x360 Journal

« Selat Sunda crossed OK | Main | In Jambi »

October 20, 2005

Bikes, Bandits 'n Steel

LOCATION: Palembang, Sumatra
SEE WHERE WE ARE - NEW!
NAUTICAL MILES KAYAKING: 865
STANDARD MILES BIKING: 1182.85

Sorry for the absence in updates these past few days - internet cafes have been few and far between since leaving Anyer where at least I had the computer plus satphone setup. I also wanted to mention that the comments function on this blog had to be changed on account of spammers using it for advertising. So if you can be bothered to register for a 'typekey', it would be great to still get feedback from genuine visitors.

Currently in Palembang, 2-days from reaching Jambi.

Since this leg of the expedition started back in June from Dili we've experienced subtle but persistant theft - a pair of shorts drying on a bush here, a wristwatch left on a kayak there - but always very discreet and something we only discovered after the event. Certainly nothing major and never involving aggression. Not until yesterday however, when I was attacked and very nearly robbed of everything on the road to Palembang by two guys on a motorcycle.

First off, I'm fine and all the gear is OK. It happened on an isolated stretch of road about 200kms south of here, at around 4pm. I was dead tired having already pedaled 160kms since 5 that morning, and was looking at another 50 to a town where there was reputedly a hotel.

A motorcycle came alongside, as they often do, with two young guys who started asking the usual inquisitive questions that we've been asked a thousand times before - 'Where are you going, where are you from?' etc. However, being so tired and still having far to go I told them I was too tired to engage in a coffee table discussion and needed to concentrate on biking, not least because the road was in an atrocious condition with huge potholes big enough to swallow both myself and the bike. Unwittingly I'd cut straight to the chase of their real intentions, which was to relieve me of my money + gear.

In the blink of an eye the passenger threw out a hand, grabbing onto the strap holding the video camera around my neck, and tried to pull me off the bike. As we were still traveling at speed, and therefore relatively stable, I managed to keep upright. Both pushbike and motorbike were now locked together as we sped down the road at 25+kph, and a desperate struggle ensued: myself holding onto the camera with one hand and steering with the other; the motorcycle bandit repeatedly pulling on the strap so violently that on the 4th or 5th pull I pitched over the handlbars and headplanted into the asphalt.

The act of coming off the bike also had the effect of pulling the guy off the back of the motorbike. First to get to his feet he continued to pull at the camera with all his force, dragging me down the road after him - self hanging onto the thing like a ruggerball in a scrum!

By this time his mate had stopped, disembarked from the motorbike also and was advancing towards us. I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was unsheathing a large machete, and I wondered (as you do in these situations - bizarre thoughts) if this was intended for me or the camera strap? At any rate, I felt pretty defenseless at this point and envisioned having everything taken, including wallet/passport/money etc, and would perhaps be lucky to get away without being seriously hurt physically.

It was at this point that a bus hove into view from behind and the two realised they were in full view of a truckload of witnesses, and giving the camera one last tug, jumped back on the bike and fled, pursued by the bus driver that seemed to clock the situation.

Unfortunately the internet cafe I'm in is closing and I'm about to be booted out. So apologies for how badly this is written, without any editing, but I'll fill in the gaps when I get to Jambi in 2-days time. I will mention however before signing off that I visited the hardware store shortly after the attack and I'm now packing steel - a 16 inch 'parang' - that should make any more wannabe banditos think twice before having a go.

Posted on October 20, 2005 1:27 PM

Comments

Posted by: friskodude at October 22, 2005 2:14 AM

Posted by: gl. at October 21, 2005 12:59 AM