This morning we were taking the ferry to Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara. This should be a relatively easy fairy crossing, about 2 hours, but we’re expecting chaos like the last two crossings have been. Up at sunrise and to the nearby ferry port. Buying the ticket is relatively easy. We ride over to the queue and wait for the lineup to begin. The heat starts to build as the sun rises in the sky. Finally a worker motions for the bikes to ride to another lineup area in front of the ferry. There we wait for the trucks/bikes packaging to begin. After about 45 minutes they motion that the ferry is full. All the bikes scatter and take off for another queue where the next ferry will be. By the time we get over there we are about 50 back in a pack of bikes so close you can touch each other with your elbow. Packaging begins and just as the ferry seems full, they let a group of bikes on to pack in the very back of the ferry. We are on!
By the time we finally get on the ferry every available space is taken. We find a small piece of shade on the metal deck outside and wait for the ferry to leave. Of course, as the ferry turns, our area is in the direct sun. After about 15 minutes we are drenched in sweat and looking for any shady space. We finally find a small space standing next to the stairwell. At least it’s in the shade.
We make the port at Sumbawa without incident. Making our way down to the bike We found that all the bikes have been moved and packed in like sardines, with ours being all the way in the back corner. There is no way to get to the bike until all the scooters in front leave. As The scooters leave more people fill in the spaces to get on their scooters and finally it’s our turn. Melanie decided to walk off the ferry boat and stand in the shade waiting for me to get to the bike. I finally make it there and she hops on the bike. All the ferry traffic has gone before us so the ride out is very easy without too much traffic.
The ride to the capital city of Sumbawa is very scenic as a road follows the inulations of the coast. There are monkeys and people with stalls all along the route. The hotel we have chosen is within walking distance of immigration. It seems to be the nicest hotel in town and is still less than US$30 a night. We walk down to immigration the next day to do our visa. It seems immigration is closed for a bank holiday. We have booked for two nights so hopefully on Tuesday we can go down, get stamped for another 30 days, and be on our way.
Problem! Since we were stamped in when we arrived in Jakarta our passports and Visa information must be flown to Jakarta to be processed, then flown back. This process will take 3 days, so no passports or extended Visa until Friday. This is the first time I have relinquished my passport for that period of time while traveling in a foreign country. It doesn’t seem safe to do, but what choice do I have. It is the process and our passports and Visa extension will be back on Friday.
We extend our time for another three days and wait. I rationalize this by saying it gives my knee more time to heal. The problem is this puts us further back and trying to reach the next couple islands. Rather than rush, we agree to just take our time and enjoy the rest of the days in Indonesia as we head back towards Jakarta.
A friend of Jeffrey’s lives in Sumbawa. We give Iwan Ranteg a call to see if he can help speed things up at immigration. Of course he can. He picks us up at our hotel in his Harley-Davidson truck and off we go to immigration. This time though it’s a totally different experience. He walks in as if he owns the place with people saluting him left and right. The process can’t be sped up as our passports had to be flown to Jakarta for the extension, but they are retrievable on Thursday instead of Friday.
Iwan takes us out to show us the town. He has a couple businesses and is known and well respected by everyone. After lunch, he takes us to his house. It is a beautiful, ornate structure which also serves as a bed and breakfast. He’s building onto it and will have several different museum rooms when finished. He has collected artifacts from across Sumbawa. In one room are turtle shells and rocks and coral that you would find under the sea. He even has a set of petrified mermaid feet. Another room houses almost the same artifacts. But none of these were found in the sea. Most of these have been found on volcanic mountain ridges. It was a super interesting tour. And then he wanted us to have some souvenirs of the island. He brought out a couple rings for us with rocks found only on the island. Also a couple necklaces that we will treasure with our traveling souvenirs.
The next night Iwan picked us up to go out to Chinese dinner. He has a boxing and fitness gym at his house. One of the guys who joined us is his boxing trainer. After a wonderful dinner he took us around town and showed us various vehicles that he owns stashed all over the city. Three big vehicles in a hotel parking lot. A couple more over in this area. Not to mention although overlanding vehicles that he has at his house. Just a super fascinating man. We ended up a couple blocks from our hotel for live music. There was a young girl there, Firsta Rezky, with her band singing a mix of Indonesian and American tunes. She was fantastic. During a break she came over and sat and chatted with us while his boxing trainer took a turn on the microphone. He also was very talented. Somehow they managed to find us some alcoholic drinks. I’m not quite sure what they were, but they were super strong. We had a fantastic evening.
The route we want to leave Sumbawa by is closed. Seems a recent earthquake disrupted the road and it’s not passable. Taking a different route, we end up back at the ferry port. We have decided that Komodo Island is out of the plans. My knee seems to be getting a little stronger, with mild setbacks about every other day. Relaxing and elevated leg therapy is very difficult when there is so much to see. We decided to ferry back to Lombok and take the Northern route by the volcano. The road follows the undulating coastline and is busy with vehicle and two-wheel traffic. I have decided you don’t ride through Indonesia for the beautiful ride. You ride through Indonesia to get you from place to place. So many spots are just spectacular and the people are amazing. To me, that’s a good enough reason to ride through here.
The ferry across to Lombok is a totally different ferry ride than our first one. There are lounge chairs, air conditioning and a TV inside. It isn’t busy at all. We rode right up, purchased our ticket and road ride on to the ferry. We found a little home stay very near the beach. It was a beautiful cove with super clean, clear water. We pulled up to the homestay and they ushered us up a ramp and right into the restaurant to securely park the motorcycle. After a swim in the sea We went back for a simple meal of fried chicken and rice.
As we were getting ready to leave in the morning, Melanie gave some stickers to a little boy. He ran out super happy and told a couple friends. As I was pushing my motorcycle out of the restaurant a little girl was jumping up and down and waving to me. It seems she was one that was told about the stickers. Then she started blowing kisses to us. We of course blew the kisses back and she was squealing with delight. Melanie grabbed some more stickers and headed out to them. They were so excited they couldn’t stand still. They posed for a picture, without their beautiful happy smiles but, believe me, they were super happy.
We went up riding to the northwestern side of the island, just south of the super popular Gili Trawangan. Finding a liquor store we decided to go into relax/recovery mode again for a few days. The ride in is on a little path, but the resort is beautiful. We are close to the beach with restaurants on the beach. There is a temple close and we go for a visit.
Guess the meaning?
Bali will be next, and soon Eastern Europe, and another ride towards Asia and the Middle East. I want my knee to be as close to 100% as possible by then.
Travel with a purpose.
Cheers for now.
2WANDRRs
2WANDRRs 
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