At 6 am we are ready to leave. It’s still very quiet on the road and it's even a bit chilly. Finding the way won’t be a problem as we have to follow the Trans-Sumatran Highway for nearly 2,000 kilometres.

The Trans-Sumatran Highway

As it gets brighter, it also becomes busier on the road. We soon notice we aren’t getting along well, after a two hours, we have covered less than 100 kilometres. Each direction has only one lane, making it difficult to overtake the many slow trucks but the road is generally okay. We had heard that the traffic would be worse here than in India, but that turns out not to be true. By nightfall, we have covered only a few hundred kilometres so not enough to reach Jakarta in time. We decide to continue as long as possible. We eat to gain courage, but on departure, we find ourselves in a huge traffic jam caused by road works. We slalom in between the line, pleased we are travelling with a bike. Around three o'clock we reach the equator. It’s a shame we can’t take the time to enjoy this moment, although it remains a special moment to reach the Southern Hemisphere with our own bike.

The Equator Monument

Now we begin to feel our bodies can’t go any further so we start looking for a hotel. There’s none to be found and at 5 am we decide to set up our tent somewhere. Just at that moment we see a restaurant with a sofa bed for truck drivers. A few are already sleeping and we decide to go lay between. We take a blanket and pillow and quickly fall asleep. Three hours later we wake up and the people are watching us a bit weird but they are friendly. We eat something in the restaurant and at 9 am we are already on our way.

Sleeping in Roadside Restaurant

We feel that it is going faster this time because there is less traffic on the road, but in reality we are going as slow as the day before. This is due to the many turns as the road now goes through the mountains. Around midnight we arrive in a big city and decide that we will look for a hotel so we could avoid the city traffic the next day. Just beyond the centre, we find two hotels but these turn out to be full so we drive on. About 20 kilometres further we stop at a restaurant that consists of several open huts. We think to just go lay in one when the owner comes out to see what is going on. He sounds a bit unfriendly but when he sees Kevin's face, his tone changes. He is happy to see a tourist and offers us his oratory. This is better because this cabin has four walls and we may also use his toilet. Outside there is a sink so we can refresh ourselves. We sleep until 8am and after thanking the owner and his family, we are back on the road.

The Carpenter's Praying House

We drive twelve hours to cover the 430 kilometres to the ferry to Java. On the ferry we walk around on the boat fighting the fatigue because we still have some 120 kilometres to go to Jakarta. At one point we see a green light in the sea. We immediately think of plankton and a man next to us confirms this. Some kilometres from the harbour, the boat stops but we do not know what's going on. We ask around and apparently there is a problem in the harbour and the boat should wait about two hours before it can moor.

The Ferry to Java

We arrive at Jakarta around 7am and immediately go to the IMI office. Here, we hear that it opens at 10am. We take a nap on the grass in front of the office. We can only hope that this hellish ride was not in vain. The woman in the office is very friendly and it seems that they are going to grant us the extension. Now we have to wait for an email to pick up our Carnet. We had already seen a hotel on the internet and we can finally go to sleep in a real bed!

The Equator Monument

Fishermen along the Trans-Sumatran Highway

Sumatra by Night Seen from the Ferry

More info on www.wijzijnweg.org