Page 2 of stefjesplivskyeask Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra May 15th 2012

Tangkahan. So if Bukit Lawang was near the end of the world, then this must be the end. Out of Bukit Lawang you go left on a dirt road, only possible with motorbike or 4wheel drive. Road starts rough, only to get rougher, wich meant that after 20 min. we had our first pitstop, airco belt in and disk is loose and it is necessary to cut it over to ensure no further damage to the rest of engine – always travel with a knife! We are passing small poor villages with people who is probably workers in the massive palm plantages we are driving in all the way- a bit a scary and sad sight, but we all have to survive;- hello boulé (hello tourist) is the yells from kids in all of these villages ... read more
Our transport has problems
nice thick jungle
palm oil workers homes

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukit Lawang 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
Ask making friends
Our hut!
Boat to cross the river

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba May 9th 2012

Tuk Tuk is the first village you embark on Samosir Island. Samosir Actually isn't an Island because there is a very little connection with the mainland on the other side. Lake Toba is the biggest lake in Indonesia, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption around 30.000 to 75.000 years ago. The island Samosir is nearly as big as Singapore, and the lake is up to 450meters deep! This is a part of Batak Kingdom, a people that kept all other tribes and religions out until missionaries started popping up all over the world. They are proud of their history and folklore. Always a guitar within reach. After Skyes and Papas early morning dip in the lake, breakfast with probably the strongest coffee so far. We got ready for the day, until very late none of our ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba 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
motorcycles have to be checked out
On the way to Samosir
Nice beds!

Asia » Malaysia » Terengganu » Perhentian Kecil April 21st 2012

After 4 nights at Besar we took the water taxi to Petani Beach on Pulau Kecil. This is a very calm and peacefull beach, just 5 huts. We enjoyed the huts, they we’re more spacious and more comfy. Still now and then the generator fell out and we had to light a candle or two. Here Skye really got over his waterfobia! We enjoyed a stormy evening as well as starry nights and even falling stars. Kids ate despite of the limited choice on the menu like crazy ( pitta bread filled with lots of veggies and feta cheese…) Here we could snorkel right from the beach into a small coral reef. Liv joined her papa on the back and saw a little stingray and lots of nemo’s of course. From here you can take a ... read more
on the way to Kecil
at Petani
stormy evening

Asia » Malaysia » Terengganu » Perhentian Besar April 17th 2012

We've been running a bit behind schedule here (we left Perhentian Islands already 6 days ago), that's how it is when you're having fun. We're trying our best to catch up.... We leave the jungle train behind us at Tanah Merah (oef) early morning and arrive by taxi at Kuala Besut an hour later. From this port a speedboat will take us to what we've been looking forward to: Perhentian Islands. There are 2 Islands: Besar= Big and Kecil= Small The moment you step in the boat, a feeling of 'Wauw' comes over you! The expression on the kids faces tells it all, look at Asks big smile :) ! The Perhentian Islands are truly magnificent, it has everything you could wish for, for an unforgetable beach holiday. The boat cruises us trough beautifull clear blue ... read more
Land in sight...Besar
Our view !
ready to snorkel?

Asia » Malaysia » Johor » Johor Bahru April 16th 2012

Around 22h we’re actually seated and on our way, smiling faces. One hour later we change seats because we sit in front in the coach which we thought was nice at first but which caused for some irritation later on. Imagine a sliding door, that slides open and closes all the time, with the movements of the train. Not only the noise was annoying, this was also the smoking area for passengers and there were the toilets of which the door also didn’t close properly etc… Happy we changed. A few hours later an elderly lady in our coupon has a crisis, making a lot of noises and movements. People don’t know what’s going on and move away from her. The train stops in the first station which was very close by. After a few minutes ... read more
sleep tight Skye!

Asia » Malaysia » Johor » Johor Bahru April 16th 2012

First of all, we slept very long (11am) at the JB Hotel. And first thing we did was checking out again… We just killed the day by walking around (mainly in a huge shopping mall) and finding ourselves a place to eat with Malaysian food. Except for the sour plum drink we actually had a very nice brunch, kids thought differently about this of course. They still need some time to adapt their eating habits. Jesper had a local specialty; Laksa, a heavy curry and Stef some kind of vegetarian dish, all very tasty and colorful. The kids bought themselves a little present and we got ourselves a nice coffee, yummie. Because of heavy rains we prolonged our stay at the mall, to Jesper’s delight ;) When the rain had stopped, we toured a bit in ... read more
The city JB
seeking shelter for the rain and s you can see still very pale
Little china

Asia » Malaysia » Johor » Johor Bahru April 15th 2012

So plans were to catch the night train at Johor Bahru in Malaysia. Before going to the Zoo the girl at the Hostel in Singapore had phoned for us to the railways because we couldn’t do an online booking anymore… She told us that because of train problems there were no trains departing at Johor Bahru, but we had to catch a taxi to a station 150km futher a way and get the train there ( Kluang) . I had my doubts about this news, but what could we do about it?? We decided to get there around 19h anyway ( departing time of the train ) and then we would see what would happen. So we hurried from the Zoo to the Hostel by taxi, picked up our luggage and continued to the bus station ... read more
Bussing to Johor
Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim (state's secretariat building) at night
Finally; a bed :)

Asia » Singapore » Little India April 13th 2012

All curious how things are going, so here we are finally with some news! The plane travel Brussels – Frankfurt – Singapore went smoothly ( except for Skye throwing up during landing ) Happy kids and parents! Singapore was HOT, and we were of course TIRED… despite this we found our way quite well. Once at the airport we took the metro to the Hostel laying in Little India. Metro transport is very well organized, of course we had to find our way in the beginning. Little India was really being in India and we wondered how the other city parts looked like...? The room in the hostel was ok, just beds, no table, nothing really, so that also meant quite some mess! Packing afterwards was not so fun. The staff was really friendly, actually all ... read more
Nice breakfast Ask!
Little India
Liv and Skye having fun




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