Posts Tagged ‘Puncak’


Java is one big traffic jam. My great warm showers host Dony said that shortly after Bandung this will no longer be the case, but today was a day of cycling through the car and motorbike fumes, weaving in and out traffic, and waiting when the road was so full, even a little bike couldn’t squeeze past. Macet.

Macet in Bandung

Macet in Bandung

I am staying with Dony in Bandung – a great cycling guy who has given me lots of advice on my route forward on Java. Again, a great community of cyclists. Thanks for the hospitality! Coming soon: beach, volcanoes, temples – and quiet roads. I’m looking forward to it!!


Cramp. Already before lunch. Today was a stop-start affair – stopping to wait for the cramp to subside and then starting. Nafal (my warmshower host from Bogor) and I are at the top of the pass at Puncak in the nice, cool air, sleeping in the prayer room at the tourist information.

Me and Nafal

Me and Nafal

Three weeks of air-conditioned malls in Jakarta have taken their toll. My first hilly day in Sumatra was the same after a week of feeding in Singapore. Cramp. It’s very frustrating. I feel fine, and want to continue, but I know if I move it will hit, and when it does, I buckle over in agony. The heat, the bright sun and the steep road did it – I sweated all the salt out of my body.

Today I felt like a chain-smoker. The road heading up out of Bogor was bathed in car fumes and noise. Climbing a pass isn’t meant to be stopping and starting waiting for a free space on the road while struggling up a hill. At the first chance, we left the main road and took the alternative route – one that was steeper but with much less traffic.

Mountain view

Mountain view

We find ourselves perched on the top of the pass with a beautiful view out over the valley, with dark clouds and the flickering of lightening, and a beautiful, bright rainbow.

Rainbow

Rainbow