torsdag 20 oktober 2011

Leaving Yogya / Ferry to Borneo
I left Yogyakarta after great time spent there! Got more or less one long ride with a truck from Solo to Surabaya. There i waited for the ferry to Banarmasin for about 24 hours, was about 10 hours late.. Sleeping at the ferry terminal together with 100-200 other people.. Once on the ferry, found a nice spot, lay out my tent as a sleeping mat, slept, talked, slept, ate (small portion of rice) for about 22 hours. Arrived in Banjarmasin in the evening of the 12th october, my birthday. Was hosted by a family i met on the ferry.


Hitchhiking Kalimantan!
The first day of hitchhiking in Kalimantan i dont even put my hand out for a ride.. The first truck i see parked on the side of the road gives me a couple of hours ride north. The second ride, two girls on a motorbike helps me get, they have seen me on the side of the road outside Banjar and insists on buying me dinner. Then helps me getting a ride with a truck, i squeeze in between 3 guys in a small truck heading for Tanjung. Many hours and coffee breaks later we reach Tanjung which was my goal for the day. The truck driver suggests i can sleep outside the mosque, there's already a person sleeping there. So i do.. Atleast until 4 in the morning when the prayers start(and im not to far from the speakers!) I move 100 m away and continue sleep.

A couple of trucks towards Balikpapan, a few short rides with motorbikes.. The road ha so far been O.K not to bad.. Many big mosques and quite nice houses along the way! East Kalimantan is rich, alot of resources here! Timber, Petroleum, Coal.. And sadly the forests and nature suffers from this..

I reach Balikpapan with a truck transporting stone for a government project. Two persons in most trucks, one person driving the truck, one person unloading, in this case a truckload of 20 - 30 kg stones, by hand.. That day i make it to Samarinda where im hosted by a young couple with a little babygirl.

Heading up towards Bontang, the roads get worse(but still not that bad) Crossing the equator somewhere around there but not really sure where.. To Bontang with private car, otherwise mostly trucks, which is what im aiming for, little bit slower, but for free.. Up here on theese raods more and more cars are shared taxis. Another truck to Sangatta, in the evening i reach an rest area in the middle of nowhere north of Sangatta, Spend the night on a carpet in a restaurant. In the morning i get a ride with a convoy of three brand new pickup trucks heading for Palm oil plantations. They even have police escort, cause their vehicles are not yet registered.. From the morning to the evening we drive on _bad_ roads, very bad, keeping 20 -30 km/h slowing down, turning, trying to avoid the holes in the roads(many places more holes than road) They invite me to stay with them for some time and i gladly accept their invitation. spend two days there, Dayak village.. Checking out palm plantations, huge areas. Lots of beautiful forest exchanged for palm oil used for Biodiesel.. The day I've planned to leave north for Berau my new friends have to go there to get spare parts so i get a ride. few hours to get there, still bumpy road. Just one hour before Berau the roads is allright again. Berau to Tanjung Selor is pretty good road, got a ride in the afternoon and made it to Tanjung Selor in the evening.

Took me 6 days from Banjarmasin. Im not sure how far, maybe Banjarmasin - Balikpapan 800 km, Balikpapan - Tanjung Selor another 1000 km. To bad i didnt have more time(my visa finishes in few days!)

This morning i took a ferry from Tanjung selor to Tarakan where iam now.. Tomorrow i plan take a ferry to either Nunukan(close to the border) or Tawau, Malaysia. No border crossing by land possible here.. The ferry goes in rivers and deltas, thick jungle surrounding us and im sure lots of crocodiles hide in the mangroves..

Hati Hati!!!

måndag 3 oktober 2011

I spent few days painting this one for Tiphaine! (Yogyakarta)

I Spent a week or two making this mural in Yogyakarta

I slept here a week or two while painting the mural
This is Couchsurfing JOGJA

Yogyakarta is full of art and after around 3 years of hardly any inspiration to draw and paint i have inspiration again. Thanks to Yogya.. Im still here for a bit of time. Want to do a few more paintings before leaving. Then Kalimantan...