April 9th: Cirebon to Tegal – 75.16 km
Day 178
Our dreams of cycling in a less crowded area had kept us motivated to push on despite the lack of scenery and choking exhaust. We would be able to turn southwards into the mountains after Tegal. We’ve heard that the areas away from the north coast aren’t nearly as populous and as a bonus a few degrees Celsius cooler. However, while researching our route we noticed that most cyclist started in Central or even Eastern Java. Arriving in Jakarta, they would hop on the train and skip much of Western Java, and we were starting to understand why.
Our dread of getting on the road was well founded as there was more of the same choking exhaust and lack of scenery. More crazy naked people, constant traffic, no shoulders, enormous pot holes, hot and humid, and overall assault on the senses. Physically the cycling hasn’t been too difficult, but remaining constantly vigilant is draining. There just wasn’t a point where we could escape and recoup. We stopped at local convenience stores to get a cold drink as we watched the river of traffic flew by, knowing we would have to wade back in. We just kept moving until we get to the hotel, our only sanctuary.
Cher picked our sanctuary for the night – Alexander Hotel by Google Maps reviews and photos, which featured a half-naked lady in the room, local men squatting gambling in a parking lot and a selfy of a purple haired man or woman. We were disappointed not to find a raucous party but just another enormous, once grand, but now defunct hotel. We slept like babies.
