We will post weekly accounts of our journey through Indonesia. Partly because we have noticed a distinct lack of web pages on bicycle touring here, so we hope that this may be of some use to people considering a visit.
Click here for an interactive map of our route in Sumatra.
Ride Diary Week 1: Dumai to Bukittinggi Key to Hotel ratings:
£ = budget (less than 10 pounds) ££ = mid (10-20 pounds) £££=expensive (more than 20 pounds)
C=Cleanliness: /10
F=Facilities: /10
V=Value for money: /10
Adjusted for country expectations. Average price of hotel etc...
Port Klang to Dumai- Indomal Express
110 ringit each plus total 120 for bikes and bags. Hotel Superstar- $$$, C=5, F=7, V=3. Overpriced and under loved apart from reception. Food was good. Training new staff for ageing building. I had to do a presentation. 50 or so selfies by others. Warm beer but beer nevertheless. Smelly port town. CFC chicken lunch. Smoky breakfast.
Dumai to Duri 73km
Road conditions gradually got worse. Hit main trans-sumatra highway. Shocking. No wonder there is mainly sea trade. Relieved to get to Duri. Hotel Amadeo- $$, C=10, F=9, V=8. Good. Friendly manager. School visit. Chicken Dinner. Beer available next to Grand Zuri hotel.
Duri to Kandis highway 57km
Worst day for traffic and road conditions of whole trip. Rained. No major climbs. Hotel Mutiara- $, C=3, F=5, V=6 Rubbish. Breakfast ok. Street food for dinner. Cheap day. 300k all in.
Kandis to Bangkinang 93km
On minor road. Turn right 6kms after town. New highway being built. Optimistic about future touring. Truck traffic eased. A few sharp rises. Plenty of places to get water. Altha Hotel -$$, C=4, F= 5, V=4, Cheesy carpets.
Bangkinang to just south of Pangkalan 78km
Lots of steep sharp climbs. The worst/best of them over by the Western Sumatra provincial monument. Hotel/Wisma in petrol station $$, C=4, F=4, V=4
Pangkalan to BukitTinggi 88km
Two big climbs. Start and end of day. Both steady. Cooler riding. Hotel Grand Kartini $$, C=8, F=8, V=8
Click for our Week 2 Ride Diary.
Click here for an interactive map of our route in Sumatra.
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