Sumatra 2 - paradise at the end of the road

Day 161 - 13th May

We left Bukit Lawang on the morning tourist bus to the town of Parapat on the shore of Lake Toba. It wasn't so much a bus as an air-conditioned people carrier, which was great. We had to go via Medan to drop someone off so the whole journey took 8 hours with a couple of stops. Danau (lake) Toba is the largest lake in Southeast Asia, at 1707sq km and is ringed by tree-covered mountains and volcanoes. The lake itself fills a massive crater formed during a huge volcanic eruption, which also created the island of Samosir, in the middle of the lake. The area around Danau Toba, including Samosir, is home to the Batak people, a warlike tribe, discovered by the west in 1783, and who continued to engage in ritualistic cannibalism until 1816. The Bataks were converted to Christianity by missionaries, and the 6million Bataks who live in the area today and a very friendly, music-loving people, 95% Christian but their faith still contains many elements of their pre-Christian animist beliefs. I had researched the area 3 years ago, when we came to Indonesia for our honeymoon and am very excited to finally be here.

From Parapat we took the ferry to Samosir, which is about the size of Singapore and used to be a big traveller destination in the 90s. Now, like in the rest of Sumatra, tourist numbers are very low and barely any of the 50 guesthouses in the small town of Tuk-Tuk ever receive many guests. On the ferry we met up with Kyle and Lisa, the American couple from Bukit Lawang, and their friend Ben. Having made no plans and been beset by countless hopeful Indonesians trying to convince us to stay at their guesthouse, we decided to join up with them and went to the first one they'd been recommended. We caught the last ferry of the day, at 6pm, and were treated to a spectacular sunset as we crossed the lake. The boat took about 40 minutes to reach Tuk-Tuk and then very helpfully wound its way round the coastline, stopping at each hotel to let people off at their chosen destination. We had picked Reggae guesthouse, a very simple collection of budget rooms at bargain prices (again we paid £4 but this time with hot water!) We had the place virtually to ourselves and the best thing was the rooms were right on the lake shore, with fantastic swimming just outside our rooms. There was even a diving board and some tyre swings to add to the fun. Once we had chosen our rooms we got changed and had a wonderfully refreshing evening swim in the still-warm waters of the lake in the dark, watching beautiful flashes of lightening over the volcanoes in the distance. Once we'd dried off we all had dinner together, then went to a bar to watch the last game of the Premiership with some locals, all of whom turned out to be City fans!

Danau Toba

Parapat Harbour

Day 162 - 14th May

After a great night's sleep, we had a lovely lazy morning with delicious banana pancakes for breakfast. We spent lots of time sitting by the lake reading our books and enjoying the tranquillity of the island. Jon and I went for a walk around Tuk-Tuk, which mostly consist of hotels, cafes, souvenir shops and other amenities to serve the hoards of tourists who used to visit. We also stopped in at some carving workshops, where local Batak men were making beautiful wooden items, mostly for tourists but some still for the locals. The carvings were very intricate and beautiful and ranged from small figurines and wall plaques to musical instruments and staffs over 6 feet tall. We fell in love with these staffs, which we learnt are used as magic sticks to bring luck and for praying with. The only questions now is, can we possible find room for a 6 foot tall staff in our backpacks, or even in a London flat? We went for lunch with Lisa, Kyle and Ben, and were also joined by Susu and Quentin, and Austrian-French couple currently living in Beijing Lunch took over an hour and a half to arrive (slow even by Indonesian standards), which essentially put paid to everyone's afternoon plans. Instead we all went back to our guesthouse for a fun couple of hours of swimming, diving and ever more elaborate jumps onto the tyre swings. We met an English guy called Jonathan, who was also staying at Reggae and he joined us for the rest of the day. In the evening Jon and I took off for a while to an internet cafe to try and get some Olympic tickets, but the website had blocked access to anyone outside the UK so we weren't able to get through. We also failed to book a flight on an Indonesian website and eventually gave up and went back to join the others. We drowned our sorrows with some beers and went out for a very tasty dinner with Ben and Jonathan. Ben had the fantastic idea of having gin and tonics by the lake and, amazingly, we were able to get all the requisite ingredients, so we rounded off the evening sipping G&Ts on the balcony, chatting with our new friends.

Having fun in the lake

Waiting for lunch with Ben, Kyle and Lisa

Samosir Island

Samosir

Day 163 - 15th May

This morning Lisa, Kyle and Jonathan left Samosir, and were replaced by another friendly English couple, Ali and Andy. Unfortunately I woke up with a cold (yes, only I could get a cold in the tropics!) so we decided to have another relaxing day. We hired a scooter in the village and drove up to the tip of the island, where there was a very picturesque port, with more stunning views across the lake to hazy mountains. As we drove we passed rice paddies, palm trees, small settlements and local people out ploughing the fields or drying their rice grains in the sun. We also passed many traditional buildings and small villages with their distinctive Batak houses arranged around a small square, in which women were weaving palm leaves or preparing food, while children played. The Batak style of architecture is very unique, consisting of long wooden houses on stilts, covered by a huge curving roof with a sweeping curved peak at the front. Traditionally the houses were made with no nails and the roofs were covered with reeds, but now most roofs are made of tin. This doesn't detract at all from their beauty, and the vista of rusting roofs lends the whole place a charming, slightly dilapidated Indonesian air. We stopped off to see some ancient stone carvings of figures, presumably old Batak Gods, although there was no information to accompany them. We also went to see some 300-year-old carved stone chairs, that were used as a sort of council and court in pre-colonial times. We drove back towards Tuk-Tuk and a little further south to see the King's tomb, which wasn't signposted and easily missed, and didn't seem that impressive anyway. We went back to Reggae, dropped off the bike and then I had a sleep to try and convince my cold to stay away. In the afternoon we did some more swimming and Ben and I tried to help Jon perfect his diving technique. We went out with Ben, Ali and Andy for dinner and met up with Susu, Quentin and one of their friends so it was a nice jolly evening to end our stay on Samosir. We topped it off with another round on G&Ts by the lakeside before packing our bags ready to leave tomorrow.

Batak houses

Off on our scooter

Stone carvings

The view from the top of the island

Rice paddies

Day 164 - 16th May

We were up early for the 8:30 ferry back to Parapat and bade a sad farewell to beautiful Lake Toba. We had pre-booked our car to Medan and night bus on to Banda Aceh, in the far north of Sumatra, from a tour office in Parapat before we went to Samosir so we hoped everything would run smoothly. Of course, this is Indonesia and you have to allow for the extraordinary amount of faff and convoluted plans they seem to manage to fit into even the most simple journey. We arrived at the tour office at 9:30 as instructed, to be told we'd been booked on the 8:00 night bus, not the 6:00, which would leave things tight in Banda Aceh for picking up the morning ferry to Pulau Weh. The man in the office managed to change our booking for the 7:00 bus, which was better, but we were then told we'd have to wait there til 12:00 before getting our car to Medan. If we'd known that we'd have had a more relaxing morning in Tuk-Tuk rather than rushing for the first ferry. We sat around in the office until 12:30, when Ricky appeared and told us we were to get into a minivan and go to his company's restaurant, where the car would pick us up. At the restaurant it seemed there was still time for us to have some lunch, which we did, and the driver eventually arrived a little before 1:00. The he had to have his lunch, so we didn't end up leaving Parapat until gone 1:30. The journey to Medan usually takes 4 hours, which would still have been ok, but today is a public holiday and the traffic in Medan was like nothing I've ever seen before. It took us several hours to get through the city to the bus area, having first had to drop some people off at the airport, and we didn't get there until 7:30, half an hour after our bus was due to leave. It was raining heavily when we arrived and the driver stopped, got our bags out and pointed to an office, which turned out to have nothing whatsoever to do with our bus! Luckily some local people were able to point us in the right direction and we eventually found the right office. Fortunately our seats on the 8:00 bus were still booked in our names (I wonder if we were ever booked on the 7:00 at all) so we waited at the bus station for a while. At 8:30 a small minibus appeared and we were shepherded on, hoping to God that this wasn't our 12-hour night bus. We drove through the city a bit more and finally found ourselves in a depot where we were ushered onto a large bus bound for Banda Aceh. We had been promised a tourist class bus by Ricky, with air-con and toilet, and while this bus had those things it was all definitely in an Indonesian style. The seats were terribly uncomfortable, but at least we had seats, unlike the poor souls who found themselves sitting on plastic stools in the aisle for 12 hours! The toilet was at the back of the bus, in the smoking room, but there were so many people sleeping in front of the door it was impossible to use. At least we were finally on our way. The bus did have blankets and a pillow and there was even a film, albeit one we'd seen before. At about 5am the bus stopped by the side of the road, initially we assumed it was a toilet stop but it turned out to be for morning prayers at a roadside mosque, along with about 7 other buses. We both managed to grab a few hours sleep over the course of the night, thanks to the miracle of ear-plugs and inflatable pillows, so it definitely could have been worse.

The boat to Parapat

Day 165 - 17th May

We arrived in Banda Aceh at 7:30, feeling sleepy and a little sore from the uncomfortable chairs. We were beset by becak drivers as soon as we stepped off the bus and took one to the ferry port. Along the way we passed the Mesjid Raya, the beautiful main mosque, and the Tsunami museum. Banda Aceh was the worst hit area when the Boxing Day tsunami struck in 2006, much of the town was destroyed and over 170,000 Indonesians were killed, most of them in Aceh. Since then most of the town has been rebuilt, some say better than before, and the disaster served to bring about peace to an area previously troubled by civil war. It is a very devoutly Muslim region, and Sharia Law in in force here, although apparently most people allow tourists to do pretty much as they please as long as they are respectful to local customs and traditions. We're hoping to have more time to explore Banda Aceh when we return from Pulau Weh, if the flights work out in our favour. There are two boats to Pulau Weh, the remote tropical island we're heading to, which lies off the north coast of Aceh, a fast ferry and a slow ferry. The difference in price is quite large and most people we've met have taken the slow boat and raved about it, so we decided that's what we'd try and do. We had been given many conflicting reports of the ferry times to Sabang, the main town on Pulau Weh, and the ferry port itself was confusing and didn't seem to clear matters up. Eventually we managed to work out that the next slow boat wasn't until 2pm (it was 8:30am at this point) and I was feeling quite rotten with my cold so really didn't feel like sitting in the waiting room until then. Luckily the fast boat was leaving at 9:00, so we put aside our traveller credentials and took that, hoping the be able to get to bed soon. The boat ride only took 45 minutes, and once on Pulau Weh we got a car to Iboih, one of the two tourist areas on the island. Our travelling luck ran out and the car broke down by the side of the road, about 10 minutes out of the port. Eventually we were picked up by another car to finish the 40 minute drive. Iboih is a small settlement situated on a short stretch of beach, mainly consisting of a few cafes and small shops with some wooden houses scattered around. Some stone steps lead away from the beach to a path through the woods to the visitor accommodation – collections of wooden huts on stilts nestled into the trees and along side the water's edge. We had been recommended a place called Yulia's, which just happened to be the last place along the road and we arrived hot and sweaty, but the recommendation turned out to be a good one. Yulia's has a large collection of huts, some right on the water, all at very reasonable prices, and has the nicest looking restaurant and terrace area we've seen. We took a hut high up on stilts, with a somewhat rickety ladder to climb, but with a double bed, fan and a balcony with views out to the sea through the trees. Feeling exhausted and glad to finally be here, I took some paracetamol and slept for a while, while Jon read his book on the terrace and went for a refreshing swim in the amazingly clear turquoise water. Pulau Weh is a little slice of paradise, with a rocky shore that provides some of the best snorkelling and diving in the Indian Ocean, the clearest, warmest water I have ever seen and plenty of shady woodland to hide from the immense heat of the sun (well we are practically on the equator). I'm really looking forward to spending a few days relaxing here on this beautiful unspoilt island.

Yulia's cottages

Beautiful Pulau Weh

Day 166-168 - 18th-20th May

We spent three wonderful days on Pulau Weh doing pretty much nothing but enjoying our tropical island paradise. We slept well in our wooden hut, with the aid of a fan to keep the night-time temperatures somewhat bearable, and usually woke relatively early to a beautiful sunny morning. I managed some time each morning reading my book in the hammock on our balcony looking out over the sea as the sun warmed up the air and turned the water a deep turquoise. Yulia's served great food and we enjoyed fruit pancakes and banana porridge for breakfast, sipping tea and chatting to other guests. Once the sun was up it was incredibly hot so we were grateful for the shade of the terrace restaurant and the gentle breeze that always seems to blow here and helps to keep the temperature bearable. Our days mostly followed the same pattern of lounging on our balcony or in the restaurant, reading or eating and drinking, followed by a dip in the sea or some time snorkelling. The water here is the clearest, bluest and warmest I have ever been in and it feels wonderful to swim in. Yulia's hired snorkels for £1 a day so we were able to head into the water whenever we wanted to peer underwater at the amazing array of brightly coloured fish just swimming around the rocks close to the hotel. The variety of colourful coral and tropical fish was incredible as they flashed past us in vivid shades of blue, green, purple and yellow, and we also saw amazing sea slugs and a bright green and purple shrimp, as well as huge blue and red starfish. Further in towards the village and the jetties the coral had been quite badly damaged but as we swam away from the settlements towards the ocean the reefs were more intact and we were able to see huge formations in dazzling colours, full of fish and spiky sea anemones. One day we swam across from Yulia's to Rubiah Island, a small palm-fringed island 100m off the coast. The swim was easy and the water remained clear and blue even in the middle of the channel. Once on the island we walked over to a small beach on the other side, where there were vast fields of coral close to the beach, again teeming with life, although we felt that the snorkelling around our little patch of coast at the cottages was just as good as anything else we found here. Pulau Weh certainly had the best snorkelling I've ever done and we really enjoyed being able to dip into this incredible underwater world whenever the sun got too hot. One day we walked down to the little village and small white sand beach, where we were able to find a few cafes and an internet connection, so Pulau Weh is not as totally cut-off as it seems. Evenings were spent in a similar fashion, relaxing with tea and wandering to one of the simple restaurants along the road to the village for a tasty fish curry or nasi goreng. We had an amazing time here and it was the perfect way to spend our last few days of travelling, with a chance to truly unwind before beginning the long gruelling journey back to London. As with the rest of Sumatra, we struggle to understand why there aren't more tourists – the island is as beautiful as anything Bali or even the Caribbean could muster up, and a fraction of the price – but for now we're not complaining, as it meant we got to have a little slice of paradise almost to ourselves.

Monitor lizard

Crab near the cottages

Iboih Beach

Day 169 - 21st May

Today we sadly had to leave the incredible beauty and calm of Pulau Weh to begin our journey home. We were up early for a 6:30 car to the ferry back to Banda Aceh. We had become used to the relaxed way of life on Weh, where, although the population is devoutly Muslim, they seem more than happy to let the tourists do what they want. As soon as we set foot back on the mainland, however, I felt many disapproving eyes on my bare shoulders and thighs in my vest and shorts, and so swiftly covered up using my trusty sarong. Our flight to Kuala Lumpur was quick and painless, although having flown with Air Asia we landed in the Low Cost Centre terminal instead of the luxury of the main airport. Our next flight wasn't until 6:00 the next morning, a wait of more than 17 hours, and we decided that we simply couldn't spend that long in McDonalds, so we booked ourselves into an airport hotel for the night to try and get a bit of sleep before the next leg of the journey.

Day 170 - 22nd May

We were up early for our 6am flight to Singapore, which again was swift and comfortable. Our flight out to Heathrow wasn't until 11:00 tonight so we decided to spend the day in Singapore. We caught the metro into Chinatown, which was bustling and full of character, with narrow streets and tall colonial buildings. We spent some time shopping in the market and picked up a few souvenirs before heading off to a couple of temples. First stop was the Sri Mariamman Hindu temple, the oldest in Singapore and full of colourful carvings. Next up was the huge Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, opened in 2008, and full of gold Buddha statues with a tranquil roof garden on the 5th floor, which was a real oasis in the heart of Chinatown. Once we'd had our fill of Chinese culture we spent a good few hours wandering around the centre of Singapore. We walked along the river, where we stopped for a beer to escape the intense heat and sweltering humidity. The centre of the city, along the river, is crammed full of old merchants' cottages, nestled in amongst shining glass skyscrapers, which creates a really vibrant feel, at once modern and western and yet distinctly Asian. We walked down to Marina Bay, with it's famous Merlion statue (half lion, half fish squirting water into the harbour) and yet more skyscrapers, including one fantastic hotel with a cruise ship set atop three tall glass towers. Our last stop was Raffles Hotel, where sadly we couldn’t afford the Singapore Slings in the courtyard bar – not that they'd have been impressed with our super-casual attire! Feeling pretty exhausted by all that walking, but loving Singapore's East meets West vibe, we headed back to the airport. By now we've been to lots of airports but Singapore has to be the best in the world. It's more theme park than departure lounge, with a roof-top swimming pool, free calf massage chairs, indoor and outdoor themed gardens and even a helter skelter. We easily whiled away three hours just exploring the departure lounges of the three terminals before boarding our final flight. Jon was excited by the fact that we were flying on an A380, and it was absolutely massive and felt very luxurious, even for economy. We had mixed emotions as we took off at the end of what has been the most incredible journey, on the one hand we were very sad that it's all over, after so much planning, but also we're now looking forward to seeing everyone when we get home tomorrow. Goodnight and wish us a comfortable flight!

Sri Mariamman Temple

Chinatown

Marlion Park

Raffles

Singapore CBD