On our departure from Bukit Lawang we decided to head south to a place called Berastagi, it was only a few hours away, but like all good bus trips in Asia you can never be sure. Upon our arrival we noticed it was a lot cooler in the region due to its altitude. So over the next few days we explored hot springs, ate great local food, and tried to stay warm, went to markets, tried to stay warm, bought second hand long sleeve t-shirts (to stay warm), drank lots of hot Milo and tried to stay warm. Berastagi was a nice place - not many tourists make it to the area so it was nice to feel like you are seeing things for what they are and not what a tourist company says things should look like. We went to an old village where people still live in the old traditional Minangkabau houses. They are massive wooden houses, some with up to 8 families living all together in one open space! Grandma & Grandpa, their children and families, and grandchildren and families!! So many people under the same roof, but all with individual living and cooking areas. We were lucky enough to be welcomed inside one of these homes and it was quite impressive to say the least. How they all live in such a small space without killing each other is beyond me!
After Berastagi, we originally planned to head to the west to a place called Ketambe.
We had heard that it was more dense and spectacular rainforest than in Bukit Lawang, and so with this in mind and the prospect of it only being 5 hours away, rob, myself and our 2 friends Udi and Lyndal jumped aboard a mini van and sat back to enjoy the scenery.
Now, its a well known fact that Sumatran drivers are renown for their insane driving abilities. A horn is used to clear vehicles out of the way (even if you are on the wrong side of the road ) and is also used instead of indicators! So, pretty much a horn is as important when driving as the accelerator is. Saying this, Indonesians don't really like using the brakes. We have lost track of the number of times we have seen vehicles headed for head on accidents with neither driver making the slightest attempt to slow down. The situation usually ends with one of the bikes, cars, buses, trucks or semis being forced off the road at high speed. But nobody gets angry, they just get back on the road and continue on driving till the next time a vehicle drives at them on the wrong side of the road at high speed. (this is usually only mere moments later due to the high amount of traffic!) again, either one of them will merge at the very last moment or be driven off the road. Rob and myself have learnt tricks to avoid worrying about this:
* sit as far back from the driver as possible, ...
* whatever you do DON'T LOOK OUT THE WINDSCREEN!!.
Anyway, this bus we had decided to travel upon was by far the worst we had been on EVER!! The driver only knew one speed and that was foot to the floor, and not only that, he spent more time on the wrong side of the road than a drunk driver. Even though rob, Udi, Lyndal and myself had all followed the golden rules of driving in Indonesia, we were not prepared for this maniac. We felt constantly in danger and the high-speed trip went a little like this:
5 mins after we left, the back door came flying open unexpectedly and almost spilled all the bags out of the back of the van. (strike one)
10 mins into it and the usually calm and patient locals were begging him to calm down as there were children aboard (strike 2)
20 mins along and the police pulled him over. (strike 3)
he had no licence(strike 4) and
his vehicle wasn't registered (strike 5)
That's it. We had seen enough. A group decision was made and we decided that we would rather walk than continue driving with psycho. By this point psycho had bribed the police and wanted to continue on the way. We politely informed him that we would rather ride with Satan.
Psycho driver: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
us: Sorry no.. you drive too fast! We have asked you to slow down already but you didn't. We are all scared we will die!
Psycho: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
us: Ahh no, you are driving dangerously and we are worried for our lives
psycho: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
Us: No we will walk
psycho: You get back in or you pay me full price for trip...
us: NO WAY! we are only 20 min into a 5 hour trip!!
police: Its ok he said he drive slow now
us: No we are not getting back in. Thank you.
Psycho : Ok you pay me full price for trip
us: NO WAY we are not paying you full price
psycho and police: It's ok he drive slow now (as they start forcing us back into the van)
us: No! We are leaving. We don't trust you to drive safely, and we wont pay you full price!!
Psycho eventually gave in and we paid a quarter of the fare. The police (now with fatter wallets) sent him on his way and we were left (by choice) standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. By luck we managed to get a ride back into town and decided that Allah, Buddha and god didn't want us going to Ketambe, so instead we decided to go to Danau Toba.
Danau toba was a volcano millions of years ago, and when it went boom, it made Pompeii look like a pimple. Scientists believe that the explosion left half the earth in darkness! The crater eventually filled up with water and made a lake so big that some times you think you are at the beach (you cannot see the other side!) At its deepest point its a whopping 450 metres. It even has an island in the middle of it that is over 70km round.
In our opinion, Danau Toba was like a combination between Bali, and a deserted holiday village (if that makes sense). Back in the late 80s and early 90s the place was apparently like the Koh Phangan of Thailand with full moon parties and drugs galore, but again due to governments and mother nature the tourists left and hardly came back. So there are hundreds of empty bungalows and resorts to choose from - some of which don't even have staff running them. This in turns puts a large amount of pressure on the locals who rely mainly on the tourist dollar, to be pretty scrupulous about trying to get your money. They are very blunt and often straight up say.. you rent my bike, or .. you eat here.. it was a shame to feel so pressured into buying things but nonetheless it was a nice place to explore. The area is famous for its great carpentry and it really shows in a lot of the old Batak houses which are usually 3 stories high (but consist of only one level plus an attic area), made completely of wood and full of intricate carvings and details. After a couple of lazy days by the lake, drinking “tea” and eating vegetarian organic food, it was time for us to leave Sumatra to get a new visa. Believe if or not, we have still seen less than half of Sumatra, and way less than a quarter of this amazing country!
After Berastagi, we originally planned to head to the west to a place called Ketambe.
We had heard that it was more dense and spectacular rainforest than in Bukit Lawang, and so with this in mind and the prospect of it only being 5 hours away, rob, myself and our 2 friends Udi and Lyndal jumped aboard a mini van and sat back to enjoy the scenery.
Now, its a well known fact that Sumatran drivers are renown for their insane driving abilities. A horn is used to clear vehicles out of the way (even if you are on the wrong side of the road ) and is also used instead of indicators! So, pretty much a horn is as important when driving as the accelerator is. Saying this, Indonesians don't really like using the brakes. We have lost track of the number of times we have seen vehicles headed for head on accidents with neither driver making the slightest attempt to slow down. The situation usually ends with one of the bikes, cars, buses, trucks or semis being forced off the road at high speed. But nobody gets angry, they just get back on the road and continue on driving till the next time a vehicle drives at them on the wrong side of the road at high speed. (this is usually only mere moments later due to the high amount of traffic!) again, either one of them will merge at the very last moment or be driven off the road. Rob and myself have learnt tricks to avoid worrying about this:
* sit as far back from the driver as possible, ...
* whatever you do DON'T LOOK OUT THE WINDSCREEN!!.
Anyway, this bus we had decided to travel upon was by far the worst we had been on EVER!! The driver only knew one speed and that was foot to the floor, and not only that, he spent more time on the wrong side of the road than a drunk driver. Even though rob, Udi, Lyndal and myself had all followed the golden rules of driving in Indonesia, we were not prepared for this maniac. We felt constantly in danger and the high-speed trip went a little like this:
5 mins after we left, the back door came flying open unexpectedly and almost spilled all the bags out of the back of the van. (strike one)
10 mins into it and the usually calm and patient locals were begging him to calm down as there were children aboard (strike 2)
20 mins along and the police pulled him over. (strike 3)
he had no licence(strike 4) and
his vehicle wasn't registered (strike 5)
That's it. We had seen enough. A group decision was made and we decided that we would rather walk than continue driving with psycho. By this point psycho had bribed the police and wanted to continue on the way. We politely informed him that we would rather ride with Satan.
Psycho driver: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
us: Sorry no.. you drive too fast! We have asked you to slow down already but you didn't. We are all scared we will die!
Psycho: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
us: Ahh no, you are driving dangerously and we are worried for our lives
psycho: Ok I drive slow now. Get back in
Us: No we will walk
psycho: You get back in or you pay me full price for trip...
us: NO WAY! we are only 20 min into a 5 hour trip!!
police: Its ok he said he drive slow now
us: No we are not getting back in. Thank you.
Psycho : Ok you pay me full price for trip
us: NO WAY we are not paying you full price
psycho and police: It's ok he drive slow now (as they start forcing us back into the van)
us: No! We are leaving. We don't trust you to drive safely, and we wont pay you full price!!
Psycho eventually gave in and we paid a quarter of the fare. The police (now with fatter wallets) sent him on his way and we were left (by choice) standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. By luck we managed to get a ride back into town and decided that Allah, Buddha and god didn't want us going to Ketambe, so instead we decided to go to Danau Toba.
Danau toba was a volcano millions of years ago, and when it went boom, it made Pompeii look like a pimple. Scientists believe that the explosion left half the earth in darkness! The crater eventually filled up with water and made a lake so big that some times you think you are at the beach (you cannot see the other side!) At its deepest point its a whopping 450 metres. It even has an island in the middle of it that is over 70km round.
In our opinion, Danau Toba was like a combination between Bali, and a deserted holiday village (if that makes sense). Back in the late 80s and early 90s the place was apparently like the Koh Phangan of Thailand with full moon parties and drugs galore, but again due to governments and mother nature the tourists left and hardly came back. So there are hundreds of empty bungalows and resorts to choose from - some of which don't even have staff running them. This in turns puts a large amount of pressure on the locals who rely mainly on the tourist dollar, to be pretty scrupulous about trying to get your money. They are very blunt and often straight up say.. you rent my bike, or .. you eat here.. it was a shame to feel so pressured into buying things but nonetheless it was a nice place to explore. The area is famous for its great carpentry and it really shows in a lot of the old Batak houses which are usually 3 stories high (but consist of only one level plus an attic area), made completely of wood and full of intricate carvings and details. After a couple of lazy days by the lake, drinking “tea” and eating vegetarian organic food, it was time for us to leave Sumatra to get a new visa. Believe if or not, we have still seen less than half of Sumatra, and way less than a quarter of this amazing country!