TRAVERSE 79
TRAVEL- INDONESIA
JEREMY TORR
THE MOST OUTLAW PLACE...
If you want to make God laugh, start planning. I was all set to ride from Tassie to Singapore, maybe even on to China to the factory where my bike was built. It was going to be easy, I’ d lived in Asia for over 15 years and knew the lie of the land; I knew how to cope with Asian country borders, when to use the ferry rather than the bridge, how much to flatter / bribe border guards, how to apply for / wangle visas and bike permits and all that stuff. I even had a route worked out.
I contacted the container line that does the Darwin-Dili( Timor-Leste) route to see how much it would be on top of the carnet, the customs clearance and all. They said about five thousand dollars, and I nearly choked on my coffee. Plans? I slumped back into despondency and looked at riding to Melbourne instead.
But then, that same day, you know how it is, things just sometimes happen. A spam mail from JetStar offered me a return trip to Singapore for $ 400! Ripper. The credit card sprang into action, and I called my riding friend in Singapore, Teng.
“ What are you doing in two weeks’ time?” I asked.“ Fancy a ride to Indo?”
“ Can do,” he replied.“ What part of Indo?”“ Not sure. What’ s Sumatra like?”“ Dunno. Let me have a look on
Google.”
Sumatra, it turns out, is only an hour’ s budget airline flight from Singapore, has orangutans, and tigers, tsunamis, and active volcanoes along with some really twisty mountain roads. Perfect then. It also has brilliant bike and scooter hire from right next to Medan airport, capital of the least jungleinfested region.
“ I’ ve booked two Honda Vario 150s,” wrote Teng.“ They said proper
TRAVERSE 79