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Published: November 21st 2015
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On Tuesday morning we left our hostel in Bukit Lawang to find our driver who was going to take us on the four hour journey to Berastagi. After settling into the car, the driver announced that the car was unsafe to drive and that we needed to switch cars. We had to trust that the next car we were asked to climb into was safer. The whole process wasted 30 minutes of travelling time, but we eventually set off. Marc plugged his iPod in and we faced the same problem that we had in Chin's car... the same order of random songs came on with no way to select what song would come on next. This becomes surprisingly frustrating, believe us.
The drive to Berastagi was frightening. Sumatran roads are very narrow and covered in potholes and rubble. The cars/buses/lorries overtake whenever they feel necessary, regardless of oncoming traffic. We had a few very close calls until our German friend asked the driver to 'hati hati' which translates to 'be careful' in Indonesian.
Berastagi is also a small town in North Sumatra, where you can find a fruit and vegetable market and two volcanoes; Mount Sibayak and Mount Sinabung.
Mount Sinabung is considerably higher than Mount Sibayak however we were warned that a guide was absolutely essential as the volcano is bad tempered and tourists have gotten lost and died whilst hiking. Mount Sinabung lany dormant for four hundred years until 2010, and last erupted in June 2015 Which resulted in 10,000 people being evacuated from their homes. We had teamed up with a German friend and Korean friend during our time in Berastagi, and we all decided that we didn't fancy getting lost on Mount Sinabung.
So we opted to climb the tame Mount Sibayak, and we still opted for a guide. We were picked up at four in the morning so that we could catch the sunrise in the morning. Translation failed us so instead of a guide to lead us up the volcano in the pitch black, we had a driver that dropped us off near the volcano but refused to climb with us. Luckily we saw a couple we had met the previous day at our hostel on the way up with their guide. So we followed behind them... and thank goodness we did! We would have had no idea which was the best
way to go without following them.
Mount Sibayak last erupted hundreds of years ago, but has active steam vents and hot springs on and around the volcano. The vents, which look like cracks and holes in the ground, produce crystalline sulfur in the form of steam and gas. This causes the ground around the cracks to become a bright yellow, or lime green colour. Sulfur also has an offensively strong odour, which reminded us of stink bombs which people used to set off when we were in school. Basically, it smells like rotten eggs. There is also a discoloured crater lake at the top of Mount Sibayak. On the way up we spotted rubbish from spots where people had camped on the volcano overnight, which we were pretty shocked by because the smell of sulfur is overpowering.
At the top we had to tread carefully as it was very hazy and visibility was poor. The tour guide, who was with out friends, expressed his anger at the haze which is caused by forest fires. Sumatra uses the 'slash and burn' technique which consists of cutting and burning vegetation in forests or woodland areas as a cheap method of
clearing land. In the dry season, the forest fires spread, which causes problems. In September 2015 a state of emergency was declared in Indonesia due to the haze, and by October 2015 the Pollutant Standards Index hit a record high. Millions of people across Indonesia are affected by the haze, along with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. So, at the top of Mount Sibayak, we couldn't even tell whinch side the sun was rising on as the haze was so thick. We could JUST make out the peak of Mount Sinabung, which would have looked incredible on a clear day.
On the way down, our driver picked us up and took us to the hot springs. We arrived at artificial hot springs, as the temperature needs to be controlled. The smell of sulfur in the water was still pretty strong and we could smell it off our clothes too, but the scorching hot water was a delight seeing as we had been having freezing cold showers for days! We couldn't believe our luck as the sun actually managed to come out too, so we all took a long nap in the sunshine next to the hot
springs as we were the only people there.
Then we paid a visit to the Buddhist temple Taman Alam Lumbini and saw some strawberry farms on the way.
Berastagi is on the way to Lake Toba, which we were interested in visiting, however we had met people who had just been and showed us pictures of the lake which consisted of grey haze, and nothing else. We left Berastagi a day early, as it was Susie's turn to get unwell, and the nearest doctor was in Medan which was a two hour drive away. It was very difficult to pull ourselves away from the three extremely cute puppies we had met at our guest house and spent most of our time with!
Although there was not much to do in Berastagi, we enjoyed walking the streets here as people were extremely friendly and waved hello to us each time they saw us. People in Berastagi are extremely skilled at squeezing as many people onto scooters and into buses than other places we have been. And they also frequently use horses as a mode of transport which made wandering around a little more interesting.
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