German cyclists arrive in city

By Fairus Husaini

JAKARTA (JP): Under the motto of the Transglobe Friendship Bicycle Tour, a couple from Germany set out on a bicycle trip around the world on April 2, 1994.

Elena Erat, 38, and Peter Materne, 42, reached Jakarta early last month after traveling nearly 20,000 kms through 14 countries in Europe and Asia.

They arrived in Indonesia from Penang, Malaysia. Spending three weeks in Sumatra, they visited the orang utan rehabilitation center in Bukit Lawang, where they found rivers with marvelously clear water and fantastic jungle vegetation.

They were invited by local government officials to participate in the Kirab Remaja Youth March while it passed through Indragiri Hulu, South Sumatra.

From there they cycled via Bandar Lampung to Bakauheni port and took the ferry boat to Merak in Java and reached Jakarta, where they were greeted by what they called "beautiful decorations" for the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day.

"We were very impressed and enjoyed them very much," they said about the colorful lamps and decorations along the main streets in Jakarta.

The German couple left their homes, families, friends and jobs because they wanted to learn about foreign cultures first-hand.

"We are very interested in foreign cultures but we do not want to be limited by television. We don't want to be among those persons who stay in front of the screen, sitting in a big chair and watching what correspondents or journalists tell us," Elena said.

Peter, an industrial engineer, and Elena, a secretary, seemed to really enjoy their journey.

"We have only one destination. The road is the destination, we don't travel to arrive. We travel because we want to travel, so we are going very slow, and intense. Our goal is not a certain country," they said.

"Whenever when we want to stop, then we stop. We give people in small villages a chance to stop us, when they have questions they can say, "Hello mister, where you are coming from, where you are going to, or 'Is this your wife?,'" Elena said.

They said they traveled to see and speak to the foreign people, to know something about foreign traditions, the way they earn their living and how they communicate.

However, sometimes they have to escape from certain places. For example, when the couple was in Karmachiachi, 13 men with machine guns and cudgels came to their tent, checked their luggage and the bicycles and asked for whisky, drugs, money and their passports.

The couple managed to divert their attention. The men left, but one of them turned back and showed an interest in Elena.

"Thank God, after a while two of the other men came and took their impertinent colleague with them," Elena said.

In Karachi there was shooting every day because of the political and religious tensions. They encountered between 15 and 30 dead bodies every day, they said.

"There is a lot of kidnaping. There are 33 opposition parties and every leader in every party wants to be in the government. I think Benazir Bhutto has a lot to do," Elena said.

They experienced a scary night when they camped on the beach on the Dead Sea coast, where they thought they were being watched by jackals, which turned out to be big dogs.

According to Peter and Elena, Karachi was the toughest place on their journey.

But learning about foreign cultures is not the only reason for their trip. There is also another point they want to make. They want to bring the idea of taking care of nature to other countries.

"We know Germany is not perfect. Absolutely not. We have contaminated water, as you do, but I think it's very important to tell people all over the world to take care of nature. We have only one planet and if we destroy our planet we will destroy ourselves," Elena said.

The couple, who claim to be "green", criticized Indonesia's environmental conditions.

"You can see here they are burning a lot of jungle," Elena said.

"Do you see the river here? The color is like coffee. Only in Sumatra's mountains are they pretty clean. But downstream -- no," Peter said.

The couple, however, was impressed by the friendliness of Indonesians, including the police.

"We passed toll roads or even main roads like Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman. The police are very friendly," they said.

After Indonesia the couple intends to go on to Australia and South America and from there through the USA and back to Europe. However, they said, money is a problem.

"We are financing ourselves, so we have to manage things strictly," they said, adding that they might go to Bali first if they can afford to.

To get additional money, they write articles and sent them to media in their home country, such as BNN (Badische Neueste Nachrichten) in Karlsruhe, the Freiburger Wochenbericht and the SWF3 radio station.

While in Jakarta they stayed in a cheap hostel on Jl. Jaksa in Central Jakarta.

Both Peter and Elena were reluctant to mention the number of countries they have visited or intend to visit.

"We travel because we want to travel. We do not count the number of the countries to meet a certain target," they said.

"There are travelers who hunt countries. Sometimes they just jump on board, ask for a stamp or a visa and jump back. It is only for a stamp. They cannot say they have been in this or that country. They do not speak to anybody," Elena said.

"There are also Germans who claim to have made a world tour cycling in 160 days. It's impossible, they did it by airplane. If you are interested in any country you should stay and the people around you should get the chance to speak to you," she said.

Communication, according to them, is very important, in spite of the language difficulties.

"There is always a way to communicate without language," Elena said. Sometimes they showed people their family pictures or played their music to the local people they met.

Though they did not intentionally try to meet certain personalities on their travels, the couple met famous people every time they reached a country. They met Queen Noor in Jordan, Mother Teresa in Calcutta and the Dalai Lama.

While in Indonesia, they want to meet Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.

"We know about him and he speaks German very well, but will it be possible for us to see him?" Elena asked.