German cyclists arrive in city

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.