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Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 7
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Going west - Emails from Sumatra, August 2011
Published: December 16th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra
November 14th 2011
Mel At last, we are in Sumatra, where I have been looking forward to being for around a year. It is absolutely lovely here in the Bukittinggi in the mountains. The bus journey: We got here in one piece, appart from a bruise on my shoulder. The bus ride was extremely bumpy and the driver swerved and swung in any possible attempt to overtake just about anything in front of him. And, if something approached from the other direction, during the overtake atempt, he would swing wildly back behind the vehicle he tried to over take. Sometimes he just missed crashing head on, by a couple of seconds. At least' there were no break downs. One of the engines of the boat failed, on the way over the strait, and there were a number of causalty ... read more
The tampon situation - Emails from Sumatra, August 2011
Published: December 5th 2011Asia » Indonesia » SumatraNovember 13th 2011
Mel I ran out of internet time yesterday, so here is the continuation of our getting here. The tampon situation: It is when the customs find things like tampons, contraceptive pills... In some countries these things don't actually exist, or are very rare, and in those countries the customs and security are almost always men. In Indonesia there were a few women there, but they only seemed to take a very minor role in the security checking, as if their hiring really is tokenism. I really would expect to have done a crime or be highly suspicious in some way, before going through the interrogation that the 3 male customs officers brought all foreigners into a room to go through. At least we were herded in, rather than having to be in there individually with those ... read more
November 9th 2011
Yes, this is my second coming to the beautiful coastal city in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra. If two years ago I record a potential tourist attractions in that city. From 7 to October 14, 2011 ago, I came up with the film crews, to recording a dentist from Jakarta to help provide treatment that is very rarely accepted by people in Jago-Jago village. Once again, a very long road we traveled to breath in and of course a fully belly. 12 hours through the beautiful Lake Toba, enter Siantar City and see BSA 400cc motorcycles modifications into rickshaws. (I cry to see the fate of these motors). Looking at the Balige market with its exotic roof, stopped at the famous Tarutung's Bonapasogi homemade guitar and finally arrived at midnight in Sibolga. Phew. *** Jago Jago Village ... read more
November 6th 2011
Flew on super cheap Air Asia flight from KL to Banda Aceh for a Valentine's Day getaway. Found Aceh province to be much more developed than I expected - good roads, clean, lot of building activity but one major disappointment- though not unexpected - no alcohol. The only place I could get a beer in Banda was upstairs at Tropicana Seafood Restaurant - expensive though at 30,000 rupiah a can. You have to try Mee Aceh when in this part of Indonesia - yummy. There are 3 traveler hotels in a row near centre of town - the Hotel Medan is the pick but dearest, though definitely worth the extra for aircon and hot water + breakfast One night in Banda and then becak to port for ferry to Pulau Wei. There were a number of ... read more
September 25th 2011
Sumatra Zaterdag 17 sept zijn David, Krista, Guillaume, Guillaume en ik naar Medan (noord-west Sumatra, Indonesie) gevlogen. Daar werden we overspoelt door de drukte en de chaos in deze stad met 2 miljoen inwoners. Overal mensen op straat, brommers en auto’s razen aan alle kanten voorbij, grote diepe gaten in de weg en de stoep en overal nieuwsgierige gezichten bij het zien van 5 westerse toeristen. Lokale mensen wilden graag met ons op de foto en zo werd Medan is niet alleen een attractie voor ons, maar wij als toeristen waren een attractie in Medan! Bij een kraampje op straat hebben we heerlijke pittige Nasi Goreng gegeten daarna hebben een kamer gevonden waar me met z’n vijven konden slapen op matrassen op de grond. ’s Ochtends vertrokken naar de Jungle in Bukit Lawang. Daar hebben we ... read more
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September 11th 2011
8 septembre 2011, On prend notre petit-dejeuner puis on part en jeep, direction Tangakahan, un petit village de jungle encore plus recule. On nous annonce 39 km de route en 3 heures... hein??? Ca semble louche... et en effet, ce l est! La route n est pas pavee, toute defoncee, pleine de cotes en glaise... sans parler de toute la menagerie du coin qui passe sur la route... et des ponts en bois avec pleins de trous... au point que nos ponts a Montreal nous semblent bien solides tout a coup! Vive les Gravol, sinon on aurait pas survecu au voyage! On arrive a Tangakahan, a l office du tourisme. Notre guide nous prend en charge et on traverse la riviere dans un bateau pour le moins rustique... des planches sur des bidons... On arrive au ... read more
September 10th 2011
Bonjour tout le monde, 6 septembre 2011 On se leve tres tot car a 5:30, il faut etre assis dans notre taxi. On prend la direction du 2e aeroport de Kuala Lumpur, dedie aux vols low-cost... il y a des gens partout malgre l heure tres matinale... et qui dit low-cost, dit organisation qui laisse a desirer... on peine un peu a faire notre check-in puis lorsque c est fait, on se gate avec un bon petit-dejeuner chez Dunkin! Les dejeuners locaux sont plutot composes de riz, viandes et cie... tres peu pour nous... Lors de l embarquement, c est la pagaille pour entrer dans l avion, tout le monde se lance partout... c est dans ce temps la que c est pratique de voyager avec 2 colosses! Dans l avion on se croirait chez McDo, ... read more
Banda Aceh et ses traces du passage du tsunami
Published: September 15th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Banda Aceh
August 31st 2011
Banda Aceh, c'est l'une des villes qui a été le plus touchée par le tsunami du 26 décembre 2004. On nous a longuement raconté la journée du tsunami à Pulau Weh, le tremblement de terre d'abord, puis la mer qui se retire et enfin la vague qui arrive, quelques heures plus tard. Pulau Weh étant valonné, le tsunami n'a pas fait tant de dégâts. Banda Aceh n'a pas eu cette chance... La ville est une vaste plaine et la vague a tout emporté sur son passage, démolissant toutes les constructions, rendant 500 000 Indonésiens sans-abris et en tuant 200 000 autres. Banda Aceh a alors bénéficié de l'aide internationale, qui a non seulement aidé à nettoyer et reconstruire la ville, mais qui a en plus fortement contribuer à la fin de la guerre sanglante et perpétuelle ... read more
August 31st 2011
Almost before our next visa run we manage to get some photos up from the last one in Sumatra. The highlight was when Jack was taken hostage by Jacky (a wild female orangutan) and her baby, and forced to follow her around the forest for over half an hour. Enjoy miss you all Yaz and Jack xxx... read more
Made it! Tuc Tuc, Lake Toba - Finally a bit of relaxation and Birthday celebrations
Published: August 8th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba
August 8th 2011
Its funny how someone tells you about somewhere and within a few days you find yourself heading there! Tuc Tuc was a must see place recommended by Dave Fox and within a few days of hearing about it we were on an over night bus from Singapore to Butterworth in Penang (Malaysia) with the intention of getting a ferry over to Medan (Sumatra)! Should have done a bit more research as when we got to Penang after an 11 hour bus ride and a 30 minute ferry crossing we realised we were 13 months too late for the ferry to Sumatra which no longer operated due to either immigration issues, money issues or both! Travelling goes that way sometimes and so we thought we'd check out Penang before getting a plane over to Medan - seemed ... read more
