Bone-shaking Jeep Ride to Bira Beach, Indonesia
Bus driver dropped me 7 km from Malengieri terminal in Makassar so I stubbornly hiked around puddles, hazardous sidewalks, and a barrage of touts. Haggled aggressively for a 80,000 bumpy jeep ride to Bira Beach, Indonesia. Lovely beach town. All locals continually want to speak in Bahasa. Numerous groups stop to take my picture. Met an Islamic boarding school group. Had a chat with John about Islamic faith and Christianity. They believe in one creator – Allah, pray 5 times a day, starting at 4 am and last prayer at midnight. One of his sayings was, “My life, my adventure.”
Beach life leads to ideal itinerary days. Walked about 12 miles yesterday down a nature trail with butterflies, wild pigs, chickens, and deer. Sandals insufficient for such distances on uneven ground.
Discovering Paradise Beaches
Found myself on a few completely empty beaches. Realized I’m constantly on the move so I forced myself to sit 10 minutes with my eyes closed, relaxing on Pussa Helu beach. Pure elation upon discovery of deserted beaches and trails that haven’t been trekked in quite some time.
Pick up rocks when I hear large animals rustling in the distance. No WiFi in Bira Beach, Indonesia, peaceful, but I still need to book flight to Jakarta. Last piece of logistics puzzle to complete an incredible Indonesian tour. I imagine Sri Lanka will involve much less moving about – seems like a relatively small island. Chatted with hotel owner Riswan at sunset. Very serious demeanor. He said, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” He dabbles in several business ventures. He started the first guesthouse in Bira Beach, Indonesia. He sells wooden boats for 10% commission. Rents banana boats and does guided tours. He also publishes a newspaper and invests in land. He has plans to start a new guesthouse near Bara Beach. He was not happy about rubbish situation in Bira Beach, Indonesia. Says there is a problem with Indonesian mindset and they need less talking and more doing.
Ship Building Harbor
15.6 miles walking to harbor known to observe the impressive ship building of wooden boats. Almost turned around in thick brush when I bumped into a couple that gave me a bite and told me to keep going – stumbled into breathtaking vista. Swam near Kasuro fishing village. Panoramic view and monkeys atop Puajanggo Moutain. Bodysurfed. Posed for dozens of pictures. Listened to group sing Indonesian songs. Played soccer. Indonesia = Inda (beautiful).
Arrivial in Colombo Airport, Sri Lanka
Panther jeep from Bulukumba-Makassar. Took 3 different petay petay’s and hitched a scooter ride to Makassar Airport – a fitting way to complete my Indonesian journey. Scored a 621,000 Rupiah flight to Jakarta (huge relief). Took a 40,000 Rupiah Block M Dumri Bus and 30,000 taxi to my friend’s place. Very happy I did this rather than sleeping 2 nights at the airport.
Recharged and planned travels ahead. Flying into Tiruchirapalli, India after Sri Lanka. Planning to see Chennai, Agra (Taj Mahal), Varanasi and New Delhi. Considering a land crossing into Nepal – hoping by mid-march the weather is warm enough to do Annapurna Circuit. All my walking should have me in decent shape. From Nepal, perhaps Bangladesh, then Burma, Laos, back to Thailand and maybe do Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. Perhaps China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan… South America. Incredible luck with finances as I paid taxi 150,000, paid 150,000 departure tax. Guy let me through immigration despite losing my departure card and waived the 200,000 penalty. Just 11,000 rupiah remaining. Sitting in Colombo Airport now waiting for bank transfer.
