6/16/10

maps and route planning for borneo and sulawesi

im in surabaya getting ready to head to borneo.. its a 24 hour boat ride to southern borneo.. borneo is the third largest island on earth and is made up of malaysia and brunei in the north and kalimantan (indonesia) in the south.. the north is more populous and kalimantan is more remote and rural.. the center of the island is impenetrable jungle.. robin from scotland helped me so much planning my route and figuring out what i will need.. he has ridden in east kalimantan and his cousin salva in the west and they have given me lots of good info.. this will by far be the most difficult ride ive done.. food may be tough to come by in parts so my plan is to stock up on cooked rice and instant oats. west kalimantan is very hilly with poor roads and fading the elements will surely be very difficult.. it is very hot/humid and there are risks of dengue and yellow fever so mosquitoes are to be avoided with nets and repellent.. also the wildlife in west/east kalimantan is pretty crazy with giant crocodiles, snakes, orangutans... some people say there are rhinoceros but im pretty sure its in the center or they have been hunted to extinction.. im so excited but trying not to get too pumped up so that im not disappointed when i come across lots of horrible industy (logging and oil) that are slowly destroying the island.. hopefully it will be a chance to physically test myself and meet interesting native people while exploring some of the more remote places .. there may be a delay in posts as im not sure when ill be able to get online, and im not taking my computer.. ill be traveling with next to nothing as far as weight because of steep climbs and poor roads



here is a map of sulawesi... i know nothing about sulawesi other than it is big, pretty remote, and looks really cool on a map! i want to ride from manado in the northeast to makassar in the south

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