The long awaited start of the PAN-ASEAN TOURING "IT'S EXCITING!" finally arrived.
The starting point was Malioboro Street in central Yogyakarta. Although Yogyakarta has entered the rainy season and the sky was covered with heavy clouds, the faces of the people gathered at the start brightened the scene with their smiles.
The riders, staff and many Yogyakarta citizens had gathered around the starting gate, and when Yamaha's ASEAN Center president, Mr. Iio, raised the starting flag, the group of 16 JUPITER MX (T135) machines and their riders pulled away in unison. It was a gala start worthy of such a grand touring event that will cover a total of about 15,000 km in its tour through six ASEAN countries.
Although traffic jams had been foreseen in the city, a police escort helped the entourage move smoothly through the streets. Leaving Yogyakata, the tour headed for the first day's destination, Kidiri.
The lead in the touring convoy was taken by the two Indonesian riders, Roi and Hardi, as the tour proceeded at a pace of between 60 and 80km/h. At lunchtime, everyone stopped at the Yamaha dealership RAJAWALI in Ngawa for a rest.
After a quick Indonesian lunch, the touring got under way again. The road stretched on through quiet fields of rice paddies and woods that made the crowded streets of the old capital Yogyakarta seem like a distant dream.
After about two and a half hours of riding on the main highway out of Ngawa, we got our first glimpse of the town of Kidiri, today's destination. In olden days, Kidiri was the capital of the Majapahit kingdom when it ruled the island of Java. Here, people were waiting to greet the tour with a big ceremony.
At a site set up in the city center, the riders were greeted by a reception with song and dancing, and it seemed like the whole town had turned out for the festivities. The riders were invited to join in a parade led by a middle school marching band that escorted them to their lodging on pedal taxis known here as "Becak."
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