… from Danau Minanjau, Padang to Krui along the west coast, Danau Ranau, Kalianda

Recovered we left lake Minanjau on a mountain road towards the west coast. Smelling the sea we rode down until we reached a little beach south of Padang. We had a jump into the ocean and were chilling at the beach directly in front of our room until late night. Heading further south along the coast the rain caught us half way to Krui. Krui is a well-known surf location and we had difficulties to find a non over prized accommodation. In the end we did, we hung out our clothes for drying and went for dinner. Unfortunately the food was not good and the result was that Kerstin hanging on the toilet for the whole night. Not feeling well and flabby we decided to go only until Danau Ranau a small volcanic lake close by in the mountain. Not many accommodation offers in that area are available but in the end we found a nice family where we could stay with a view over the lake and got served with tea.

Time was running and we started the next morning direction Kalianda which is just 40 km away from the ferry port to Java. Cruising around at the end of the day to find a room Kerstin lost her rain liner which she was carrying in her hands – stupid! But feeling broken-down and dizzy without eating the last two days it was not really surprising that something like that would happen… Of course we had a look around immediately when we recognized it, but if you lose anything here it will be picked up by anybody within seconds for sure. While having dinner (time for Kerstin to try eating some plain rice) in the garden of a restaurant Sascha saw his first wild cobra! Two cats were playing with something in a bush when suddenly the cobra rose up, it was only a baby but nevertheless Sascha was trying to explain the owner of the place that he has a snake in his garden. When he got it everybody was shouting immediately “ular! ular!” and started hunting. We learned a new vocabulary and they caught the snake ;-)

The next morning we left for the ferry to Java. We were in contact already with Lutson, a member of the HTML- Club (Honda Tiger) from Tangerang and he organized that we get picked up by some club members from Cilegon which is close to the ferry port. We jumped on the ferry and after 2,5 hours we arrived at Java. A view minutes later three guys from the HTML-Club arrived. They escorted us until we got out of Cilegon on the right road to Tangerang. It was just great how fast we got through the traffic! The last 20km before Tangerang were really painful: The traffic turned crazy, the road became more and more narrow and full of pot holes and we were more standing than driving – nearly wide as a car with the panniers on it is impossible to sneak through the cars, trucks and busses. Finally we arrived at the meeting point where other HTML members were already waiting for us. Ivan, the head of the HTML-Club for the Tangerang district invited us to stay in his place where we drove all together.

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… Tangerang, Bandung, Pangandaran, Dieng Plateau, Yogyakarta

Honestly! These guys are incredible!!! Everybody welcomed us so hearty and everybody was offering his help. The hospitality of Ivan and his family was just unbelievable!!! We found a “home” and GREAT NEW FRIENDS!!! The plan was to get a new front tire in Tangeran. But in the end thanks to the help of Ivan, Lutson and all the others we got as well a new horn (Sascha was dreaming of getting a truck horn since a long time alreadyJ) and we could extend our visa within two days for another month (time is running just to fast hereJ). And the most important: Our new friends introduced us to their culture, their life style, their tradition and their great hospitality. We joint the weekly HTML-Club meeting, we attended a traditional celebration for pregnancy, we got served traditional food all day around, we had our first Durian (a smelly but delicious fruit) and we were accompanied wherever we had to go. Thanks to Pitri, Ivans wife, we felt like home and additional got done all our laundry. And thanks to Fathir, their lovely little sun we learned a lot of new vocabularies and had always a nice entertainerJ

We were really sad after 4 days to leave but we are sure we will see them all again… one day! There are no existing words to impress how much we enjoyed meeting YOU ALL!

Of course we got escorted out of Tangerang by Lutson and we got the contact of the HTML-Club head of Bandung district, Lutfee, who was welcoming us with his friends before we reached the city. They helped us to find a place for the night and we enjoyed riding at the back of their tigers up the hill to have dinner together with a great view over Bandung at night. The next day they accompanied us out of Bandung. Heading direction Pangandaran we enjoyed the ride over the mountain roads while catching some views to the volcanic scenery. The traffic became less and less and in the middle of the way we got stopped on the road by a group of traveller. It was the “Ring of Fire” team: A family who is riding on Tenerees around Indonesia and working on a great documentary for the local television and for the Discovery Channel. They invited us for lunch and we had the chance to exchange our experiences. We got great tips for riding from them and we could watch some of their impressive videos.

When we reached Pangandaran at the south coast we found an accommodation in a guesthouse of another HTML member ;-) The next day we explored the close by Green Canyon, the coast line around and the nature reserve area. The sunset we spend swimming and sitting and the white beach, watching the monkeys, deer and huge bats.

The next destination was the Dieng Plateau, a high plateau surrounded by volcanoes. It was a great riding day. And a lovely scenery when we reached our destination with misty green hills and swirling clouds within the volcanic landscape. We had a look around in the dawn until it turned dark and the next morning we started at 5AM to hike up to the view point. Later on after breakfast we were riding around the plateau area up to the mountain villages and the volcano lakes finally heading direction Yogyakarta.

We had an invitation from Andy to stay with him in Yogyakarta. Unfortunately he had to leave for a job so we will not meet him personally. His lovely girlfriend, Shinta, welcomed and guided us around. Yogya is a nice city, with small lanes, not much traffic, a lot of green, cultural scenery… we had some walks around at the water castle, Taman Sari and the underground mosque, we met Shinta`s family, got invited in her uncle´s restaurant which is located in a part of the royal palace and who is riding a tiger as well. Today we will go together with a friend of Andy, Tommy, up to Mt Merapi, Mountain of Fire. It is Indonesia´s most active volcano. He knows the area very well and we are looking forward having a nice afternoon on the motorcycle!

As you can see, we have a lovely time here in Indonesia and we are impressed by the hospitality, the friendliness and last but not least the breathtaking landscapes. As we do not have internet connection that regular like in other countries, the up-dates are less often and perhaps a bit longer… We hope you enjoy it anyhow!

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