So here we are again – doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun ?! It’s been six weeks since I last updated you on the travels. Thanks for the emails in that time and keep writing and letting me know how things are your end. Now sit back, grab a beer, put your feet up, relax and if your sitting comfortably ?…then I’ll begin.
I was in Indonesia 3 years ago and flew east from Bali to Maumere on the Island of Flores. I then headed back through the eastern islands to Bali. This time I wanted to approach Bali from the west: through Sumatra, and Java.
Indonesia is wonderful !! It’s truly a great place and extremely beautiful and varied. The people are also probably the most beautiful that I have ever seen and so friendly – its hard to reconcile them to recent events.
Compared to Thailand and Malaysia traveling in Indonesia is extremely hard work, especially if you move off of the beaten track and try something different. Times become extremely fluid: an 8hr bus ride could end up taking 13hrs (and frequently does) and the word “maybe” is heard frequently: “Is there a bus ?” – “Maybe”, “Will it be coming soon ?” – “Maybe”, “I’ve heard the journey takes 8hrs” – “Maybe”. I’m sure you get the idea.
Indonesia has also been a time of learning and there have been many interesting experiences such as:
Learning to ride a motorbike – Somehow in life I seemed to have missed the learning to ride a motorbike stage. In Lake Toba I was given a thorough 2 minute course and given the bike for the day. It was great – feeling the wind in your hair (they didn’t understand the concept of crash helmets), it was only 100cc but good fun. Thanks to Alex and Nadine for making it special.
Eating dog for the first time – “Sang Sang” is the Indonesian term for a Dog stew. It’s one of those things that you try and think “Great – don’t have to do that again”.
Learning Indonesian – Indonesian is a non-reflexive, indo-European language… Ok, not quite but it’s reasonably straight forward – no verb conjugations for example and plurals are made by using the word twice: anak (child) anak anak (children), telur (egg) telur telur (testicles) !! – Ok, so it’s not sooo simple but it leads to interesting breakfasts !!
Also the Indonesians don’t seem to understand the concept of being “Full”. You’d be on a packed bus, people everywhere and the driver will stop and pick up some more !! You’d think -"That’s it definitely full now”, and then he’d stop and pick up some more. Unbelievable.
Interesting places to stay – When stuck in the town of Sibolga for a night we had to find
accommodation. I can put my hand on my heart and say that its the first place I’ve stayed in where the shared toilets were substantially cleaner than the room !! Also, we wondered why there were lipstick kisses on the door. Didn’t take long to find out – at around 11pm the hotel became a brothel !!
Then there was the Losman on Nias who turned off our electricity and water one night and asked us to leave the next morning. Why ? We’d eaten a meal in his brothers restaurant !!
Interesting bus rides – The one that stays most in memory was a 4hr ride in the evening to Bukkittinggi in the most disgusting bus that I have ever seen. The seats had cloth covers that had years of grime and dirt ground into them, it was totally black inside and wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Adams family movie, the roof was held up by metal poles welded to the floor and ceiling, the exhaust fumes came into the carriage creating a misty aura and as you sat there wishing it would all end you could feel cockroaches crawling over your feet !! I kid you not – the bus ride from hell.
Interesting boat rides – The start of our 5 day trek on the island of Siberut was on an old wooden ferry from Padang. After delays, we eventually left at 11pm and tried to settle down with the cockroaches in our “cabin” (they were big and totally fearless). 4 hours later we awoke to find ourselves in…..Padang, back where we started !! What happened ?? Our guide made some enquiries. Apparently 2 hours out the boat had started taking in water and the people in the cargo area had complained to the captain about the sloshing noise !!! Again no joke. Our guide calmly said “Not to worry – this boat has almost sunk twice already” – he laughed – “Last time they had to throw goods overboard to keep it afloat !!”. My confidence has never been higher !! The following day (after the ferry was refused to set sail by the police and navy) we ended up chartering a boat and had to sit out front on top of the cargo hold. Just before leaving, the crew lowered the tarpaulin cover, effectively hiding us. “What’s going on ?” – “Don’t worry – its just illegal for us to take passengers and we’ve only been able to pay off one of the policemen in the harbour. We’ll raise once we’re out in open water.” – so go things in Sumatra !!
I could go on but I’m sure that you get the drift.
So what did I do…
Sumatra
Sumatra is a massive island that straddles the equator. It is extremely green and beautiful
Medan
I got to Indonesia by boat from Penang in Malaysia to Medan. When asking about Medan people weren’t very complimentary and to be honest I’ve seen nicer places but I met some great people and had a great time.
I was in Medan on the 17th August for Indonesian Independence day and although I was the only westerner at a street party everyone made me feel extremely welcome. The highlight of the party was the local lads climbing a 15m high palm trunk that had been covered in grease, in order to get the prizes at the top.
Berastagi
Berastagi is a cool mountain town dominated by the active volcano Mt Sabayak which we climbed. Great locals: Jani and Ira who were so friendly and insisted on taking me around to the local villages.
Lake Toba
Lake Toba is simply breathtaking and we hired motorbikes for two days. As you ride around, the scenery is reminiscent of the Lake District or Scottish Highlands. Lake Toba itself is in the massive crater of an extinct volcano. To give you an idea of its size: Samosir, an island formed in the lake, is about the size of Singapore. Lake Toba is also the place to try Dog.
Pulau Nias / Lagundri
Nias is off of the west coast of Sumatra and off of the usual traveler trail but as it was hosting the Indonesian Open Surfing Championship we decided to take a look.
This was the low part of the trip. Very hard work traveling (2 1/2 days just to get there) food poisoning and people trying to sell you things and rip you off at every turn. It was a beautiful place and seeing the surfing was great but none of the other travelers that we met thought that the beauty and good surfing justified the hassle.
Trekking on Siberut
In Bukkittinggi I booked a 5 day trek on the island of Siberut with the Mentawai tribe. They are still very traditional in their way of life but are under constant threat from loggers and people who want to destroy the forest to grow palm oil palms.
It was completely different from the trek in Thailand – not better or worse, just different. Due to the ferry almost sinking and lack of boats back our 5 day trek became a 9 day trek. It was fascinating living with families in the jungle. No electricity, only boiled stream water and to go to the toilet you had to walk into the jungle and find a quiet spot. It was advisable to take a stick in case a pig followed you and wouldn’t wait for you to finish !!
At the first family where we stayed a young man was ill and so the Medicine man came from the next village and they sacrificed a chicken and chanted and sang for hours. I think that the photo in the gallery really captures the atmosphere of the moment.
We spent a lot of time soaking wet, wading through streams and knee deep mud, swimming in waterfalls and riding in dodgy dug out canoes. Hunting in loin cloths was also quite an experience.
It was a great trek and something I will remember for a long long time.
After returning from the trek I spent a few days relaxing in Bukkittinggi and Maninjau before heading of to Java.
Java
With time against me it was a rapid tour through Java. First stop was Jakarta after a 41hr bus ride from Bukkitinggi. I really liked Jakarta, it was polluted and noisy but good for all that. Didn’t experience any trouble although when I first got there as 11:30pm my taxi driver, who’d already tried to triple the agreed price suddenly asked me if I wanted a fight – “You want fight ?”. It was only after much consternation and an increased heart rate that I worked out that he was saying the number of my hotel – “Jalan Jaksa fight (five)”. Thank god for accents !!
After a couple of days in Jakarta it was off to Yogyakarta. Saw the usual Borobodur and Prambanan temples and ate some food that wasn’t fried rice or noodles.
Actually, funny thing in Indonesia. On a Saturday night you can watch English Premiership Football live ! You can’t even do that in England !
After another couple of days in Yogya it was off to Mt Bromo and then to Bali. Mt Bromo is an active volcano and although in itself not so amazing its setting is. See the photo.
Bali
By the time I reached Bali I was running out of time. I stayed in Lovina on the north coast for a few days and went diving at Menjangan – awesome, 40m visibility at times and great fish and coral – saw the dolphins at sunrise and toured with some friends that I’d originally met in Yogyakarta. Then a couple of days in Ubud before flying to Oz.
Politics
Indonesia is very much in the public eye at the moment for all the wrong reasons and being there is was difficult to avoid discussions on the subject.
The Indonesians were let down badly by Soeharto. For the previous 32years they had put their faith in him to do the best for Indonesia only to discover that he had been stealing from them on a massive scale. The elections that took place in June were more than just a token democracy. Talking to the people you discover that they are so proud to have had a vote, that they’ve done their bit for democracy, however small. What it’s given them is very important – it’s given then hope !! The past is the past but the future…. The presidential elections in November are critical to this hope. Although the PDI (the Indonesian Demorcratic Party led by Megawati, Soekarnos daughter) got the majority of the vote they don’t have enough seats to guarantee the Presidency. So there is lots happening at the moment with parties aiming to collude (good word for politicians – I mean, to form coalitions). Megawati is the peoples favourite and she needs a role in the new presidency although not necessarily as President. It’s important to remember that the whole
bureaucracy has been run by Golka for the last 30 odd years and having Megawati as president might not help if she can’t get things changed. Maybe a respected reformist Golka person – there is one, as President with Megawati as vice President would be a good combination for the peoples support and to get things done. A lot depends on whether the parties involved forget their differences and work for their country and not for themselves.
It hangs in the balance. If the peoples hope is realised then the future for Indonesia looks promising, if it’s not then all hell could be let loose – they can’t afford to have their hopes dashed again.
East Timor is obviously a major issue there at the moment. People are wondering what’s going on – they’ve been told that the east Timorese are fighting amongst themselves. The media in Indonesia has a strong hold and seems to pump out propaganda. The anti-Australian feeling is an example of that. It’s very real but the people wouldn’t think it for themselves. They’re fed things like “All Indonesian students have been told to leave Australia” complete lies that stirs up emotion but who’s to tell them differently. No-one should underestimate the power of the media there.
I found Indonesia a wonderful place, so beautiful, with wonderful people and with so much potential. I sincerely hope that Indonesians can start the new Millennium with their heads held high and with their hope intact and growing.
Useless Facts
Things that you didn’t know you didn’t want to know…
- Been gone now 5 1/2 months (165 days)!
- Now weigh 86.2Kg (13st 8oz) – honest. I was at the doctor today for another Hepatitis jab and she had some balance scales and weighed me !
- I got my hair cut !! – Only an inch but…
So I’m off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz
Talk to you soon,
Iain
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