The Vagabond Kids
A TRUE STORY
The vagabond has true meaning win this young boys minds. They are at age before 20s and have their dream of accomplishing the ultimate adventure goal. The adventure that only the braves and most determine is able to achieve. The ride on motorbike scooter for over 3,088 kilometers that may take time one year to complete.
Menying is one of this youngsters club, or communities they prefer to call. He has traveled and achieve the ‘pilgrimage’ from Java to the easternmost of Indonesia in Aceh, and proven to be the ‘senior’ that friends pay respect.
His journey starts from aa small town in Central Java, He has prepared his scooter, a used scooter from the 80s and he thingks that the bike was ready for his journey of a lifetime, a 3000+ kilometers away. He has money for his trip, for the whole trip IDR 60,000 or equivalent to USD 4. Yes USD FOUR. But he convinced that he will make it thru.
His scooter is ready and he leave his hometown with a thousand of hopes and determinations to win his challenge to Sabang, He doesn’t know where or when he will make stops and how he get there in regard of cost.
He eventually stopping hundreds of time when he ran out of money. Working at construction, or any jobs he can do to buy food and gas to continue the trip. Sleep at his buddies along the way or sometimes sleep by the street while he exhausted. or he had to stop to repair the bike, which he needs the money to fix and working first. so many challenges and struggle to reach his dream to the ultimate ride to the scooter pilgrimage destination in Sabang. He sometimes also get free helps from his communities friends along the way for free, he said so many friends helps him and so many new friends he made along the way.
After one year, exactly 12 months he made it! He made it to sabang and return to his hometown. His scooter are no longer a scooter, he built it along the way to an extreme vespa modification. Now its 2 meters by 2 meters wide to accomodate all the garbage, plastic garbage he collected along his jhourney to sell and finance his trip. He collected all plastic bottles and sell to the recycle facilities. He earnt IDR 100 per bottle, or around USD 1 cents per bottle. But he made it to finance his 1 year ride by that environmental friendly act!
Now Menying is at his hometown, working at construction and await for people to chalenge him to reach the western most of Indonesia, Merauke.
In the other story, A man in his 40s challenge his establishment. He left his hometown in Padang, Sumatra to ride his vespa all around Indonesia. He already left home 1 year ago, Reaching Sabang, all cities in Kalimantan, all cities in Sulawesi and continue riding to pursue his ultimate goal.
I met him in Jawa a week ago and he is going to continue his journey to all islands in East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, Papua, to Sorong and to his final destination Merauke – the easternmost cities in Indonesia before ehe will go back to his hometown in Padang.
That journey ahead to come is over 15,000 kilometers away and he determine to complete it, whenever the road and time takes him.