April 12th: Bumiayu to Purwokerto – 36 km

Day 181

Indonesians are the warmest and sweetest people that we’ve met. We were once again treated to a free breakfast of buttered toast and chocolate spread sandwiches and glasses of sweet hot milk. Thankfully I kept it down as we were assaulted by black exhaust from trucks, white exhaust from motorbikes, shaking from the pot holes, and a 5km steady climb first thing in the morning. We’ve come to accept that there is not rush hour just rush hours all day every day.

Cher put it perfectly today when she said, “the scenery would be great if it weren’t for all the traffic and I didn’t know all the rivers were polluted.” Today we had glimpses of terraced fields and mist covered mountains, in between dodging potholes, trucks, buses and motorcycles, some of which drive head on into traffic. Despite being an annoying optimist, much of the beauty was lost on me, as I was still recovering from some lower intestinal free flow.

Since we decided that we had had enough, we went straight to the train station once we arrived in Purwokerto to inquire about tickets. While I went to the customer service window, Cher entertained the local crowds gathered around our trikes as usual. One old man quite taken with her drew her picture and made her a fighter plane out of a tin soda can.

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I found out that we could take the train to Bangyuwangi where we can catch a ferry to Bali, and bring our trikes on board as long as we have bags to put them in, which we do. Otherwise you must go to a separate ticket counter and buy tickets for your bikes and load them onto a separate cargo train. I asked multiple times if it mattered that the bags were enormous and I was assured it would be ok. The customer service ladies insisted on filling out my train reservation form and as I waited in line I almost passed out. After leaving the line and buying a sports drink, I decided that an overnight train ride in the state I was in would not be wise.

We checked some local hotels and found that prices were quite high but ended up in a swanky one anyway for 300,000 IDR, or 26 USD. We have been surprised at the number of nice hotels in Indonesia and the relatively high prices. These posh hotels are in great contrast to the impoverished towns around them.

We are extremely fortunate to have the ability to skip over anything we find undesirable. Initially I wanted to see the real Java no matter how uncomfortable it was. After 360 km, we have seen a great deal and unlike the locals who have such incredible resilience, we have been worn down by the constant assault. We are constantly amazed by the warmth and honest concern that Indonesians display towards strangers, despite a grinding daily life that would make the people of many other cultures cold and isolated.