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Published: January 14th 2007
Chris drunk at the wheel
Only joking, hes only 10 times over the limit, apparently its legal here.Stranded in Sulawesi with his visa running out little Philly finds a sponser so he can extend his visa for a month in order not to get arrested. He travels to Tana Toraja 200 km north with some friends in the middle of a storm and has four trees blow into the road. The locals furiously hack away at them with their tiny pick axes they had recently aquired from Christmas crackers to clear a path in the road.
He arrives in Tana Toraja and rents a motor bike for four days enjoying the sites. He meets a fellow Englishman and embarks on his next mission, to hitchhike 300 miles down to the South
East side of the giant island of Sulawesi. The only thing is that there are no roads connecting the South, where they are situated, with the South East on any of the maps they have seen.
Three days, two nights, free rides inan ambulance a jeep, two pick ups, a lorry filled with pesticides, a tractor engine and trailor, a thousand hellos and as many bewildered Indonesian's later they safely arrive in a large town by the coast. They settle, wash and rent a local
Kendari Police Station
Trying to make a quick get away on without being noticed mini van taxi for four days and travel hundreds of miles down the coast, through mountains and local villiages picking up locals and delivering them to their villages. Some were so shocked they could not speak, others were so suprised they could not move, many were so amazed they didnt stop laughing and to a few it seemed like an everyday occurance.
No documents for the van and Phil's passport being 300 miles away at the immigration office in Makassar awaiting the visa extention wasn't a problem for the first 5 officers that pulled them over because they were so amazed to see the two amigos from England they just let them by.
However the 6th time on the second day in Kendari, the policeforce escorted these two fine gentlemen to the policestation of the capital city suspecting Phil to be illegally in the country and the van to be stolen. An interrogation followed, after a few phone calls and each police officer inspecting Chris's passport individually, thinking they were there own investigation team and not cooperating with anyone else, it was clear everything was in order and we were free to go.
20 litres of free
police petrol and two free police t-shirts and jumpers later we were set free and back on the road again.
One useless map, 30 hours of driving, 100 litres of petrol, two nights sleeping in the van, one in a policemans house and another in their hammocks on the deck of a public ferry the two crazy Englishman arrive safe and sound back where they began in Makasssar.
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