Sumatra half-term adventures

When looking for somewhere to go for October half term, we thought of a few places in Indonesia - Java proved too tricky with the flights and Flores just too difficult in a week. But Sumatra is just a short flight away and the idea of going somewhere a bit off the beaten track with fewer tourists appealed to us. It's not your typical weeks' holiday destination but that didn't worry us too much...

Our pre-holiday reading about Medan told us many people consider it the worst city they've ever been! Not too promising but we were determined to find the best bits and only planned to stay for one night. It immediately struck us how unusual tourists are in this city - we were getting openly stared at wherever we went and accosted by lots of students wanting to practise their English. Having been assured that westerners are welcome to visit the Grand Mosque, we got kitted out in suitable attire (sarongs and a head scarf) and were shown around by an excellent guide. Having our photo taken proved more problematic - half the people of Medan wanted to have their photo taken with us so it took quite a while! It's very surreal to be treated like a celebrity, but I suppose they don't get giant white Brits visiting their mosque very often!

Feeling like celebrities - outside the Grand Mosque, Medan

Medan wasn't as bad as we'd expected, though we weren't terribly impressed with the 'palace' and won't be planning a return trip any time soon. This photo really sums up the chaos of the streets for us - there are cars and motorbikes everywhere, stray dogs and cats and all kinds of livestock on the side of the road. People manage to carry anything and everything on the side of their motorbike.




Fortunately we found a minivan company that could take us to Lake Toba, saving ourselves the rip-off 1.5 million Rupiah we'd been offered by a taxi to take us (80 quid but a months salary in Sumatra!) No journey is particularly pleasant or quick in Sumatra so getting to Lake Toba in 5 hours was pretty good and painless. It was worth the journey...

Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world with Samosir island in the middle which is the size of Singapore. It was a fantastic island to explore by motorbike, with wonderful views and quiet roads. We drove past cows, goats and chickens at the side of the road. We weren't so keen on the big monitor lizard which came across the road right in front of us though! We had some very red bits after being outside all day, but it was well worth it.

Our accommodation was basic but it had a lovely peaceful garden which backed right onto the lake so we could go for a morning swim every day and admire the view. We had a lovely last breakfast looking over the lake in a little cafe whose owners have 3 dogs, 11 cats and a monitor lizard as pets! We were amazed to see the lizard getting a cuddle, while its owner warmed it with a hair dryer - very bizarre. I went for a cuddle with one of the kittens instead!

Next stop Berastagi which is a small town sitting between two volcanoes. It's much cooler and tends to rain a lot. We felt pretty adventurous climbing Gunung Sibayak by ourselves, which at 2000m was quite a trek. We could smell the sulphur before we saw it but it was quite scary seeing the yellow gas coming out of holes near the top! It certainly felt like an active volcano and we felt a great sense of achievement making it to the top. Very cloudy so not the view we were hoping for but it made for some very atmospheric photos! We were very glad to make it back down before the rain started again. Very sore legs the following day so a good job it was a travelling home day.

Spot me in this picture!

The very gassy volcano crater

It's been a lovely holiday and although Penang was pouring with rain when we got back, it's still a fantastic place to call home. Back to work tomorrow but both agree there's no back to work blues this time...

September exploring - 2013

Time has flown since we last wrote our blog, but it feels like we've been pretty busy over the last month. We're both getting settled into our jobs and starting to develop a bit of a routine - haven't got used to the 5am starts on a monday morning yet though! We're trying to make the most of all the weekends to explore Penang and some of surrounding Malaysia.

One of the first weekends after getting the car we did a bit of trip around the island with a couple of new friends, Suzanne and Jen. Much of it is very quiet and undeveloped which is nice, and quite different from Tanjung Bungah and the surrounding areas where we live. We found a lovely Thai restaurant with wonderful seafood, right on the beach.

We also went trekking in the national park which, although only a 20 minute drive away, feels quite off the beaten track. The route we took included a canopy walkway - fun but not for those with vertigo! Also some quieter beaches away from all the tourists.

Georgetown celebrated the mid-autumn, or moon cake festival with lots of dancing and tasty moon cakes. It was great to see a bit more of old Georgetown and experience a traditional festival. Here is one of the Chinese temples in  Georgetown and some dancers getting ready to perform. 

Penang watersports centre hires out kayaks for next to nothing so we spent a very enjoyable sunday afternoon kayaking along the coast to a little cafe on the beach. Great fun... sure we'll be doing it again soon!









 Perhaps the highlight so far has been a weekend trip to the island of Pangkor. It's a popular holiday destination for locals but very few westerners go there so it feels a bit more like the real Malaysia. It was a rather tiring drive down the coast on a friday evening and having inevitably missed the last ferry of the day we spent an unexpectedly pleasant evening in the port of Lumut before heading to Pangkor the following morning. It's a really pretty, unspoilt island and great for a relaxing weekend with beach, sunshine, fantastic food and some exciting wildlife.

 These are some pictures from a tiny island we visited by speedboat to do some snorkelling and sunbathing.

Wild hornbills

We were very excited to see wild hornbills clustered around for 'feeding time' by a local man who brings them bananas which they will eat out of your hand! Also loved the fresh fish which they cook to order for you on the barbecue. Overall, a great trip, even if the only thing for breakfast was spicy noodles!

Very excited to get our nine boxes from the UK after 6 weeks on a boat. Our flat feels more like a home now it has more of our things in it. Only one week left of this half term, can't believe it!

Next trip is Sumatra over half term which sounds quite a challenge as far as transport is concerned but sure it'll be worth it...