German cyclists arrive in city<\/p>\n
By Fairus Husaini<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Under the motto of the Transglobe Friendship
\nBicycle Tour, a couple from Germany set out on a bicycle trip
\naround the world on April 2, 1994.<\/p>\n
Elena Erat, 38, and Peter Materne, 42, reached Jakarta early
\nlast month after traveling nearly 20,000 kms through 14 countries
\nin Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
They arrived in Indonesia from Penang, Malaysia. Spending
\nthree weeks in Sumatra, they visited the orang utan
\nrehabilitation center in Bukit Lawang, where they found rivers
\nwith marvelously clear water and fantastic jungle vegetation.<\/p>\n
They were invited by local government officials to participate
\nin the Kirab Remaja Youth March while it passed through Indragiri
\nHulu, South Sumatra.<\/p>\n
From there they cycled via Bandar Lampung to Bakauheni port
\nand took the ferry boat to Merak in Java and reached Jakarta,
\nwhere they were greeted by what they called \"beautiful
\ndecorations\" for the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence
\nDay.<\/p>\n
\"We were very impressed and enjoyed them very much,\" they said
\nabout the colorful lamps and decorations along the main streets
\nin Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The German couple left their homes, families, friends and jobs
\nbecause they wanted to learn about foreign cultures first-hand.<\/p>\n
\"We are very interested in foreign cultures but we do not want
\nto be limited by television. We don't want to be among those
\npersons who stay in front of the screen, sitting in a big chair
\nand watching what correspondents or journalists tell us,\" Elena
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Peter, an industrial engineer, and Elena, a secretary, seemed
\nto really enjoy their journey.<\/p>\n
\"We have only one destination. The road is the destination, we
\ndon't travel to arrive. We travel because we want to travel, so
\nwe are going very slow, and intense. Our goal is not a certain
\ncountry,\" they said.<\/p>\n
\"Whenever when we want to stop, then we stop. We give people
\nin small villages a chance to stop us, when they have questions
\nthey can say, \"Hello mister, where you are coming from, where you
\nare going to, or 'Is this your wife?,'\" Elena said.<\/p>\n
They said they traveled to see and speak to the foreign
\npeople, to know something about foreign traditions, the way they
\nearn their living and how they communicate.<\/p>\n
However, sometimes they have to escape from certain places.
\nFor example, when the couple was in Karmachiachi, 13 men with
\nmachine guns and cudgels came to their tent, checked their
\nluggage and the bicycles and asked for whisky, drugs, money and
\ntheir passports.<\/p>\n
The couple managed to divert their attention. The men left,
\nbut one of them turned back and showed an interest in Elena.<\/p>\n
\"Thank God, after a while two of the other men came and took
\ntheir impertinent colleague with them,\" Elena said.<\/p>\n
In Karachi there was shooting every day because of the
\npolitical and religious tensions. They encountered between 15 and
\n30 dead bodies every day, they said.<\/p>\n
\"There is a lot of kidnaping. There are 33 opposition parties
\nand every leader in every party wants to be in the government. I
\nthink Benazir Bhutto has a lot to do,\" Elena said.<\/p>\n
They experienced a scary night when they camped on the beach
\non the Dead Sea coast, where they thought they were being watched
\nby jackals, which turned out to be big dogs.<\/p>\n
According to Peter and Elena, Karachi was the toughest place
\non their journey.<\/p>\n
But learning about foreign cultures is not the only reason for
\ntheir trip. There is also another point they want to make. They
\nwant to bring the idea of taking care of nature to other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"We know Germany is not perfect. Absolutely not. We have
\ncontaminated water, as you do, but I think it's very important to
\ntell people all over the world to take care of nature. We have
\nonly one planet and if we destroy our planet we will destroy
\nourselves,\" Elena said.<\/p>\n
The couple, who claim to be \"green\", criticized Indonesia's
\nenvironmental conditions.<\/p>\n
\"You can see here they are burning a lot of jungle,\" Elena
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Do you see the river here? The color is like coffee. Only in
\nSumatra's mountains are they pretty clean. But downstream -- no,\"
\nPeter said.<\/p>\n
The couple, however, was impressed by the friendliness of
\nIndonesians, including the police.<\/p>\n
\"We passed toll roads or even main roads like Jl. Thamrin and
\nJl. Sudirman. The police are very friendly,\" they said.<\/p>\n
After Indonesia the couple intends to go on to Australia and
\nSouth America and from there through the USA and back to Europe.
\nHowever, they said, money is a problem.<\/p>\n
\"We are financing ourselves, so we have to manage things
\nstrictly,\" they said, adding that they might go to Bali first if
\nthey can afford to.<\/p>\n
To get additional money, they write articles and sent them to
\nmedia in their home country, such as BNN (Badische Neueste
\nNachrichten) in Karlsruhe, the Freiburger Wochenbericht and the
\nSWF3 radio station.<\/p>\n
While in Jakarta they stayed in a cheap hostel on Jl. Jaksa in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Both Peter and Elena were reluctant to mention the number of
\ncountries they have visited or intend to visit.<\/p>\n
\"We travel because we want to travel. We do not count the
\nnumber of the countries to meet a certain target,\" they said.<\/p>\n
\"There are travelers who hunt countries. Sometimes they just
\njump on board, ask for a stamp or a visa and jump back. It is
\nonly for a stamp. They cannot say they have been in this or that
\ncountry. They do not speak to anybody,\" Elena said.<\/p>\n
\"There are also Germans who claim to have made a world tour
\ncycling in 160 days. It's impossible, they did it by airplane. If
\nyou are interested in any country you should stay and the people
\naround you should get the chance to speak to you,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Communication, according to them, is very important, in spite
\nof the language difficulties.<\/p>\n
\"There is always a way to communicate without language,\" Elena
\nsaid. Sometimes they showed people their family pictures or
\nplayed their music to the local people they met.<\/p>\n
Though they did not intentionally try to meet certain
\npersonalities on their travels, the couple met famous people
\nevery time they reached a country. They met Queen Noor in Jordan,
\nMother Teresa in Calcutta and the Dalai Lama.<\/p>\n
While in Indonesia, they want to meet Minister of Research and
\nTechnology B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
\"We know about him and he speaks German very well, but will it
\nbe possible for us to see him?\" Elena asked.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/german-cyclists-arrive-in-city-1447893297",
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