Trip: The Island of Sumatra
There are [39] stories from my trip: The Island of Sumatra
INDONESIA | Thursday, 28 Aug 2014 | Views [630]
Departure day. Time to head home to Melbourne. At Medan airport, the neon sign said Boarding Gate Opens at 3:15 . We were with staff at that time & had to fill out a departure card. Dave couldn’t find his (we received ... Read more >
Tags: airport, indonesia, medan, sumatra
INDONESIA | Wednesday, 27 Aug 2014 | Views [645]
Day 27.
We are in room 632 on the 6 th floor of the Danau Toba International Hotel . Our huge window opens wide. It has no fly screen or security screen. The wall ends at thigh height & that is where the window ... Read more >
Tags: food, indonesia, medan, shopping, sumatra
INDONESIA | Wednesday, 27 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
An island off the tip of Banda Aceh, Sumatra
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Tags: pulau weh, sabang, sabang island, weh island
INDONESIA | Wednesday, 27 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
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INDONESIA | Wednesday, 27 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
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INDONESIA | Tuesday, 26 Aug 2014 | Views [657]
Today after 10 days in this tropical paradise, we have to leave Pulau Weh & we really don’t want to. Our holiday is nearly at its end and we have to head towards home. We were up at 6am. A friend of Ivan’s met us in ... Read more >
Tags: airport, banda aceh, boat, bule, durian, harga pas, lion air, market, medan, sabang
INDONESIA | Monday, 25 Aug 2014 | Views [612]
At Gapang Beach we walked along the beach/jungle edge for an hour and two lovely dogs adopted us and came with us for the walk. The water was a bit murky in the shallows so we walked up the pier beside an enormous abandoned resort that didn’... Read more >
Tags: gapang beach, japanese bunkers, pulau weh, sabang
INDONESIA | Sunday, 24 Aug 2014 | Views [996]
We walked into town to find a driver to take us to the Underwater Volcano. No one was there. This has never happened to us in Indonesia. Ever! To not find a person with a vehicle willing to drive you somewhere for a fee just doesn’... Read more >
Tags: fish, pulau weh, sabang, snorkelling, underwater volcano
INDONESIA | Saturday, 23 Aug 2014 | Views [539]
Kilometre Zero is basically where Indonesia begins. Km 0 is marked by a monument. It is the most westerly and the most northerly point of Indonesia. In many countries, Kilometre Zero or the Zero mile marker, control ... Read more >
Tags: indonesia, kilometer nol, kilometre zero, km 0, pulau weh, sabang island
INDONESIA | Friday, 22 Aug 2014 | Views [444]
We clambered over the rocks beneath our bungalow this morning & hopped straight into the sea. We snorkeled from 9:30-1:30. We saw:
A Spotted Eagle Ray. The biggest sea creature we’ve seen so far.
A turtle
... Read more >
Tags: fish, iboih, indonesia, pulau weh, sabang, snorkelling
INDONESIA | Thursday, 21 Aug 2014 | Views [503]
We’ve been using a book called Marine Fishes of South-East Asia to identify the fish we see each day while snorkeling. I think some of the fish names would be excellent to use as insults.
You Purse-Eyed Scad!
You Green-Racked Croaker! ... Read more >
Tags: fish, insult
INDONESIA | Thursday, 21 Aug 2014 | Views [741]
“Don’t dance on a volcano” – Proverb.
Day 21.
Today we were driven around the island of Sabang (Pulau Weh) side by side on a motorcycle becak with our driver, Ivan. Ivan is the first Indonesian non-smoker ... Read more >
Tags: jaboi, pulau weh, sabang, sabang island, volcano, waterfall, weh island
INDONESIA | Thursday, 21 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
We love Engrish!
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INDONESIA | Wednesday, 20 Aug 2014 | Views [626]
“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish that they are after” – Henry David Thoreau.
Day 20. Iboih, Pulau Weh
Over a rice-porridge breakfast, I spent 1.5 hours editing ... Read more >
Tags: fish, iboih, pulau weh, sabang, snorkelling
INDONESIA | Tuesday, 19 Aug 2014 | Views [396]
“A good holiday is one that is spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours” – John Boynton Priestly
Day 19.
After breakfast at Yulia’s , we walked up a jungly path & climbed ... Read more >
Tags: iboih, oongs, pulau weh, sabang, snorkelling
INDONESIA | Monday, 18 Aug 2014 | Views [502]
Day 18. Iboih, Sabang.
“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad” – George Bernard Shaw.
We have found that in Indonesia:
To clean your teeth, your legs get wet
To use the loo, you step ... Read more >
Tags: iboih, pulau weh, sabang, whale shark
INDONESIA | Sunday, 17 Aug 2014 | Views [440]
“Life is short and the world is wide” – Simon Raven.
Day 17. Sunday 17th August 2015. Iboih, Sabang.
Woke to a loud BANG on our tin roof. Dave spotted the hugest gecko ever. He could hardly support his ... Read more >
Tags: gecko, iboih, pulau weh, sabang, snorkelling, vertigo
INDONESIA | Saturday, 16 Aug 2014 | Views [468]
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart” – Confucius.
Day 16. Travel day from Medan to Banda Aceh to Pulau Weh (Sabang).
We saw Danny Trujo & Morgan Freeman’s Indonesian doubles at the ... Read more >
Tags: banda aceh, iboih, pulau weh, sabang, sumatra, tsunami
INDONESIA | Friday, 15 Aug 2014 | Views [484]
Day 15. Medan . Had a pretty lazy day inside shopping centres in the cool today. We went to Sun Plaza & Palladium Plaza & the cinema and saw Teenage Ninja Turtles 4. It was….as you would expect it to be. ... Read more >
Tags: bule, medan, paparazzi, plaza, sumatra
INDONESIA | Thursday, 14 Aug 2014 | Views [487]
Day 14. MEDAN . Ate a spicy rice breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Ibunda because that’s just what you do here in Indonesia. We had a short walk to a nearby plaza, treading very carefully on the footpaths. There was one ‘... Read more >
Tags: advertising, airport, bule, cigarettes, footpath, indo mie, kuala namu, medan, sumatra, tv
INDONESIA | Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 | Views [692]
Day 13. Today was a total wipe out. Got up at 5:30am for our trip to Gunung Sibayak (Sibayak Volcano).
According to google, Mt. Sibayak is a small stratovolcano overlooking Berastagi in northern ... Read more >
Tags: bali belly
INDONESIA | Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
Bukit Lawang.
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INDONESIA | Wednesday, 13 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery
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INDONESIA | Tuesday, 12 Aug 2014 | Views [545] | Comments [1]
Day 12. I wrote a haiku:
Sitting in the car
And watching the world go by
Contemplating life.
Through the hotel we arranged transport from Danau Toba to Berastagi. 135,000 Rupiah each ($13.50). We shared the ... Read more >
Tags: berastagi, brastagi, king, longhouse, robyn williams, sipiso-piso, waterfall
INDONESIA | Monday, 11 Aug 2014 | Views [419]
Day 11. A very laid back day. We three separated for the day.
Dave had Bali belly and stayed in the room all day reading An Idiot Abroad and running back & forth to the toilet.
Dan hired a motorbike and drove all ... Read more >
Tags: an idiot abroad, bali belly, bedspread, danau toba, lake toba, motorbike, shopping, toilet paper
INDONESIA | Sunday, 10 Aug 2014 | Views [482]
Day 10. Lake Toba.
I had lots of lovely birthday messages today via internet including one from Nic J: “Happy birthday International Woman of Mystery.”
The lake view from our bed is beautiful. We can see the ... Read more >
Tags: birthday, danau toba, lake toba, room service, super moon
INDONESIA | Saturday, 9 Aug 2014 | Views [458]
Day 9. Bukit Lawang to Danau Toba
This morning Retno picked us up at 6:30 am for the drive from Bukit Lawang to Danau Toba. From the car, this is what I saw:
An albino school boy coming out of the school yard with friends.... Read more >
Tags: batak, batak dancing, chilli, danau toba, lake toba, on the road, parapat
INDONESIA | Friday, 8 Aug 2014 | Views [487]
Day 8.
Had a solid sleep in our king size poster bed of amazingness. I woke to find that Dave had descended & re-ascended our 55 steep stairs to bring us morning cuppas. We drank them while listening to the call of ... Read more >
Tags: bukit lawang, fruit, honeymoon suite, indonesia, jungle inn, macaque, monkey, orphanage, sumatra, turtle
INDONESIA | Thursday, 7 Aug 2014 | Views [508] | Comments [2]
Today we are leaving Tangkahan & heading to Bukit Lawang. The total of our bill for 3 of us, for 6 nights in 2 rooms, plus all meals & all drinks was three million, nine hundred thousand rupiah or $390 Australian Dollars.
We said ... Read more >
Tags: atm, blackout, bohorok, bukit lawang, dry season, grotto, honeymoon suite, jungle inn, sumatra, waterfall room
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