May 6, 2015
Back to Backpacker Land: How lucky!
We actually weren’t the only tourists staying in the hotel. There was also a hulking great Austrian man named Lukas, traveling the world, largely off road, on a massive dirt bike. It was lucky that he was there in the morning, because one of the screws holding Tom’s front rack had sheared off, and Lukas had the tools to get it out for him. Tom then also looked, very half-heartedly, around the town for a new tyre, but almost immediately gave up and declared that he would just get one in Tuk-Tuk.
Whilst we were looking for the tyre I spotted a young guy on a bicycle and I asked him if he knew of a bike shop. Turned out he was actually a tourist himself, Kiev, a young kid from Hong Kong on week-long vacation. So he couldn’t help us with a bike shop but he did come with us to help us find the hot springs that were located close to Panguran. When we got there we found they were a bit of a disappointment, just warm baths really.
The minerals in the water might have done something to Tom though, or perhaps it was the loud techno music that he blasted into his ears through his headphones, or even more likely it was the thought of the nice backpacker girls in Tuk-Tuk, but something definitely inspired him because he cycled off at a ferocious pace and it was forty kilometres before I caught him up. By that stage I was beginning to wonder if I hadn’t accidentally cycled past him somewhere, because he’d never done such a long distance without stopping before, but then I came across his bike parked up outside of a vegan café. He was an intriguing guy, full of contradictions. Pumping along listening to loud techno one minute, enjoying a fruit shake in a vegan café the next.
The very presence of a vegan café of course indicated that we were close to Tuk-Tuk and tourist country and before very long we were in the town itself. Not that it was much of a town, more of a curious village that was eerily quiet. The signs for jet-skiing and pizza and magic mushrooms indicated that we had indeed reached backpacker land again, but it was strangely devoid of any actual backpackers. The restaurants sat empty, the streets quiet, the tourist information centre obsolete.
Although Tom’s hopes of meeting any cute backpackers looked dashed there was at least one other traveller in town as Lukas rocked up, roaring along the road on his beast of a motorcycle. He suggested that we grab lunch together and so we did just that, going along to a restaurant where we were the only customers. Lukas was a nice enough guy; a man of about six foot five and built of solid muscle. An advocate of the Palaeolithic diet, he told us he ate only meat and vegetables. Tom and I sat there feeling like a couple of scrawny little boys, as this hunk put away four meals whilst telling us about his successful business and his great motorcycle adventure. Frankly I felt like it was a good thing for Tom that there were no cute backpacker girls around, the competition might have been a bit much.
Lukas roared off again on his motorcycle and Tom and I coughed along in his trail of dust on our bicycles until we came across a nice place to stay. It had a balcony with hammocks overlooking the lake and we were offered rooms right down by the water, ensuite with comfortable beds, for the almost unbelievable price of two pounds each. It was paradise, absolute paradise. We had planned to only stay for one night and then press on up to Medan in order to take the boat back to Singapore on the 12th of May. There was only one boat a week and I didn’t want to risk taking the one on the 19th in case we missed it, leaving us stranded and unable to make the cruise, so I’d planned it so that we’d make it for the 12th. But this place was too perfect. Most amazing of all was the absolutely complete silence. “Tom,” I said, “I reckon we can take the boat on the 19th. Let’s stay here and relax for a week.”
Tom didn’t need much persuading. Besides this was obviously the best place to stay on the whole island and there were even a few other backpackers in the vicinity. Whilst Tom busied himself seeing if any of them were cute girls I went and sat alone by the lake. It was such a peaceful and idyllic scene, with a calmness in the air accentuated by the mist hanging over the mountains across the lake. I paused and watched a lone fisherman reeling his net in onto his small boat and thought about how great it was, and how lucky I was, to be in a special place like this.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 40,609 km (25,218 miles)
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