be an ongoing mission. >> [music] >> Looking for this. [music] No. Okay. Not there. [music] Yeah, [music] sure. Okay. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Talking to the guys last night, I’ve already said it was really good. It was just what I needed, but it kind of put a few things in perspective. It was nice hearing a different point of view on stuff and they’ve sort of h so what’s the word? I was considering the fact that I might have to bus a section. Um, just because I’m very low on time. It’s going to be a big push and I might Yeah, I might just have to otherwise I’ll overstay my visa. and talking to them kind of I was already considering it, but it made me even more okay with the idea, you know, because they took a bus from somewhere near Padang right down to Bandalong cuz they need to get to Jakarta in time to meet some family. So, talking to them, they told me how easy it is. They told me how little issues. They gave me the details of the bus company, all this kind of stuff. So, we’ll see. I’ve come around to the idea. It doesn’t need to be an unbroken line. I can take the bus if I have to. And to be quite frank, the intensity of the place of Indonesia in general starting to wear me down a little bit. It might be kind of nice sitting on a bus for a day, you know. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. >> [music] [music] [sighs] [gasps] >> Well, that was pretty terrible. I just spent the last 24 hours locked in this room ejecting everything from my body from every direction. I’ll leave it up to your imagination there. Yeah, got poisoned really bad the other day. I think it might have been that uh that sto that I stopped and had. Man. Oh, that was really bad. I ended up booking another night here. Spent all morning going through that and then later in the afternoon I started managing to get some fruit into me. Got these bought what I thought were like sweets. They ended up being these weird little jelly things. [laughter] Uh that was a bit of a bummer. Anyway, okay. So, I just need to butt in here with a quick interjection to say that I completely spaced in my food poisoned mental state to mention that the Polish couple Marson and Ola actually came to visit me while I was holed up sick. It was a very brief visit. They had a big day ahead of them, so they didn’t stay long, but it was such a pleasure to meet them. They’re such a lovely couple. And at the time of this video, they’re actually all the way over in South America now. They’ve been on the go for a long, long time. So, I’m going to put their link in the description along with everything else. And definitely go and check them out. I think I’m okay now. I managed to get some food into me last night. So hopefully I’ve got enough energy to hit the road again because I was really worried about leaving here after having, you know, nothing processing properly for all that time and just being completely dead on the road today. But I think I’m going to be okay. And that’s good because we’re now on the west coast. That was the whole point of Sumatra. Like in Java, there were a ton of tourist attractions. So all these things to see. There was Boro Badur, there was Pam Banan. Somatra, not really. There isn’t that stuff. Sumatra is all about the cycling. So, let’s see what the West Coast looks like. Okay, I’m out the hotel. I’ve done about six pedal strokes and I’ve already had the first hello mister. Welcome to Sabatra. As soon as I left town, I could see some big hills up ahead. But I didn’t realize quite how big. I also didn’t realize that although I’d done my best to nourish myself before getting back on the road, my body was still very much not up to the task at hand. Trucks [music] crawled tentatively downhill towards me, doing everything they could to keep their brakes from overheating as a result of the steep grades and high temperatures. And to round out this trio of unknowns, I would soon find out that the poisoning was very much knocked out of my system. But for now, ignorance was well, not exactly bliss, but something. Well, all that talk about getting some fuel in the tank for the ride ahead, good idea in theory, hasn’t worked out. This hill is outrageous and I do not have enough energy for it. I think this might be the first time of the trip that I actually have to get off and push. Hello. >> Hello. >> My legs just have nothing in them with zero strength, zero energy. [sighs] This is the worst. Keep trying to grab onto the trucks, but they’ve got nothing to grab onto. It’s so windy. I’m really scared that the back end of the truck’s going to kick out on me. Yeah, this is a bummer. This is This really sucks. All right, currently having a break. Sat on the side of the road. Yeah, not too glamorous, man. I’m just soaked through. Like, my saddle’s covered [music] in sweat. I’m covered. I’m just dripping, man. This is This is really really hard. Just stopped at this little place to fill up my bottles to get some water. Should have just hung around there seeing if I could hit your ride. See if I could offer someone some money to to drive me to [music] the top cuz this is just unreal. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I’m rambling now. I’m really struggling. I just don’t have the energy to do this after being sick for like 36 hours or whatever and just not being able to eat anything and everything just going straight through me. Like what little I did manage to get into me at the end just not enough. My legs are just shot and yeah, as soon as the hill started I just started bonking like literally the second it went up I just didn’t have anything. Oh, this sucks. And today’s meant to be a really big day. Been walking the entire thing. Okay, let’s go walk some more. I can’t film this. I know [music] I should. It’s too much. I’ll see you at the top if I make it. >> Hello. Just passed the rhino camp, which is where my Polish amigos stayed the night before they met me. So, I’ve got one more little peak to do and then we begin the descent to the coast. I’ve been talking about how we’re going to go to the coast all this time. And it’s taken a much longer than I thought, but we’re nearly there. Let’s do it. So, I’ve been hearing some rustling in the trees and I saw a sign saying, “Beware, there’s monkeys,” or “Beware of the monkeys,” or “Watch out for the monkeys” or something. And Marson did uh tell me that the rhino camp, the place was inundated with them. So, we might spot a few on the way down. I’m glad I’m not camping here. I don’t like camping around monkeys. It’s not good. All right, time for a descent. [music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music]

After a month in Java, I land on the Island of Sumatra and begin to make my way towards its West coast – but things do not necessarily go as smoothly as I expect.

Sanne & Jeroen: https://www.instagram.com/kogasontour/
Marcin & Ola: https://www.instagram.com/couplecycling/

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