World voyagers find sector in Indonesia the toughest challenge
World voyagers find sector in Indonesia the toughest challenge
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Briton Jason Lewis, 38, has been bicycling, rollerblading, boat-
pedaling and paddling canoes intermittently for the last 11 years
during his human-powered, round-the-world expedition.
Lewis, accompanied by different partners, has crossed vast
oceans -- the Atlantic and Pacific -- with a pedal-powered boat,
Moksha, which has a speed of 1.5 knots -- about walking pace.
Once in the Pacific he pedaled the boat for 480 kilometers
only to find that it had become a Sisyphean task because the sea
current reversed his efforts.
Equipped with compass, global positioning system device and
marine charts, Lewis and other intrepid voyagers have crossed
world borders, immersing themselves in different cultures and
tested their own patience and forbearance.
All the voyagers, including Lewis, occasionally became ill. At
one time, Lewis recalled he had blisters all over his body from
spending weeks at sea.
However, he and his current expedition partner, Chris Tipper,
34, told The Jakarta Post recently last week in Jakarta that thus
far the toughest part was the Indonesian leg.
Due to sharp coral reefs in Indonesian waters, Lewis and
Tipper decided to dock Moksha, the pedaled-powered, well-equipped
boat, and cruised the eastern Indonesian waters by small
fiberglass kayaks.
The change of transportation mode sparked problems as the
kayaks could not accommodate much supplies, most importantly
potable water.
Sometimes, after rowing the kayaks for hours, they had to take
a rest at a deserted beach, where they had to drag the heavy
kayaks meters in from the edge in order to keep them from the
high tide.
However, although the toughest stage, the first day in
Indonesia bode them well.
After embarking from Timor Leste, Britons Lewis and Tipper
landed on a remote beach on Alor island in eastern Indonesia.
Very warm welcome
"The local people, about 50 of them, picked up the boats very
quickly. They would probably have picked them up with us still in
them if we had not been quick enough," Lewis said, smiling. "That
was our welcome to the archipelago."
Starting in May this year, the Indonesian leg was the 12th of
a total of 16 legs, crossings and hikes.
Kayaking across eastern Indonesia, Tipper, Lewis and others
landed at East Java, later to continue the leg by riding
bicycles.
On Oct. 16, Lewis -- alone again, after Tipper returned to
England the previous day -- safely but arduously crossed the
Sunda Strait.
Lewis will be biking across Sumatra to finish the Indonesian
leg in Riau Island.
The intrepid voyagers will cross Asia -- Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, China including the Himalayas and India -- by bicycle.
They will later cross the Indian Ocean to Kenya, Africa, using
the pedal boat.
However, due to financial constrain, Lewis often had to go
back to the UK or the U.S., where his wife lives. In either
country Lewis can work and earn money to fund his voyage.
Once in the U.S. he spent three years breeding bison,
resulting in US$15,000 in savings to continue the voyage, which
has cost the team US$500,000 so far.
"Fund-raising in America was good. When we paddled across the
Atlantic to Miami, we raised a lot of funds: Americans are
generous -- they gave us equipment," Lewis said.
UNESCO has supported the expedition right from the very
beginning, since 1993. In Paris they met the organization's
director general, who gave them support -- not financial, but
help to connect them with schools in each country.
In eastern Indonesia, the voyagers visited schools in
Kalabaihi in Alor and Maumere.
"On each island we have tried to reach at least one school,
creating a pen pal exchange, helping students to practice their
English, with letters written in both Indonesian and English.
It's not much, but it's the way, hopefully, to reach people in
remote islands in Indonesia," Lewis said.
"Most of the students read newspapers, but they feel trapped
because they cannot afford to go to university. So they are
really keen on the idea of being connected to someone in another
country," he added.
Besides meeting students, the voyagers also met many different
kinds of people in the country.
"We met Catholics, Protestants and Muslims, and animists in
the east," Lewis said.
Indonesians, Lewis added, had the habit of asking a litany of
questions when they met someone for the first time.
"'Where are you going? Where you from? Are you married?
What's your religion?' Those are the typical ones, in that
order," Lewis said grinning.
Months of experience in Indonesia have provided them with many
anecdotes, mostly interesting and funny.
The expedition team has maintained an informative website,
www.expedition360.com. In the logbook link, surfers can check the
group's daily updates.
For curious readers, the website also answers lots of
inquisitive questions.