After a few days in Penang, Malaysia, it was time to scuttle off to the huge Indonesian island of Sumatra which lies parallel to peninsular Malaysia, just over the straits of Malacca. I didn't know too much about Indonesia, let alone Sumatra. Most people only go to Bali and Lombok, so I knew I wouldn't see too many fellow travellers here. I had conjured visions of volcanoes, thick jungles, orang-utans and tigers. My visions weren't too far wide of the mark. Sumatra is beautiful and relatively untouched by backpackers. I spent a couple of days in Medan, which is easily the worst city I have ever visited - and I've visited Guatemala City. It's baking hot, vast, crowded, dirty, polluted, dangerous, and there isn't a bar in sight. Plenty of mosques though. I then spent a
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