Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 17

Vandaag hadden we de jungle trek geregeld. We stonden om 8.30 klaar om de jungle in te trekken. Allereerst gingen we naar de voederplek van de oerang-oetangs. Er zat er eentje rustig zijn bananen te eten en zat ons ook stom aan te kijken. Toen begon de trip. We hadden gewoon een trip geboekt, eigenlijk niet wetende hoelang het zou duren. In totaal hebben we 6 uur door de jungle getrokken, berg op, berg af, op bijna onbegaanbare paadjes. Heel erg zwaar, maar ja, je kon moeilijk stoppen midden in de jungle. We kwamen oerang-oetangs tegen in het wild, ibon aapjes, hele grote mieren en nog allerlei beesten. In de middag lekker in de jungle geluncht (nasi met fruit). Op een gegeven moment op het einde zat er plotseling een oerang-oetang een 2 meter boven mij. ... read more

From where we sit, perched at the computer, we can see the sparkle of the Indian Ocean, hear the rustling of the palm trees and smell the fresh air that only comes from being on the busiest beach of pulau weh (population 10). The eight years since the tsunami has done little to change this stretch of Gapang beach; the dive shop has been re-built, so have the few houses and bungalows but the locals don't seem to have been put off by the 10 metre wave that flooded the island back in 2004. However, don't go getting yourselves all jealous because it hasn't all been beautiful sunshine. As we were warned, all the way back in Thailand, inevitably rain does sometimes fall in South East Asia during rainy season. What a surprise. Although we haven't ... read more

Getting from Kuala Lumpur to Iboih beach on Pulau Weh (off the north coast of Aceh, Sumatra) involved the full gamut of transport: taxi, train, bus, plane, another taxi, ferry and motorbike. Nevertheless, the twelve hour journey went without a hitch and by 4 p.m. we were sitting on the balcony of our stilted hut over-looking the flat-calm Indian Ocean: a pellucid swirl of emerald, cobalt, azure and indigo. Here at Yulia’s the restaurant overhangs the crystal-clear sea and a myriad of fish amble amidst the coral below; it promises to be snorkeling paradise. As evening draws-in huge fruit bats with orange manes swoop across the purple sky before making heavy landings and inverted scrambles to gorge on… fruit (forgot to ask the name of the tree). Our hut, positioned twenty yards up the hill side ... read more

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

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