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Sunday June 22, 2008 - Well today is a day I'm not likely to forget. Or remember hopefully. I woke up early to have breakfast at Lake Maninjou and be on my way. I knew I had a long way to go. I just didn't know how long. Once I was ready to go, Jerry walked me to the road where I would catch a bus back to Bukittinggi and we said goodbye. I tried for two buses which blew past me. Then a guy on a motorbike came over, and hailed one for me, no problem. So I took the bus back for the 90 minute journey. No tire blowouts this time. But I did get stuck in the seat with the only window covered by a ladder up to the roof, so my view was crap. This happened on the way to the lake as well. Oh well. Live and don't learn I guess. Once back at the bus station, I wanted to buy a ticket to Parapat. My destination was Lake Toba, and Parapat is the town where you catch the ferry across to the island in the lake. So I bought a ticket that left at 1pm
and it was 11:30am. I asked about internet that might be nearby, and the bus put me on a public minibus that would take me in the right direction. The problem was that I sat in this minibus for 30 minutes, because they don't go until they are full. So I got out and into another one. This guy wanted me to sit in the front and was very adamant about it. So when he stopped to let me sit in the front, I got out and walked on. I started to walk back to the bus station, pissed that i was running out of time, when I came upon an internet cafe. So close! So I went in and used the computer there, though it was quite slow. I did want to tell my mom I was alive. And rightfully so as she was freaking out about not hearing from me for a few days. It's Sumatra - there's not internet everywhere.
Once I walked back to the station, the guy who sold me the ticket told me the bus couldn't go to Parapat because there was a problem with the road. I had heard something about this
at the last guesthouse, so I believed him. He said i would take the bus to a different place and get on a minibus. I asked for some money back and he gave me a little. The there was some reason I needed a new bus altogether so I got a new ticket. Then there was another problem and I got a new ticket and a new bus leaving at a different time. Finally he walked me over and asked if this bus would be ok. He said I would get to the town at 7am the next day and then have to get a minibus and would be at the lake by noon. I new it was a long journey so I said it as fine.
It wasn't exactly fine. I have been on a lot of long bus rides over many continents and this ranks right up there with the worst bus ride I have ever taken. I'm not sure if it was the ride or the bus or the road or me - maybe I just can't get my mind around third world traveling right now. How to begin?
Let's take a journey. Here, let
me show me to your seat. Yes, that's the bus. It's semi-air conditioned with only one window that opens. And your seat is right here - along the back wall of the bus, squished in between a woman at the window and another woman and three young boys. And the conductor? He will talk to you incessantly, along with everyone else on the bus who can speak a little English, including the second driver, who will be sleeping in the cubby hole behind you. Count on him singing you love songs and having his picture taken with you. Several times. You should also invent a husband so they leave you a fraction of an inch alone. (I chose for Andy to be my "husband" since I had a picture of him in Malaysia. By the way Andy, you work in KL this summer.)
So the bus ride was long and uncomfortable. Longer than it should have been - I arrived in Tebing Tinggi around 1pm, not 7am. This is because buses in Sumatra stop and stop often. They stop to eat. They stop to pray. They stop to pee. In the morning everyone was apparently having a bath in
the toilet. Sometimes we stopped for no apparent reason. The seat was over the engine and was hot. At times they passed out plastic bags so the locals with weak stomachs could throw up. These bags, along with any trash, went out the one open window, of course. Sumatra is all about throwing trash out the window as far as I can tell. Even worse, the girl sitting next to me, though very nice, was really annoying. It's like she was never on a scary third world bus before, and she's Indonesian. If you've never been on a bus in the third world, it goes something like this. Drive like mad, honk your horn continuously to let everyone know you're coming, and pass every car or truck on the road with a one second safety zone. It's really something to see, and even more impressive that it hardly affects me anymore. But the girl next to me, she was completely afraid and kept grabbing me everytime we passed something. So like every 30 seconds. And she was burping constantly, like nervous loud burps. Very odd. It was like the ride out of hell. My neighbors changed sometimes - the other
woman was replaced by a man almost immediately. And the conductor tried to get me to sit next to the second driver when he took over at 1am. Not bloody likely.
Let's just say I've been cleaner and happier than when I finished with these bus rides.
In Tebing Tinggi, I caught a minibus going to Parapat with the help of some local guys who decided it was their job to help me. And glad they did - I never would have known which bus to get on. This ride was also uncomfortable. I sat in between the driver and a woman and her kid. Right on the gear shift almost. This puts the cars flying at you in really good perspective. But it was only a few hours and it was over. After we stopped for a meal. Hungry?
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