Indonesia > On the way to Ketapang

A quiet day today. I am traveling to Ketapang, where the rest of the group will rejoin. Since we can’t check in at the hotel in Ketapang yet, we don’t leave until eleven o’clock. I have a leisurely breakfast and take a dip in the pool. At eleven, I am ready with my travel bag by the bus. In about two hours, I reach Ketapang. There, I can have lunch first. By then, the rooms will probably be ready. Along the way, we pass mostly villages and towns. Today I am sitting at the front and can observe life on the streets closely. Regularly, people stand in the median strip to collect money, often for the construction of mosques. They hope that drivers will give money as they pass. A dangerous task on the busy road. I also continue to marvel at the creativity of motorbike riders. I see a motorbike carrying four layers of chickens on the back. I see highly stacked footballs, and in front of me rides a motorbike with three still-living sheep tied on the back. Halfway through, the bus driver turns into a parking lot at a gas station.

Indonesia - Chickens are transported on the back of a scooter

He gestures for coffee. No one feels like stopping and prefers to continue to Ketapang for lunch. Then it turns out the other group members are also coming to this parking lot, which had not been known in advance. The driver says we need to wait about fifteen minutes. I order a cola with a type of fried cassava. The fifteen minutes turn into half an hour. The half hour becomes an hour. Where are the other travelers? The explanation involves a blocked road. When they arrive after almost an hour and a half, it turns out the rear axle of one car had broken. The repair took some time. With the full group reunited, we continue to Ketapang. When I arrive around three o’clock, my room is already ready. The hotel is located on a small beach. Walking along the black lava sand, I mostly see a lot of trash. I try to walk to the right toward a village, but due to excavation work, I cannot go further. On the other side, a few traditional fishing boats lie on the beach. I cannot get much further there either. The factory’s drainage water prevents me from walking on. The water does not look inviting to wade through. I decide to walk back along the hotel to the main entrance. I order a beer and sit on the terrace in front of my bungalow. In the evening, I stay at the resort and eat at the hotel restaurant. I go to bed early.