Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia
May 13th 2012
13thof may, after a nice stop here at Lake Toba we had set the alarm at 07am to check out and make our way to Bukit Lawang to see some orang utans. We had booked a collective taxi for 420.000 IDR. We thought a fast breakfast should be possible and while we were eating our pancake ( this seems to be the best alternative compared to bread ) the ferry arrived and started beeping as a sign of departure… It was only 07h45 and the ferry was supposed to leave 08am, we thought Indonesian time meant anything but too early! They will wait for us we thought and in 2 bites we ate our food (Jesper even left his so desired coffee of the day ) and hurried up with all our bags to the ferry ... read more
May 8th 2012
Yesterday we left Penang. Before this we were on Langkawi a couple of days, unfortunately we didn't post anything on the blog yet. We thought maybe it was time to stop with trying to catch up, because it doesn't seem to work out, instead we get more behind. We left Batu Ferringhi thinking it was time for another adventure. We took a plane and flew to Medan. The flight was very short (1h), even too short for the kids... We stayed one night in Medan 14th floor of a hotel and immediately by arrival we became spectators of an impressive thunderstorm. The electricity of the whole city went, except for the buildings with generators ( we were lucky). We saw the most amazing and longlasting lightning show of our life, just incredible. We were so happy ... read more
April 19th 2012
Mum was lying on a sun lounger reading when the 8.6 quake occurred, apparently a significant enough quakes to make worldwide headlines and generate mass panic..except for mum, who chose to just keep reading. She felt her lounge start shaking and thought..hmm..what's going on here. So she stood up, lifted the lounger to see if there were 'animals' under there moving around. Now think about this. Statistically, what are the chances that a couple of pangolins wandered out of the jungle and thought, yes, just what we need for our romantic interlude, an australian on a sun lounge, right at that moment. Like that would happen! Now statistically, the chances of an earthquake on the Sandra arc is pretty high, up there in the top places likely to make your lounge move. So mum stood up, ... read more
Journeys and Destinations Cubadak Island
Published: April 18th 2012Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Padang
April 18th 2012
On how many levels does a journey exist? Is the journey sometimes a destination unknown or unexpected? Ive spent my adult life watching for the Oh Not Again! Disapproving face my mother would pull every time I would casually mention I was going diving..in a couple of days..in papua new guinea. I wanted to show my mum the side of me that comes alive when I am travelling and diving, a new world to explore, where I feel my best. I wanted her to understand why I travelled alone to parts far flung and on the Smart Traveller website as reconsider need to travel. So, I took her to Cubadak. A tiny island off the west coast of Padang in Sumatra. On that ohh so sexy Sundra Arc (You will have to excuse the geomorphologist im ... read more
April 2nd 2012
For the first time I am planning to go to Asia on a holiday. I have only ever been over there “travelling” before so I would normally not have as many plans but I have spent some time planning this trip to make sure it is maximised. It feels a bit strange doing it this way but I have a job and a flat and all that shizz now so there is no other option. After an overnight stop in KL we got on a short flight to Banda Aceh with AirAsia. There is an early morning flight and an afternoon flight at present. If you do not want to spend a night in Banda Aceh then you will need to take the morning flight – not that there is anything wrong with BA! We were ... read more
Last days in Sumatra - Emails from Sumatra, August 2011
Published: March 21st 2012Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra
March 21st 2012
Mel We will be leaving here on the 27th. People keep telling me, we should stay for the end of Ramadan party, and telling me about the great homemade fireworks they are making from bamboo canes. Homemade fireworks! Sound safe dont they!? I think, it is a good thing we are putting some distance between us and them. Dirk Jan I guess the 'thanks to that too short fuse I now finally have a dog' (a blind guiding dog...) -campaign didn't make it over there yet... Mel and, a lot of other campagnes didn't make it to here either, or did make it and were dismissed by the 'them against us and everything said by any organisation in any western country is bad' folk. Soon, I will be getting emails from you, from ... read more
Escape from Sumatra - Emails from Sumatra, August 2011
Published: March 24th 2012Asia » Indonesia » SumatraMarch 21st 2012
Dirk Jan Re: In Bangkok Well, got this far. Staying at the green guest house. Went to the place you recommended for bus tickets. They only had 400 Baht big busses that go tomorrow at 18:00, so I'd be in Chumphon at 4 in the morning. They had never heard of busses that go in the day, they said. I'll walk around some more to see if I can find one that goes in the day. I'm not all that impressed with the KS Road, I have to say. Teeming with European/American kiddies and touts and little in between. Guess you're gonna show me the good places once we go here together :) See you soon. Mel So, are you in Chumpon, yet? You can always take a night bus to Hat Yai and stay ... read more
March 19th 2012
Mel The guy who owns one of the 3 always nearly empty dens of inequity, here in the village, came along while I was having my usual sweet morning coffee, while looking out on the lake. He tried to get me to go to his cafe sometimes. I told him, the women at the cafe we go to is a fantastic cook and the cafe is right on the lake, so there would be no reason to go any place else. And, I privately felt happy that we had found the cafe we go to by the lake, as it is much nicer than sitting in the middle of a smoggy village, with the driver of every car and moped that passes keeping his elbow or fist firmly on the horn. The guy from the other ... read more
March 16th 2012
After our beach day in Krabi we headed south to Penang Malaysia via minibus. The roads in Southern Thailand are paved, but they are rather bumpy and it made for a rough ride. Crossing into Malaysia was easy (only country where you don’t have to fill out Visa forms), but the lines were long. We arrived in Penang around 6:00pm, having set-off around 7am, an eleven hour day. On the ride we sat next to a very chatty German who was a retired contractor, I’m guessing he was around 65. He has travelled a lot and now calls Asia home. He made the trip very interesting as he told us all of these stories about the United States that he learned through the “news” – many of which I have not heard. I say “news” because ... read more
The shoe crisis - Emails from Sumatra, August 2011
Published: March 19th 2012Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake ManinjauMarch 16th 2012
Mel No trip with Lydia is without a shoe crisis, despite that I these days take the precaution of taking extra pairs of shoes for us both. Yesterday, I ended up jumping in the lake fully dressed to rescue my last pair of spare shoes, which I have had to give to Lydia, because she has broken all her own. I was so eager to avoid the Koh Pha Ngan type shoe crisis of a few years ago, in which I arrived in Bangkok shoeless and dirty footed, after my shoes broke when we were just about to leave the island. That cheap bus ride had the disadvantage of stopping at every muddy food vending roadside hovel, where we had to wade through pools of dirty rain water and push asside vegetation to get to the ... read more
