Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 49

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Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukit Lawang June 10th 2007

Gunung Leuser National Park, Just North of Bukit Lawang June 6th The walk - uphill and through hot, sticky jungle - left us breathing hard, sweat from even this small exertion, popping out on our faces and running down our backs. We were on the big Indonesian island of Sumatra, only a few degrees north of the equator and the heat was stifling. Smothering everything in a wet, humid blanket, it sapped the strength and weakened our resolve to carry on. Hemmed in by a solid wall of foliage; bamboos, thorny rattan palms, looping vines and big leaved aroids, we followed the path - that only rarely afforded any views - and pushed on, trying hard to ignore the heat and the reluctance of our legs to keep moving. But it wasn’t far now. The ... read more
Jungle Moon
Chinese Shopfronts
Songkhla Beach

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan May 9th 2007

Samir's article. About half a week ago, we left Toba and drove up to a city called Berastagi that sits at the foot of an active volcano. As soon as we arrived, we instantly began hotel-hunting (as always), but soon realised that it would be awhile before we found a decent resting place. We'd just turned down another hotel when our driver pulled into what he guessed was a hotel. Dad got out to talk to the "manager", and then came back to tell us that our supposed hotel was really a church! The man Dad was talking to before said he knew someone at a hotel, and that he could get us a discount there. He phoned the hotel, and before we knew it, we were sipping Cokes and eating pancakes while waiting for ... read more
The Thomas Leaf Monkey Brothers, Skunk and Punk
Yes, and How Many Corks Does it Take to Plug a Fumeral, Before it Don't Stink No More?
The River We Rafted Down After our Jungle Trek

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan May 9th 2007

Hi, it's Beth. I can't tell you how much we like all the comments everybody sends. It keeps us all interested in keeping this blog going. To start with, I better answer a few questions...No, we don't encourage Samir to write more often than Alia or Jamil, but he is always begging to get on the blog whereas the other two realize how much they like writing on the blog once we have "convinced" them to get on here! We are spending our last night in Indonesia doing this because we realize that once we leave a place, it's hard to go back and write about it, eg. Japan. Try as we might, we can't get Azim to write on the blog. I think it's kind of like when we travelled after Japan and he ... read more
Boat taking us snorkeling on Gili Air
Beach at Gili Trawangan
A pleasant bike ride at Lake Toba

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan May 9th 2007

Hi everyone! Well, as you can see, we've had no time in the last month (was it that long??) to write anything on the blog, and we have gone through every place in Indonisia that we were planning to. Sadly, today is our last day in the country and even I'm overwhelmed by how time flies! So we are now in Sumatra, an island that is described by tourists as the "adventure island". Before Sumatra though, and right after Ubud we were in Lombok (another island) in the small ghost town like city, Senggigi. Since it was Jamil's birthday (and I'm glad it was!) he got to pick the hotel for one night and the next day we would move to a cheaper hotel. Of course, Jamil chose the fanciest and most luxurious (not to ... read more
Finally!
My idea of a cruise ship.
Taking a break from motorbike riding.

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan May 9th 2007

Jamil. We are in Sumatra and the city Medan which is a big city like Vancover only not as big! We rented a car in Medan to take us through Sumatra. The first place we went to was Lake Toba, which is the biggest lake in South East Asia. It is actually a huge volcanic crater. We got there but we had to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes for a ferry that you have to take to get to the main island. The second day we rented mopeds to go around the island . On the third day we rented bicycles to see the countryside ( it was all up hill). After we stopped to get a cold drink, I raced dad to the post office and I won but that made me tired ... read more
A Batak House
My sister the prisoner!
Me in a jungle.

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba May 4th 2007

Samir's article. Back on Gilli Air, probably a week ago (yes, it's been that long) before we went night fishing, we all went snorkeling (even Alia, who's leg is better now). We snorkeled in a current, above a coral reef. There were mostly black fish, but also the regular confused pinstripe fish, tie dye fish, angel fish, bright blue fish and ugly, fat, orange-lip fish. We swam the current 3 or 4 times before getting bored (believe it), and heading back to shore. That night (as promised), we went night fishing in deep waters. I caught a medium sized yellow fish and a red snapper, which is a red and white fish that (you guessed it) snaps. Dad got it cooked and he ate it the next day. I tried some, but it was pretty ... read more
Riding the Balance Thingy of our Glass Bottom Boat
Getting a Tour at the Kings Stone Chair

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra April 20th 2007

From Aceh, I decided that my next stop in Sumatra would be Danau Toba (lake Toba). It took a solid night and day to finally get there, but when I arrived it was calm and welcoming. Toba sits at a high elevation, so the days and nights are not humid or have the oven-like temperatures of the Sumatran coastline. My first thought of Toba was ghost town. 99% of the accommodations in the Toba area are in Tutuk. It's a tourist town with a hotel or inn every five feet. But where were the tourists? It was completely empty. I was literally the only one staying at my place and none other was crowded. Just rooms, rooms, and more rooms, but no one to fill them. When going around, another surprise was who the tourists ... read more
danau toba
toba spearfishing poster boy
if you don't catch it, you clean it

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Banda Aceh April 13th 2007

Banda Aceh. It's about as far away from Western Civilisation as I've ever been. They even have Sharia law (conservative Islamic law) imposed. I first arrived in Medan; the fight was actually not too bad- bit of a bumpy take-off but then Lion Air's full three-hour full flight service of a plastic of water certainly made up for it. I hope that Lion Air can expand their services to NZ. Medan. All I can say is that if anyone wins a competition for a trip to Medan, just say thanks but no thanks. I had to endure this place and stay the night here. I found a lovely hotel right by the Mosque where at 5am things got going. The following day was a quick exit as I headed to the bus station for another ... read more
agreed
Tsunami damage
Tsunami

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Pulau Weh April 10th 2007

After jumping city to city, my body was starting to crave some place that moved at a slower pace. That is when I found Pulau Weh. It is off the northern tip of Sumatra. The small town I stayed in was Iboih. It was a great surprise for me. I was only planning on staying for one week to do some diving, but ended up staying two. The town itself is just a small walking path with several very rustic bungalows on or near the water. Power isn't 24 hour and is often out. Made for some very quiet nights. When I first arrived to the island of Pulau Weh (often called Sabang) I met up with a South African, Richard. He has been living in London, but for the last 6 months he's been ... read more
my place
view from my room
eel & snake fight




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