August 28, 2023
Day 120 - limping north into a massive traffic jam
It's almost 8 AM and I have taken advantage of the excellent buffet breakfast here at Hotel Maxone. I've probably eaten the equivalent of two large dinners, but that's what it takes to do this stuff. My bike might be showing signs of wear; I don't need to join it! I'll be away in 30 min heading north in the traffic towards Jambi. It's hard to gauge towns 100+ km away or whether there are hotels. I find it a real drag, knowing not only that I'll end up in a dive but that I'll finish the day with uninspiring food - it's been the same stuff for 4000 km. I regret sending my cooking gear home from Darwin. Regardless of where I am, there's loud noise. And, invariably, there's the big welcome and a cloud of cigarette smoke. I call out "tolong jangan merokok di dekatku". It has little effect other than the targets declaring that cigarettes make them strong. I often think how easy it was to cycle across Australia. I pretty much decided the distance I would do and, upon reaching that mark, push into the bush. Within minutes I'd have a billy on the fire and be in absolute peace. Dinner would be delicious.
I realised, as I cycled back towards Hotel Win, that yesterday I managed -9 km. I was further from Dumai at the end of the day than at the start! The road in front of Maxone is divided. I couldn't bring myself to start the day pedaling in the wrong direction and so I did a km on the wrong side of this busy road before finding a place I could cross. I then headed for the big right turn under the railway.
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It was two lanes of traffic on a divided road for a few more kms and then it went to a single lane and bedlam for 10 km. It didn't bother me. Trucks passed very close while the "Indonesian swing" - overtaking and immediately turning left, was extremely common. I'd be disappointed to fall for one of these.
Rubber plantations appeared after 20 kms and the road was rough for most of the day. There was often a tall ridge of tar on the road's edge. It was difficult riding and a difficult day for the blog. There was nothing much that stood out. That is, until a magnificent traffic jam at day's end.
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Further on I reached a spot where motorcyclists were dropping off tubs of raw rubber.
At about this point, I saw a couple of things that amused me greatly. I haven't got photos so I'll describe them. Both concern fossil fuels. The first was a dozen decent-sized trucks, all loaded with the common green gas bottles, parked outside a warung. The stench of gas was incredible. One hopes that they were all "empty" bottles venting. The second was better. The driver of a Pertamina fuel tanker was dispensing fuel into someone's 10 L container using a platic hose. I smelled a rat. I suspect that Pertamina do too! There may be safety issues; I didn't notice if they were smoking!
The day was hotter and brighter and the country undulated. It was a hard day in the saddle. I belted down the hills hoping to climb the other side. More often than not, I ascended the "cake" but needed to drop 10 gears for the "icing". It was also a difficult day for phone photos; I took many by guessing what was on the screen. There were few towns but the traffic was reasonably heavy. Many trucks were loaded with palm oil fruits.
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Occasionally, buildings caught the eye.
And, for my wires and poles art-of-the-day, I choose this place.
I was about 80 km from Palembang when I passed through one of the larger towns of the day - Betung, I think. It just happened to be swiftlet central, and so great chunks of dirty block-architecture stole the horizon. It's so ugly that it leans on brilliance.
But, just out of town was a spanking new swiftlet house, towering above an impressive house.
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Its a good breakfast that gets you 90 km but that's when I felt the first pang of hunger. I ducked into a warung for one of the better nasi gorengs that I've had, prepared by Rudin and Nurhayati.
I left their warung feeling as though I'd have no problems doing another 20 or 30 km in the undulations. I stopped for the occasional photo with no inkling of what lay ahead.
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I was cruising along at good speed, rounded a corner and there it was - a magnificent traffic jam.
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The squall went on for kilometres. Here's my analysis. You have a team of people and a few vehicles doing roadworks. This is disruptive but you don't think of some scheme for regulating the traffic, such as a timer to let traffic flow in one direction and then the next. This results in chaos. Vehicles sit in the traffic with engines running and perhaps, on buses, air conditioning. They overheat due to a lack of airflow - thermal physics, again - and the chaos deepens.
After 109 km, I looked around and saw a hotel that seems to be in the middle of nowhere. I booked in and watched the jam from my window. It had almost resolved itself when I went for dinner four hours later.
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1 year ago
There was a big truckies' warung a few hundred metres from the hotel. I had two big plates of Masakan Padang and took a couple of photos on my walk back.
The day had a couple of bits of good news. First, I am fewer than 800 km from Dumai, from where I'll catch the first of a couple of ferries to Singapore. Secondly, no spokes broke today.
Today's ride: 109 km (68 miles)
Total: 8,613 km (5,349 miles)
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| Comment on this entry | Comment | 8 |
I say only 800kms to go but that in no way diminishes your achievement. Your cheer squad back in Australia is cheering you on!
1 year ago
Just that added 10% to find tucked away somewhere in the energy account.
Good job keeping the spokes and wheel together. Hopefully that glitch is past history now.
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Several years ago, from the viewpoint an Indonesian bus window I saw kids draining small amounts fuel from a traffic jammed tanker’s outlet in front of our bus. I assumed it was residual volume of fuel caught between the main valve and the end cap.
But yes, the thought of an explosive conflagration caused by a spark in petrol in a traffic jam did cross my mind.
When Jane and I travelled northern India in the mid 80s, we met French people who’d been injured (one of them badly) when an LPG cylinder exploded near them in a market place.
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