After Thailand, I landed in Medan and as soon as I got off the plane I knew I would love this place. Medan itself isn't that great, but the first night I was there, I met a Dutch guy on the street so we went to the movies. Its funny how things like meeting people on the street and hanging out is such a normal part of travelling, I love it. The next day I had to try and get my camera fixed, so I jumped into a tuk tuk thing with the nicest driver I have EVER had. His name was Russli and we drove all over town trying to find a place to fix my camera, but after no luck, we went and I bought a new one and then hopped on a bus to Bukit Lawang.
Bukit Lawang is known for its Orangutan sanctuary. I went on a two day trek in the jungle and got to see them in real life. They are cool, very big... and orange.
On the bus to Bukit Lawang I actually met a boy named Haidir who is from this tiny town. His dad conveniently owns the trekking company I went with, but even after the trip we hung out. The owner of the place I stayed was also amazing. We all went fishing, had a BBQ, went tubing, and went to bat caves. The people in Bukit Lawang are SO nice and friendly, its very laid back. A few years ago they had a devastating flood that killed almost 400 people, so you can see the remains of some of the flooding, but the people are still thriving and it was an amazing place to start Indonesia.
View from my room
Orangutan
Bukit Lawang
Coconuts at Haidirs house
Our grilled goldfish
Learning to make curry!
They dye their chickens heads... and no one could explain why
After spending 5 days in Bukit Lawang, I went to Lake Toba, which is one of the many crater lakes in Sumatra. It used to be a booming tourist destination but that faded for some reason so now there are tons of hotels with no guests, which means cheap lodging for poor backpackers ($2 a night!!)
Anyway, we rented motorbikes, cruised the island, ate, relaxed, swam, pretty uneventful but relaxing and perfect at the same time. Very nice place. There was a funeral going on at our hotel while we were there, and man, what a party!! That funeral was three days long with a lot of singing and drinking and dancing... it was quite a sight!
Standard house in the area
Beauty day with Anouk and Aaron
Badass scooter drivers
On the drive
My first week in Indonesia was more than I could have asked for. Sumatra is like a hidden gem in Southeast Asia, far away from the sunburnt drunk crowds of Thailand... so come here, but don't tell your friends cause I want to be able to come back and have it be the same perfect place I remember.
1 comment:
you still remember me?i try hard to find your contact finally i find you here,im from jungle,and how about you how are you and where are you,
(muhaidir7718@yahoo.com)
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