The decision was made. South East Asia it was. Something different from Europe.
Fiona and I flew in to Singapore from the city of Adelaide in Australia. Singapore is always value for money for a ''couple of days only'' kind of place. Opinion is, it's like being on a robotic island
... ''don't do this'' and ''don't do that'' kind of place. But of course it has it's ups as well. Bargains can be found in the market stalls along the side streets and a trip to Raffles Hotel is always a bonus for that piece of luxury missing in a backpacker's life. Just make sure your wallet holds a few extra dollars as it costs an arm and a leg just for a beer.
Heading off to Sumatra, one of the few remaining wilderness islands left in the world was getting us excited. The view as we walked the gangway to board the ferry - well clapped out jalopy would be a better word as that's what the boat looked like - was amazing!! In the shimmering light of the sea ahead of us were probably around 70 or more ships with their anchors dropped just floating and waiting. It was an amazing sight ... so many ships!!
Passports stamped and we were on our way.
As the ferry made a zig zag through the masses of towering ships around us it was interesting to think we would be travelling on a boat through one of the worlds most treacherous shipping lanes in the whole world. The Malacca Straight!! World famous for the modern day pirate. It would be more romantic to be confronted by Black Beard than the gun toting pirates of this electronic age. But I'm sure if any pirates approached our boat as we cruised slowly through to the Sumatran side of the straight, they'd take one look at the state of the travellers on the boat and turn round in disappointment!! :))
Reaching the Indonesian island of Sumatra was interesting. We were literally dumped in the middle of nowhere! It was obvious that the dense forest had been cleared here and an outpost of sorts had been erected . It was extremely hot, humid and dusty. Kids and mums jumped out at us from nowhere and started hawking their goods ... in our faces.
Fiona studied Asian Studies at University and can speak Indonesian fluently. It was ''time to start putting that to work'', I shouted over my shoulder as we headed towards a bus that would take us somewhere.
The bus packed to the roof, and the roof packed to the sky, we bumped and trundled our way down a dirt road. It's clear as we go to see exactly why all of South east Asia and Australia was complaining of smoke smog. A few months before we left Australia there was an international incident about the amount of ''clearing'' being done in Indonesia. The clearing refers to the forest areas covering most of Indonesia. It was being cleared on a mammoth scale!! So much so that the smoke rising from this was causing a massive haze over a gigantic area. And as we travelled through the North Western region of Sumatra all we saw was pineapple, rubber and banana plantations ... as far as the eye could see!! Oh yeah, and the odd oil drilling facility.
I hope all those wild birds and animals have found a new home.
We stopped at a roadside village type place for a refreshment. The place was swarming with giant mosquitoes!!
In between squashing, swatting and swishing away the mosquitoes we bought a drink and lots of delicious fresh fruit. Bananas, Lychee's, oranges and all kinds of sweet smelling fruit could be bought for crazy cheap prices.
We had entered South East Asia during a financially bad period. For 100 Aussie Dollars we were getting 1.2 million Indonesian Rupiah. Both Fi and I changed 100 dollar notes and instantly became multi millionaires!! When we arrived at a place to stay for the remainder of the night, Fiona lay on the bed and I covered her from head to toe with notes and spread what was left around in a ''I am sooo rich'' pose!! The wads of Rupiah were thick!!
In the morning after lots of fruit and a cooked breakfast we wondered around the local area. We had arrived at Bukitingi. This remote area of Northwestern Sumatra has a lot of culture that is astoundingly rich in colours and architecture. One of the highlights are the houses. The people are extra friendly and the food is Indonesian delicious!!
There was even a bonsai volcano of the outskirts of the village we stayed at.
The morning we left for our next destination sitting on the bus, Fiona taps me on the shoulder and points in awe as the bonsai volcano spits out a puff of smoke. My mouth dropped!! Crikey!! Where are the dinosaurs!??
That was the feeling in this remote part of Sumatra!! Prehistoric is a good word to describe the surrounding forest and bonsai volcano spurting smoke. A truly amazing sight to feel and see.
Hooning around the mountainous roads with a maniacal bus driver was a hair raising event.
As we made our way across Sumatra it was clear that there weren't any road rules!!I'm sure there are, it's just that ... well ... there weren't, it seemed!! :))
Apart from the smoking volcano, there is one other event that will always stick in my mind. As the bus hurtled along narrow winding roads, over taking on blind corners and the broughs of hills, up ahead the road split. Two bridges appeared. If road rules were applied then the bus would have followed the road it was on and continued in normal road rule fashion ... but NO!! Our bus takes the oncoming side of the bridge!!
HOLT SHIT!! My life is surely going to end in the valley below and I'll be some small news paper article that will be printed in most international newspapers on page 8.
''Bus Plunges in Indonesia Killing All'' ...
... and the details of the journey the bus had will never be told as no one survived!
But, luckily there was no oncoming traffic ... and no crash ... and we all survived!!
Well, physically anyway!! It was freakin' terrifying.
As our bus arrived in one piece at the next village for refreshments, I left the bus taking a long hard look at the driver. He was just a simple, small man. But he must be special I thought, must have that Indonesian 6th sense or some other special Indonesian knowing ... or maybe we were just plain lucky!!
That night after finding somewhere to sleep, the beer went down a treat! We slept well and didn't have any nightmares.
Meandering through Sumatra certainly is worth doing. Whether you are a simple backpacker or a tourist. The island is amazing. The sites, the simple lifestyle of the people, the local food sold from a large box on wheels, the smells, are all part of the experience of Sumatra! ;))
Our next island will be Java. What's going to happen to us there ... looking forward to that for sure!
... to be continued :))
... go on, stick ya thumb out!!
Fiona and I flew in to Singapore from the city of Adelaide in Australia. Singapore is always value for money for a ''couple of days only'' kind of place. Opinion is, it's like being on a robotic island
... ''don't do this'' and ''don't do that'' kind of place. But of course it has it's ups as well. Bargains can be found in the market stalls along the side streets and a trip to Raffles Hotel is always a bonus for that piece of luxury missing in a backpacker's life. Just make sure your wallet holds a few extra dollars as it costs an arm and a leg just for a beer.
Heading off to Sumatra, one of the few remaining wilderness islands left in the world was getting us excited. The view as we walked the gangway to board the ferry - well clapped out jalopy would be a better word as that's what the boat looked like - was amazing!! In the shimmering light of the sea ahead of us were probably around 70 or more ships with their anchors dropped just floating and waiting. It was an amazing sight ... so many ships!!
Passports stamped and we were on our way.
As the ferry made a zig zag through the masses of towering ships around us it was interesting to think we would be travelling on a boat through one of the worlds most treacherous shipping lanes in the whole world. The Malacca Straight!! World famous for the modern day pirate. It would be more romantic to be confronted by Black Beard than the gun toting pirates of this electronic age. But I'm sure if any pirates approached our boat as we cruised slowly through to the Sumatran side of the straight, they'd take one look at the state of the travellers on the boat and turn round in disappointment!! :))
Reaching the Indonesian island of Sumatra was interesting. We were literally dumped in the middle of nowhere! It was obvious that the dense forest had been cleared here and an outpost of sorts had been erected . It was extremely hot, humid and dusty. Kids and mums jumped out at us from nowhere and started hawking their goods ... in our faces.
Fiona studied Asian Studies at University and can speak Indonesian fluently. It was ''time to start putting that to work'', I shouted over my shoulder as we headed towards a bus that would take us somewhere.
The bus packed to the roof, and the roof packed to the sky, we bumped and trundled our way down a dirt road. It's clear as we go to see exactly why all of South east Asia and Australia was complaining of smoke smog. A few months before we left Australia there was an international incident about the amount of ''clearing'' being done in Indonesia. The clearing refers to the forest areas covering most of Indonesia. It was being cleared on a mammoth scale!! So much so that the smoke rising from this was causing a massive haze over a gigantic area. And as we travelled through the North Western region of Sumatra all we saw was pineapple, rubber and banana plantations ... as far as the eye could see!! Oh yeah, and the odd oil drilling facility.
I hope all those wild birds and animals have found a new home.
We stopped at a roadside village type place for a refreshment. The place was swarming with giant mosquitoes!!
In between squashing, swatting and swishing away the mosquitoes we bought a drink and lots of delicious fresh fruit. Bananas, Lychee's, oranges and all kinds of sweet smelling fruit could be bought for crazy cheap prices.
We had entered South East Asia during a financially bad period. For 100 Aussie Dollars we were getting 1.2 million Indonesian Rupiah. Both Fi and I changed 100 dollar notes and instantly became multi millionaires!! When we arrived at a place to stay for the remainder of the night, Fiona lay on the bed and I covered her from head to toe with notes and spread what was left around in a ''I am sooo rich'' pose!! The wads of Rupiah were thick!!
In the morning after lots of fruit and a cooked breakfast we wondered around the local area. We had arrived at Bukitingi. This remote area of Northwestern Sumatra has a lot of culture that is astoundingly rich in colours and architecture. One of the highlights are the houses. The people are extra friendly and the food is Indonesian delicious!!
There was even a bonsai volcano of the outskirts of the village we stayed at.
The morning we left for our next destination sitting on the bus, Fiona taps me on the shoulder and points in awe as the bonsai volcano spits out a puff of smoke. My mouth dropped!! Crikey!! Where are the dinosaurs!??
That was the feeling in this remote part of Sumatra!! Prehistoric is a good word to describe the surrounding forest and bonsai volcano spurting smoke. A truly amazing sight to feel and see.
Hooning around the mountainous roads with a maniacal bus driver was a hair raising event.
As we made our way across Sumatra it was clear that there weren't any road rules!!I'm sure there are, it's just that ... well ... there weren't, it seemed!! :))
Apart from the smoking volcano, there is one other event that will always stick in my mind. As the bus hurtled along narrow winding roads, over taking on blind corners and the broughs of hills, up ahead the road split. Two bridges appeared. If road rules were applied then the bus would have followed the road it was on and continued in normal road rule fashion ... but NO!! Our bus takes the oncoming side of the bridge!!
HOLT SHIT!! My life is surely going to end in the valley below and I'll be some small news paper article that will be printed in most international newspapers on page 8.
''Bus Plunges in Indonesia Killing All'' ...
... and the details of the journey the bus had will never be told as no one survived!
But, luckily there was no oncoming traffic ... and no crash ... and we all survived!!
Well, physically anyway!! It was freakin' terrifying.
As our bus arrived in one piece at the next village for refreshments, I left the bus taking a long hard look at the driver. He was just a simple, small man. But he must be special I thought, must have that Indonesian 6th sense or some other special Indonesian knowing ... or maybe we were just plain lucky!!
That night after finding somewhere to sleep, the beer went down a treat! We slept well and didn't have any nightmares.
Meandering through Sumatra certainly is worth doing. Whether you are a simple backpacker or a tourist. The island is amazing. The sites, the simple lifestyle of the people, the local food sold from a large box on wheels, the smells, are all part of the experience of Sumatra! ;))
Our next island will be Java. What's going to happen to us there ... looking forward to that for sure!
... to be continued :))
... go on, stick ya thumb out!!
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