« Bombs in Bali + Mick's boat Reach | Main | Plague in Town »
October 5, 2005
Bogor in the Rain
LOCATION: Bogor, Java
SEE WHERE WE ARE - NEW!
NAUTICAL MILES KAYAKING: 849
STANDARD MILES BIKING: 714.1
We spoke to Craig Huddleston (who has been hugely helpful assisting with kayak storage in Bali and onward shipping) this morning and were relieved to hear that not only were his family all safe after the bombs at Jimbaran Beach on Bali (they live just a stone's throw from where they went off), but the local neighbourhood has pretty much got back on it's feet already. I don't know how much this is fighting talk from Craig, but I do find it refreshing to hear of people just getting on with life as normal and not giving the terrorists the attention, both at the individual and mass media level, that they seek with their revolting actions and unfortunately so often end up getting...
CHRIS COMPETING WITH RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC, BANDUNG
Anyway! We're in Bogor, in the rain, on the first day of Ramadhan, so it's been a killer finding a beer around here the past 24 hours. This is the first day of a month of fasting for Muslims here in Indonesia (I assume all over the world?), and it's even bad form to be seen eating in public. So April and I found ourselves sneaking into the local botanical gardens this afternoon (first started by Sir Stamford Raffles who took up residence here in 1811) to snaffle bananas out of sight behind the stand of giant bamboo.
April has had a relapse of her illness, prompting a second trip to the hospital this morning. Having pulled off some info from the internet I was getting concerned she was showing all the symptoms of Dengue Fever (fever, headache, aching joints and muscles), but the doctor dispelled this possibility with a test, so it looks like a recurrent stomach infection. Lots of rest and fluids are the key we hope.
Before leaving Cilacap we had a chance to check out the old Dutch fort there (promised my father I'd put something about the Dutch presence here!). Overlooking the sea, 'Bendeng Pendem', as its now called, was built between 1863 and 1875 to defend the deep water harbour against the English and Portuguese. Though rather neglected and overgrown, the exterior of the fort is in a good state of repair compared to most on the island of Java, with fortifications, barrack-rooms and even the former surgery intact. There is even a tunnel leading out the sea that was unfortunately flooded while were there preventing further exploration.
Having had a day off today to recover from an exhausting climb over the mountain just to the east of Bogor (haven't got the map in front of me for the name), we set off tomorrow for the final 2-days to 'Anyer' on the NW coast where this leg of the bike trip will end. The kayaks are being trucked from Jimbaran Beach as we speak, and we hope will coincide with our arrival sometime on Saturday. The cost of a dedicated truck plus driver ended up being $600 USD, a third more than was originally quoted due to diesel and petrol prices having soared 100% on October first. It is such a large amount of the remaining budget for this leg of the expedition that I was seriously considering renting a car and getting them myself. But the week that this would take, plus the stress of driving on Indonesian roads and the risk of someone driving into the back of the kayaks loaded on the roof of the hirecare, had me revert to plan A.
TEA GROWING AT ELEVATION
We'll then back-track to Jakarta on Sunday, ready for to hit the immigration office first thing on Monday morning for my third visa renewal and for Chris and April to prepare themselves for their respective journeys back home on Tuesday.
Posted on October 5, 2005 12:52 PM