Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 53

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukittinggi May 11th 2006

For my last day in the area Aaron and I rented motorbikes again to explore a route that a french anthropologist, who is living here, reccomended to us. It basically took us around Singgalang volcanoe which is one of the two large volcanoes that looms menacingly over Bukittinggi. This time Aaron tried to get a quieter motorbike as the last one was so incredibly loud. Seriously I never imagined it possible for a motorbike to make so much noise. I think removing the exhaust completely would have actually made it quieter. It did make me laugh constantly though as even the locals (who are used to loud bikes) would turn to stare as they heard the bike approaching. If we were going up a steep hill and he dropped it down a gear I would have ... read more

Sianok canyon and motorbike madness

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukittinggi May 8th 2006

Carvings

Shlub

After I got back from Maninjau I stopped off in a Cafe - Bedudal, which has now became my nightime haunt - for some lunch with all my bags before I checked into a hotel. That's where I met Aaron a friendly Kiwi guy who came and sat with me. He's an artist and travelling for four months to find some inspiration and he's into energies of places and Tai Chee (sp?), that sort of thing. The afternoon I met him I checked into his hotel as it was much better than the one I had been staying in and then we went to check out a place called Sianok canyon together. There are some interesting Japanese tunnells dug into the cliffs and some pleasant walks around the area. While we were there we decided to ... read more

A great place to relax

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Maninjau May 4th 2006

Passing by

Shlub

After landing in Padang I headed straight for Bukittinggi and got ripped off for the journey up here so didn't get the best first impressions of Indonesia then or for the next 24hrs but things have picked up somewhat since then. I spent a night in Bukittinggi and then headed down to lake Maninjau - An incredible crater lake inside an extinct volcanoe. The lake is surrounded by extremely steep cliffs/slopes, which are all covered in the usual rice paddies and small settelments surround it. On the bus on the way down I met another English guy by the name of David who was with an Indonesian lady by the name of Christine. At first I thought they were some sort of dodgy couple but it later turned out that she was acting as his guide ... read more

Medan & Lake Toba Advantures

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan April 21st 2006

MES: Medan here we come..

tongky

Lake Toba is famous for the nature valcano lake and it's Samusir Island. This is the early promotion flight from Penang to Medan by Airasia. The flight only take 40-50 minutes. This time i travel with a friend. Together we explore the mystery of Lake Toba....... read more

The Boyfriend Visit

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Banda Aceh April 10th 2006

Boyfriend at Home

egipsey

Head: She’s making us all look ridiculous, running around like a little schoolgirl telling everyone “my boyfriend is coming for a visit this week!” Heart: Speak for yourself. I think it’s wonderful to see her so excited. C’mon, it’s been 6 months since they last saw each other and I’ve jammed her pack full of emotions…I’ve been looking forward to this day since we left Brooklyn. After all, I’m the only one here that never gets any rest. Head: Not so fast! What were you saying a few months ago?? Um, allow me to remind you: “This is never gonna work! They’ll be too far apart for too long. I can’t take it…” Heart: I had only a mild attack of the “what if’s” just after Christmas…no thanks to you and your “we have to think ... read more

Jungletrekking!

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukit Lawang March 23rd 2006

busreis Padang-Medan

Inger en Anneke

Van Danau Maninjau (waar we kennis gemaakt hebben met Freddy, " The Hugest Cocroach Ever!", onze vaste nocturne gast in de badkamer met speciale voorkeur voor " hangplek" bij wc-bril of wastafel) via Bukitinggi naar Medan met de touringcar (een "ge-upgrade" gewone volksbus met airco). De tocht zou 18 uur duren en vertrok vanaf B'ttinggi om 13.00 uur. Na 5 minuten de eerste stop bij het ticket-office van de busmaatschappij ALS. Kwam goed uit want Anneke moest plassen. Al kokhalzend kwam ze even later terug: alles onder 1m50 hoog in de hele toiletruimte was lichtbruin aangekoekt en en de stank was onvoorstelbaar; smeriger kan echt niet. Inger heeft de hele reis haar plas opgehouden;) De tocht duurde uiteindelijk 26 uur want: 1. de band was lek dus wisselstop; 2. de lekke band werd ter reparatie aangeboden ... read more

I've Got The Aid Worker Blues

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Banda Aceh March 19th 2006

Dark Blue Acehnese Sky

egipsey

Although my Dad would surely disagree, I don't consider myself an idealist. I came to Banda Aceh because I felt my skills would be useful and I would get work/personal experience that I couldn't get back in New York. I wanted to be in a motivating environment and part of something extraordinary and unique - the rebuilding of a region after the greatest natural disaster in present history. The reality is, well, different. And there's been a few things I've discovered recently that i've had to reconcile personally: FACT: The Humanitarian Aid Industry is a big, highly profitable business. FACT: Aceh got $6 billion dollars for reconstruction, to be spent in about 18 months. (Imagine having to spend a million dollars at the deli down the street, in about 10 minutes.) FACT: I am not working ... read more

overal water

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Maninjau March 15th 2006

Minankabau

Inger en Anneke

Met groot succes inkopen gedaan in Jakarta. Behalve een zeer moderne bh (bijna goede maat) zelfs een broek voor Inger gevonden (zit gelukkig al een gat in). De overlevings tocht bevatte een aantal spannende momenten...zeer spooky travo's die heel lief naar ons lachten, een wikka kind, annie's arm tussen de treindeuren (ik tref geen blaam, maar wilde er echt NU uit) en natuurlijk diverse aanvaringen met mensen over onze onderhandelingswijze (snap nog niet wat die rok precies koste). In de avond zijn we naar Padang gevlogen. De taxi chauffeur bracht ons niet alleen naar het verkeerde hotel maar wilde ook nog 3 keer zo veel als wij dachten afgesproken te hebben. Natuurlijk onuitwisbaar goede indruk gemaakt bij de mensen van het hotel. We mochten toch een kamer (incl. kakkerlakken en hagedissen). Maar gelukkig had Inger de ... read more

From Sumatra, With Love

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Bukit Lawang March 11th 2006

First Sighting

Kev and Dust

(Matthew) Lake Toba was great. in fact, i was a more than a little sad to leave it. but kevin told me about an orangatang convservation center up north and it sounded pretty cool. we got up fairly early to catch the first ferry back to the mainland and then, after a decent breakfest, we headed back to medan. we actually ended up chartering our own car. we never do that but we were able to do it for even less than what the mini bus from medan to lake toba had cost us. plus we all had our own seat. kev and i were able to sleep a little bit. it was nice. but then we hit medan. i can't stand that city. thankfully we didn't have to spend the night and caught a big ... read more

Lake Toba

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba March 11th 2006

Breakfast Table

Kev and Dust

(Matthew) So, after almost a month the the island of Borneo, the Malaysian part of it anyways. I was ready to move on to new things. we were supposed to fly out from Khota Kinabalu (K.K as the locals call it) through Air Asia. we had already booked our flights and we thought we were supposed to fly out at 11:00 am. but it turns out that we were supposed to leave closer to 9:00. so, we missed our flight and had no good excuse. we were all kicking ourselves, especially when we realized their was absolutely no way we could get our money back. so, we had to spend another night in K.K and left the next morning. we flew to K.L and then to the City of Medan in the Indonisian province of Sumatra. ... read more

Brief history of Indonesia

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hos...more history

Forum Topics for Sumatra

Teaching Opportunities ...Posts: 3

Internship in indonesisPosts: 5

Java itinerary with kid...Posts: 5

Need advice for Singapo...Posts: 4

perama shipwreckPosts: 1

Motor Bike Hire SumatraPosts: 2

North Sumatra Sumatera...Posts: 2

Budget TravelPosts: 14

Anyone interested in go...Posts: 2

do fishermen in Kupang ...Posts: 14

Where to go in BaliPosts: 10