DAY 2 - TAKALAR TO BANTAENG

We had a relatively good night sleep and was ready quite early to move off to Bantaeng, our second overnight stop 90kms away. Most hotels we stayed included breakfast in their rates. Breakfasts were generally nasi goreng, like this one we had.

The slight drizzle had stopped when we left. The road was wet and there were lots of puddle. Acid unfortuntaely landed in one, deep enough to puncture the tyre. We had barely done 2 kms when it happened.

Excellent opportunity for Acid to practise tube replacement. No problem as Acid has practised this back at home, a mark of a well-prepared tourer! Acid brought 3 spare tubes, 1 down so still has 2 to go. Acid uses the 700 wheel and spare tubes would be difficult to buy in the rural areas of Indonesia. I used the MTB semi-sleek tyres and brought 1 spare tube and thus far, I have been pretty lucky and have had no punctures for the several tours I had made. Alhamdulillah. The MTB tubes are alos easily available and the semi-sleek are less prone to punctures.

On the way to Bantaeng, we would pass Jeneponto. Maize is widely grown in this area and we saw hectares after hectares of maize growing.

So it was no surprise when we arrived Jeneponto at noon, this statue welcomed visitors to Jeneponto - the farmer holding the maize in his hand with the wife with the basket by his side.

It was therefore also no surprise when we had lunch that sup jagung was on the menu.

At the mosque where we stopped for prayers, a team of "tukang urut" was doing a roaring business. They "caught" those going for prayers with the trial massage which later progress to the customers offering their neck, their backs and legs for massage. They offered us several times but we managed to avoid being their clients.

Their pamphlet would make them a one-stop medical centre for almost all ailments.

Their tools of trade comprises massage oils, mercury, horns and of-course their hands. I noticed very tiny drops of mercury were rubbed onto the skins of the customers, with the aid of the massage oils. The pamphlets indicated following costs for the mercury:

Satu Butir Biasa : IR 30,000

Satu Butir Super : IR 50,000

And we were lucky our teeth were behaving well during the entire journey. Otherwise, we would need an express job from the "tukang gigi" since we can't afford to stay for a few days to get our teeth fixed!

We moved on and came across the coastal areas and stopped to photograph fishermen on their boats. With the floating devices on both sides of the boat, the boat is very stable.

Sea weed growing is also an industry that we noticed along this coastal routes. They were also dried by the road-sides apart from those dried by the beaches.

Coastal scenes always offer good subject for photography. We both clicked away on our digitals quite liberally as we both carry gigabytes of storage cards. The wonders of technology.

As cyclists on a tour, we usually attracted some attention from people on the roads. Almost all would oblige when we stop to photograph them, like these school children waiting for the bus.

Our destination for tonight was Hotel Alam Jaya. IR 80,000 (RM25) no breakfast and no aircond.

I have noticed that Acid made friends easily. This is a very positive attributes to have on the tour. Tonight, he befriended the workers at the hotel.

So, they brought us on their motorbikes to a restaurant by the sea. We were ready for a quiet and sumptuous dinner. We were the only customers when we walked in.

It was not to be a quiet dinner. Just as we ordered, 3 ladies and a man came in and I saw the owner fidgeting with some wires and a microphone. Oh no! We would be entertained with a karaoke session, in the confined space of the restaurant. The lady standing in the picture below sang the most, and she was the one who sang out of tune most!!

We made the mistake of giving her an applause after her first out-of-tune song. We thought if we can't avoid the singing, we might as well accept the karaoke session. So we had dinner and endured the singing. We chose not to stay too long and was soon looking for an internet cafe. There was only one, but the internet connection was faulty.

Just our luck. Lousy Karaoke and No Internet.

Yawn......GOOD NIGHT