A Vacation from my Vacation

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Its been near 2 weeks since my last entry, and to be honest I don't have much to report.

I flew to Malaysia to meet a friend of mine from high school. Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, the weather wasn't great, the city was insanely expensive and the islands we were intending to visit were closed due to monsoon weather. After seeing the Petronas Towers (which are quite unbelievable), and chowing down on some local Indian street food, I decided to take my friend Matt to a place I knew he would enjoy for his 12 days abroad.

It wasn't an easy trip, but we took a bus to the Thai border, a mini-van to the coast town of Krabi and a boat to the rock-climbing mecca Railey. Me and Nat visited this paradise over 2 years ago and loved it. While the surroundings were the same, the island had expanded to at least 3 times the size...hotels, restaurants and tour companies were sprouting everywhere. Here we turned our brains off for 5 days and hit the beach, ate well and I caught up on some much needed sleep. We took a bus from here to Kho Phagnan, an island famous for its beautiful beaches and infamous Full-Moon Parties. Same thing here; fun and sun.

Having a friend from Toronto was great and 2 weeks on the islands of Thailand was a great way to diffuse from the heaviness of Vietnam and Cambodia. My friend was to return to Toronto, and my tentative plan was to head to Jakarta to explore Indonesia. On a whim i booked a flight to Medan, the capital of Sumatra, instead. I didn't know much about it except it was the only accessible airport if I wanted to explore Sumatra. So with a cheap flight to Medan (and a layover at Bangkok Airport that I dare not tell my mom about until after), I arrived once again on my own, in a Muslim country, in a city not accustomed to the presence of westerners. Due to a lack of a proper "back-packer" area, I checked into a local hotel which I can, without hesitation, deem the poorest accomodation I have seen in the 3 months I have been on my travels. Half-painted green walls with mud smears, a mysterious stench (not worth looking into), a squat toilet with no bin or "hose", mosquito's, and no natural light. The closest to prison I hope to ever be...oh and there is no morning alarm more terrifying then that of being situated beside a Mosque during morning prayer.

I spent my day trying to find my way out of Medan to do some trekking and see some of Sumatra's natural beauty. Id like to be in Yogjakarta for christmas, and using local transportation is not only time-consuming but nearly impossible for the places I want to see. Upon conversation with a local "travel agent", he volunteered to take me in his personal car on an expedited tour of Sumatra starting tomorrow. To me there is no better way to see a country then with a local guide off the tourist path. So tomorrow morning, I begin my adventure with Husseini, a 60 year old muslim gent.

Don't worry mom, with my beard I fit in here better then most locals.

Updates on my Indonesian adventures to follow.

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