Posts in Indonesia

Four months, seven islands, some 6000 km, and some of the most incredible experiences on two wheels so far. Despite seeming a lot, they are virtually insignificant numbers for such a vast country.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino23 July 2013adventure, bicycle, cycle, cycling, farewell, indonesia, jungle, traveling

The Long Crossing of Sumatra

Several people had told me that Sumatra was "the best of Indonesia", but honestly, after more than three months of cycling through this country, where over and over we had been

IndonesiaNicolás Marino16 July 2013Sumatra, Toba, adventure, bicycle, cycling, hospitality, indonesia, jungle, kerinci, lake, manis, martabak, monkeys, palm oil, plantations, tea, teran bulang, valleys

Arriving at Indonesia's biggest metropolis

Once completed our journey through the volcanoes, we wanted to get to Java as fast as possible. Java, with the exception of the spectacular east of the island, is where the majority of the population of the country lives, and in a country of 200 million people, that is not a minor thing.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino1 July 2013borobudur, central, chaos, city, indonesia, jams, java, jogjakarta, merapi, overcrowding, poverty, slum, temple, traffic, volcano, yogyakarta

Into the Lungs of Hell

The sulphur miners of the Ijen volcano, in the easternmost point of Java, carry out still in the 21st century, one of the most unhealthy and inhuman jobs in the world.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino27 June 2013ijen crater, ijen, indonesia, inequality, inhumanity, java, kawah ijen, labor, miners, mining, sulfur, sulphur, tropics, unjustice, volcano

In the Ring of Fire

With such limited time as 4 months to visit Indonesia, the last place in the country where I would have spent at least one second is in Bali. The mere idea of going there gave me chills.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino19 June 2013adventure, bicycle, blue fire, bromo, cemoro lawang, crater, cycling, ijen, indonesia, java, jungle, monkey, sulfur, touring, traveling, tropic, volcano

Fading Flores

After two quiet weeks, waiting for Julia to fully recover from the damn dengue, we left Kupang full of energy en route to Maumere, on the volcanic island of Flores. And we should certainly be filled with energy to board again in a PELNI.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino5 June 2013adventure, bajawa, bicycle, cycling, ende, flores, indonesia, kelimutu, labuanbajo, maumere, ruteng, tropical, tropics, vulcano

Time Travelling

May began and ended with trouble. As soon as we boarded the Bukit Siguntang at 23:00 hrs. in Makassar, we finally understood what that likeable member of the crew that brought us from Kalimantan, had meant by saying "enjoy that trip". It is unimaginable the chaos that was this boat when we boarded.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino22 May 2013adventure, bicycle, cycling, dengue, hut, indonesia, kupang, people, timor, timorese, tradition, vernacular, west timor

The Days After.....

We had had enough energies to ride across the jungle, but it was only a few days after the odyssey was over that we truly realized the huge amount of energy we

IndonesiaNicolás Marino8 May 2013adventure, beach, bicycle, cycling, extreme, indonesia, mamuju, sulawesi, traveling, trip, west sulawesi

Going Extreme!

Two of the toughest bike travelers I know, Salva and Adam, both good friends of mine, met in Sulawesi in 2009 and together they embarked on a journey that both

IndonesiaNicolás Marino30 April 2013adventure, bada valley, bicycle, extreme, gimpu, gintu, jungle, lake poso, palu, sulawesi, traveling, trip, tropical, tropics

The Road to the Extreme

It had been quite a long time ago, still during the planning stages of this trip, that two cycle travelers friends' of mine told me that Sulawesi was without a doubt,

IndonesiaNicolás Marino22 April 2013adventure, bicycle, cycling, indonesia, jungle, lake poso, sulawesi, traveling, tropics

Never Ending Green

During my years of traveling both as a backpacker and traveler by bicycle, I have been more than once dazzled by what the world has to offer. Its landscapes, its ecosystems and its phenomena are some of the reasons that always make me want to keep going out, to see more, to learn more, to feel more.

IndonesiaNicolás Marino11 April 2013adventure, bicycle, borneo, bugs, coal mining, corruption, cycling, deforestation, extreme, indonesia, jungle, kalimantan, monkey, orangutan, palm oil, traveling