after malaria and until the kapuas river i tried to record one or two small clips each day.. it was the hardest part of kalimantan, and my journey to date.. i had to compress the video to upload it so the quaility is a little off..
7/30/10
7/26/10
night time in w kalimantan...
by evening i was usually exhausted and by 3 or 4 pm wanted to find somewhere to rest for the night.. in the 8 days accross the desolate part of west kalimantan i slept in many dayak villages and also in employee camps for logging companies.. the dayak people are so friendly and foreigners almost never pass through their village (aside from logging and mining personel who pass through in s.u.v. with tinted windows).. usually the first person i would meet in any given village would offer that i spend the night in their home.. such warm people and always made me feel welcome, but sometimes i would catch eyes from one of the daughters always followed by a very stern look from the father!! also by now i was a pro at bathing in rivers and jokingly warned villagers of my abnormally white torso and thighs!! 
i know it is not pc to say bad things about children, but this was the most evil little kid i have ever met!! he never spoke and spent all his time making weapons and killing animals, one time he even pointed a bow and arrow at me and the father just said 'he is a very bad child'.. when we ate a meal of jungle pig he was given the whole boiled head and ate it with his hands! he would stare at me while nawing on the head with the scariest look on his face.. the next morning i rode away thinking 'so this is what people like hitler, stalin, and george bush were like as children!!' 
7/23/10
crossing west kalimantan
two days after seeing the doctor about malaria i hit the road and made my way north a cross west kalimantan.. taking 3 types of pills a day and with many sub-50 km days (30 miles), it was surely the toughest week of the journey to date.. very hot and climbing the steep dirt roads was impossible. the road was often loose rock and my road bike didnt stand a chance, i walked most of the way.. even pushing the bike up the hills was tough and i had to stop often cause i felt like i was going to pass out.. coming down the hills also was hell because i had to squeeze my brakes the whole time as hard as i could.. also the only accessible water was boiled river water so stomach cramps were common..
slept in dayak villages or with the employees at logging camps..
just took my time and kept a positive attitude, again often laughing at myself!
7/21/10
MALARIA...
as preparation and planning go against everything i stand for, i generally take a very carefree and risk-taking attitude towards my travel, and prefer to 'learn the hard way'.. and so i ignored several warnings from locals to take precaution against malaria..
while staying at the police station in the mountains on the kalteng/kalbar border i was bitten by mosquito with malaria.. there are 6 types of malaria, 2 are found in borneo.. i got p.vivax and it was tough to fade.. when a mosquito bites someone with malaria it takes with it a small amount of blood containing the parasite, then a week later when it feeds again it transmits the parasite to the next person.. i felt horrible because the whole time i was sick i was getting bitten again and again and i knew i was spreading the disease.. kudangan is a small village without electricity and i used mosquito repelling lotion but it was no use.. the first 2 nights i tried to tough it out and not say anything as i didnt want to be a burden on my friends at the police station who were kind enough to let me crash and feed me.. but on the second night of no sleep, severe headache, and cold sweats i decided to tell them the next morning..
it was the worst night of my life and i wanted to die.. normally i keep a very positive state of mind and generally seldom think of negative things.. but this sleepless night i was having hallucinations and all of my thoughts were about death, torture, or some awful unspeakable thing.. it was terrible.. in the morning i told the guys and they immediately called a doctor (who was gorgeous!) and she took blood then got me medicine.. they took care of the bill and for 2 days my friends kept me laughing and in good spirits.. i owe those guys big time and will never forget what theyve done for me..
it was the worst night of my life and i wanted to die.. normally i keep a very positive state of mind and generally seldom think of negative things.. but this sleepless night i was having hallucinations and all of my thoughts were about death, torture, or some awful unspeakable thing.. it was terrible.. in the morning i told the guys and they immediately called a doctor (who was gorgeous!) and she took blood then got me medicine.. they took care of the bill and for 2 days my friends kept me laughing and in good spirits.. i owe those guys big time and will never forget what theyve done for me..
the next week riding in the hot sun, dirt roads, and steep hills while recovering would prove extremely difficult, and i got through it only by laughing at myself the whole time and saying to myself 'you wanted a challenge eh!!'
the police in kudangan..
i crossed into west kalimantan via kudangan, a small quaint dayak village amidst jungle and mountains.. i immediately clicked with the police there who were all about my age and some of the coolest guys ive met.. feris, hadi, and ari are the 3 dudes manning the police station, they are all from central kalimantan and from cities i had already ridden through.. for 2 days we played chess, rode around the beautiful countryside, drank beer, ate good food, and talked about women!! my kinda police! all was going well until i was bitten by a mosquito from the depths of hell....
7/20/10
only in kalimantan!
one morning, after about half an hour of not seeing anyone on the road, i saw a guy coming towards me operating a motorbike with one hand and holding something in the other.. as he came closer and we passed each other i noticed that he was simultaneously smoking a cigarette and carrying the limb of an animal.. we stared at one another with blank looks then we both turned around and had a chat.. he said that he had never seen a 'bule' riding a bike there before.. i told him that i had never seen someone on a motorbike carrying a piece of wild pig carcass.. we laughed and he was happy to pose for a photo...
7/19/10
a test in kawa...
shortly after leaving nangabulik the asphalt disappeared for good and the endless steep-as-all-hell hills began. i was getting into real dayak country with only sporadic small villages always on small rivers, typically without electricity.. i was exhausted when i reached kawa and was well short of the days goal of reaching kudangan where i heard there was a police station.. i rode into the village and crossed the delan river bridge.. many people would stare at me and return my smile.. i saw a man walking with his daughter and asked if he knew where the 'desa kepala' (village chief) was.. he said he was the chief's son and that i was welcome to stay the night in his home.
'wow that was easy' i thought after slightly worrying about whether or not i would find a safe place to sleep..
then he said 'but you are very dirty, first you must bathe'' and he pointed to the river..
so this was it, my moment of truth.. my first time bathing in a river and with an entire village watching me with silent stern looks on their faces..
all i could think of was a story told to me when i first arrived in indonesia by my scottish friend, robin, who cycled across east borneo.. he was asked to bathe in the river in a manner suggesting that he 'prove himself' before staying in the village... i tried to recall any details i could, but robin has been cycling for 5 years (all the way from scotland) and had no problem comfortably going about his business.. this was my first time and i was slightly nervous with many questions:
'where do i use the toilet?'
'i only have one outfit, do i bathe naked, even with all the people watching me?"
'should i just go down to the river bank or is there a place for bathing?'
i acted like i knew what i was doing and so the man pointed to his home across the bridge and walked off.. by now my bahasa was adequate (it would be weeks before i would speak english) and a young boy noticed my confusion and asked what i was looking for..
'where am i supposed to bathe?' i asked with an innocent smile..
with the attention of all the people, i followed the boy to the top of some steps that led down to a raft over the river.. i walked down then balanced across the two thin logs connecting the stairs and the raft about 15 feet out on the water.. the river current was strong and i saw 3 young women, 1 with child, bathing and washing clothes on the raft next to mine.. they were about 20 feet away but i could hear them whispering and giggling over the sound of the river, also they were very attractive which didnt help my already tense nerves... the last thing i wanted was to get 'excited' so i tried my hardest to ignore them and focus on the river..
i saw that the women were wearing underwear so i took off my clothes and rolled my shorts up to the top of my thighs.. i noticed many people laughing from the bridge overhead.. the skin on my arms and legs was as dark as theirs, but on my torso and thighs i was white as a ghost!! i laughed with them and began to feel like they knew what i was going through.. in the center of the raft was a waist high stall with a hole in the middle, so i crouched down and did my business.. im not shy, but i was not used to 'relieving myself'' in a river with an audience.. after that it began to rain so i finished bathing and washed my clothes..
the afternoon sun was peaking through a gap in the clouds, and i was up to my neck in a murky borneo river in the drizzling rain surrounded by smiling people who were no longer paying attention to me.. i felt so happy to be there.. i remember thinking 'this is exactly why im travelling' and i was overwhelmed with respect for the simple but beautiful lives these people were living.. i eventually made my way back to the man's home, he was in the doorway smiling and asked if i had ever bathed in a river before..
'no that was my first time' i said proudly and we laughed.. we ate next to candlelight and i slept like a baby on a mat on his wood floor.. the flickering candle and sounds of the rainy jungle put me out in seconds..
this would be the first of several similar experiences with the dayak people in west kalimantan, but by far the most memorable...
'wow that was easy' i thought after slightly worrying about whether or not i would find a safe place to sleep..
then he said 'but you are very dirty, first you must bathe'' and he pointed to the river..
so this was it, my moment of truth.. my first time bathing in a river and with an entire village watching me with silent stern looks on their faces..
all i could think of was a story told to me when i first arrived in indonesia by my scottish friend, robin, who cycled across east borneo.. he was asked to bathe in the river in a manner suggesting that he 'prove himself' before staying in the village... i tried to recall any details i could, but robin has been cycling for 5 years (all the way from scotland) and had no problem comfortably going about his business.. this was my first time and i was slightly nervous with many questions:
'where do i use the toilet?'
'i only have one outfit, do i bathe naked, even with all the people watching me?"
'should i just go down to the river bank or is there a place for bathing?'
i acted like i knew what i was doing and so the man pointed to his home across the bridge and walked off.. by now my bahasa was adequate (it would be weeks before i would speak english) and a young boy noticed my confusion and asked what i was looking for..
'where am i supposed to bathe?' i asked with an innocent smile..
with the attention of all the people, i followed the boy to the top of some steps that led down to a raft over the river.. i walked down then balanced across the two thin logs connecting the stairs and the raft about 15 feet out on the water.. the river current was strong and i saw 3 young women, 1 with child, bathing and washing clothes on the raft next to mine.. they were about 20 feet away but i could hear them whispering and giggling over the sound of the river, also they were very attractive which didnt help my already tense nerves... the last thing i wanted was to get 'excited' so i tried my hardest to ignore them and focus on the river..
i saw that the women were wearing underwear so i took off my clothes and rolled my shorts up to the top of my thighs.. i noticed many people laughing from the bridge overhead.. the skin on my arms and legs was as dark as theirs, but on my torso and thighs i was white as a ghost!! i laughed with them and began to feel like they knew what i was going through.. in the center of the raft was a waist high stall with a hole in the middle, so i crouched down and did my business.. im not shy, but i was not used to 'relieving myself'' in a river with an audience.. after that it began to rain so i finished bathing and washed my clothes..
the afternoon sun was peaking through a gap in the clouds, and i was up to my neck in a murky borneo river in the drizzling rain surrounded by smiling people who were no longer paying attention to me.. i felt so happy to be there.. i remember thinking 'this is exactly why im travelling' and i was overwhelmed with respect for the simple but beautiful lives these people were living.. i eventually made my way back to the man's home, he was in the doorway smiling and asked if i had ever bathed in a river before..
'no that was my first time' i said proudly and we laughed.. we ate next to candlelight and i slept like a baby on a mat on his wood floor.. the flickering candle and sounds of the rainy jungle put me out in seconds..
this would be the first of several similar experiences with the dayak people in west kalimantan, but by far the most memorable...
7/13/10
2 days in nangabulik...
i pulled into nangabulik, a small town heading towards kalbar, on a hot afternoon and stopped at a pompa bensin (gas station) for a rest.. 10 minutes later i had many friends and knew i would be spending at least one nite.. i stayed with robi in one of the houses connected to the gas station via wooden walkways suspended over the river.. i had such a great time with these guys and it was so hard to leave.. one nite they took me deep into the forest to fish and shoot birds.. we caught many river fish and within minutes they were on skewers over a fire and we used leaves as plates and ate the fish with salt, kecap (a thick sweet soy sauce), and of course lots of chili..
the next morning before leaving i had an amazing breakfast of jungle pig and arak in the home of the boss of the gas station.. he made the arak himself (arak: strong liquor made from rice) and i hit the road at 9am half drunk and full of delicious wild pig!!
people of central kalimantan...
here are some photos of people i met, spent time with, or stayed the night with through central kalimantan.. everyone was so cool and friendly..
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