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October 29, 2005
Eve of the final push to Singapore - from Phil
LOCATION: Jambi, Sumatra
SEE WHERE WE ARE - NEW!
NAUTICAL MILES KAYAKING: 865
STANDARD MILES BIKING: 1372.85
I’ve just recovered from a nasty bug of some sort. Felt quite awful for a couple of days, but under the watchfully eye of Jason and Kenny I have now recovered. It’s never fun being sick when you’re away from home.
Shopping Day.
We headed to the supermarket and loaded up with supplies to the value of 1,300,000 (Indonesian Rupiah). Interesting to be spending such large number. Kenny commented that it was like being a bunch of tycoons, casually exchanging riches. But at the current exchange rate it all works out to a bit more than US$100.
The kayaks are ready to go, epoxy set and sanded. The Hotel manager showed us to some soft drink factory to get bulk water for the Ortleib water bladders. The locals crowded around, finding our antics quite amusing. Hauled the water back to our room, which was promptly flooded by one of the bladders that we hadn’t sealed correctly. The laptop got a bit wet but, I’m writing on it now so we figure it survived.
Kenny and Jason spent about two hours walking around town trying to find a bag of rice that was less than 10 kilos. Impossible. They finally convinced a restaurant to put some in a bag for them. Jason’s language skills saving the day once again.
That’s about it. Jason’s heading off early on the bike and Kenny and I will load the kayaks into the truck along with all the gear and supplies (it’ll be stunning if we get it all into the kayaks) and will catch up with Jason somewhere along the road to Tanjung to get some video and photos of the intrepid explorer in action. We’ll unload in Tanjung, stow everything in/on/around the kayaks and head off down the river Hari. Should be about two days to the coast and then we’ll be island hoping to Singapore. Kenny and I will bail out at Batan and catch a ferry to Singapore so as to film Jasons arrival. All things being equal. To quote Kenny: “Of course, it could all go horribly wrong.”
Right-o you lot, catch you later.
Phil
Posted on October 29, 2005 6:17 PM