August 2012 – Page 2 – Brave or Foolhardy

August 14, 2012

Orang Utans

This was a post of photos we took that I have been trying to upload unsuccessfully until now. We saw the Orang Utan feeding session on our first day at Bukit Lawang to ensure we saw something. We need not have worried as on the trek we saw lots of stuff but not all of it photogenic!

August 14, 2012August 14, 2012

Butterworth to Bangkok

We boarded the overnight train in Butterworth and enjoyed saying goodbye to Malaysia which we have enjoyed so much.

The border crossing was as border crossings do and Susie threw a tantrum at the immigration official refusing to have her picture taken. That was awkward! We got back on the train after and the dinner lady was at our table waiting to take our order. We went for a selection and whilst it did not look like a great picture what arrived certainly welcomed us to Thailand. I pigged out on Red Curry. Hat Yai was where the food was presented and we shunted around picking up more carriages. It is a very large town and instead of the usual shanty town view there is a Mall in the distance.

I was really glad we have gone with down stairs beds on the train this time and apart from the people camping out on my bed the overnight trip through central Thailand should be quite relaxing

If anyone tells you it is cooler to be on the top bunk on overnight trains ignore them! The bottom bunk is bigger, better appointed and has better views of the countryside. Not least is you dont have to do gym in order to get to the loo. A huge bonus if you have need for the loo frequently like me today. Still recovering from Sumatra. It is odd that yesterday we were still there.

We are just arranging a possibly awesome finale to the trip. There is still space left at a place called elephant stay which looks to be on the other end of the “interacting with elephants” spectrum from the experience we had near KL.
It says we will spend 3 days with a specific elephant and look after it. The cost is very high ostensibly for the high cost of maintaing elephants properly and contributing to their protection. www.elephantstay.com

It is now 06:26 and whilst everyone on the other side of the window are tending flocks of cows and buffalo in the Thai forest, I have just been served a paper cup of coffee. It might be because I have only seen a sunrise and a sunset in Thailand so far on this trip but the prospect of the next three weeks here is looking very rosy indeed. I have missed Thailand so much.

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August 11, 2012August 22, 2012

Update

A lot has happened since we last updated the blog! We enjoyed Our time in Beristagi, being in the mountains means that the temperature is lower and for the first time we used our fleeces although still only in the evenings. We terrified the people running the food stall so much they wouldn’t speak to us. They just ignored us until eventually another diner took pity on us and translated. We got BBQd chicken, soup and rice and it was amazingly tasty.

The next day we met our guide, Barus, early to climb up Sibayak. We drove for a short time to the start of the path. The first 20mins or so of walking were on tarmac. Susie whined incessantly about how tired she was and her legs hurting. We could see Barus calculating how awful his day was going to be! However as soon as we hit boulders and scrambling all the kids were happy and bounded ahead like mountain goats. As we got closer to the top we could see, and hear, the steam escaping from vents around the crater. We felt different temperatures of water in different pools as we went up. We climbed right to the crater but not inside as the sulphur can cause unconsciousness. We then climbed up a very narrow ridge to the highest point. Amazing views all around. We employed the Hunt, hands, feet and bottoms policy climbing back down. Fairly hairy but we were glad we had done it.

There was then a long walk down steep stone steps to hot springs on the other side of the volcano. We all had wobbly legs by the end! The hot springs were very welcome although somewhat smelly. The locals thought we were great entertainment as we moved from the cooler pools up to the very hot ones.

Stiff legged we spent the next day catching up with journals and some maths homework and learning about volcanos online.

We had a private car to take us to Bukit Lawang – another terrifying experience of Sumatran driving, probably not helped because we asked the driver not to smoke in the car.

Bukit Lawang is by far the least developed in terms of amenities of all places we have visited, although visited by far more tourists than any of the others as well! The car has to drop you off at the bus station and it was a 30minute walk with our backpacks along the river to our hostel. There’s no luxuries like flushing toilets or sinks here!

We visited the orangutang feeding station and were lucky enough to see a mother and baby and the big boss! Very impressive. The following day we did a one day trek.

Bike, our guide, collected us with a swagger and set off at a clip through town with the kids trailing behind. Phil and i thought we were in for a poor day. Fortunately we then collected Agus our assistant guide who immediately took to Susie and engaged everyone. Bike turned out to be a good bloke who was talked to death by Emma and Luke with very good humour. We were lucky enough to see a wild orangutang, feed Thomas Leaf monkeys, see Macaque monkeys and white faced gibbons, hear (but not see in time) a hornbill flying over us and lots of interesting insects, plants and reptiles. We stopped for lunch by the river and had a very tasty meal followed by an amazing fruit salad which Argus created in front of us. We then walked back through the river, very wet trainers! Everyone else was much entertained by a leech which bit me. It doesn’t hurt, in fact i didn’t notice it had happened until i found blood everywhere but it dies make me squeamish if i think about it!

All day Susie had been carried by Argus and we thought initially she was taking advantage of his happiness to carry her, but by lunchtime it was clear there was more to it than that as she fell asleep across my knee. By the time we got back she had a raging temperature and was very drowsy.

On friday we stayed around the hotel with Susie quite unwell and both Emma and Luke also under the weather. We made two attempts to get Susie to a doctor but without success although we did get her antibiotics.

On saturday, with no sign of Susie improving we have reluctantly cancelled our rafting and BBQ by the river trip and abandoned our only prebooked hotel room to move to Medan. We have gone upmarket to the Marriott where we have soft beds, air conditioning and a doctor on call. Hopefully he will be here soon (our appointment was 30mins ago now) and Susie will get on the mend. Tomorrow we are scheduled to fly back to Malaysia.

August 5, 2012August 14, 2012

Berastagi

We arrived in Berastagi yesterday. A place which we had not fondly experienced last time we came to Sumatra but were determined to make the most of it this time and I think we have achieved that.

Today we ascended the local dormant volcano with a guide “Barus” . It was a short steep trek for one hour to the crater where we were hissed at by the sulphur vents. Susie made it without any significant delay or coaxing required, fairly hopping up the last 20 mins through the rocks once it stopped being boring.

The views and the immediate surroundings were very photogenic so adding some photos from our Lake Toba trip here we present a fair few of the things we have encountered in the last 5days.

August 4, 2012August 4, 2012

Travelling day

Today we took a car from Danau Toba to beristagi, a journey of about four hours. First we hiked a couple of miles with our rucksacks back to the German bakery which we had previously enjoyed for breakfast. Having taken full advantage of the buffet options, we caught the 9 am ferry to Parapet. There we were met by our prebooked car to drive us to Beristagi. The journey involved more random acceleration and deceleration, hairpin turns and blind overtaking it. I took my mind off it by spotting me favourite uses for a moped. They included twelve (or was it 13) children on one scooter travelling home from school, the man with a full size fridge freezer strapped to the back of his (how do you balance that?), the one with a home-made 6ft by 6ft “windscreen” made from bamboo and sheets of plastic, the ones converted in mobile hawker stalls who can pull to the side of the road, pop up an umbrella and cook you whatever you would like for tea, and the one with chickens on the back! I also noticed that in the UK we seriously underutilise the opportunies to honk our horns. Here you need to honk at every other vehicle and most of the pedestrians you pass. Plenty of value achieved 🙂

We’re staying somewhere a bit more upmarket in Beristagi but the altitude means that the temperature is lower. I think this might restict our use of the outdoor pool. Phil and Luke have braved a local barber for haircuts. luke looks like a different child – his hair is very short now! He’s happy and i’m pretending i don’t mind the lack of curls!

We’ve booked a guide for the climb of Sibayak tomorrow. We are all excited to climb a real live volcano, although there’s been no actual activity for a long time!

August 3, 2012August 3, 2012

Danau Toba

It is as stunnngly beautiful here as we remember from our last trip and the weather has been fantastic with a combination of sunshine and dramatic storms. Yesterday we rented three bikes for me, Emma and Luke and a motorcycle for Phil and Susie. We wanted bikes for all of us but much searching proved that it wasn’t possible to rent a bike small enough for Susie to reach the pedals and the handlebars simultaneously, or a child seat on an adult bike.

Concerned about the safety of the motorbike we requested helmets, no problem we were told. They handed us a helmet just for Phil. We considered for a while, but the choice was no helmet or no trip so we went ahead. We had a lovely day exploring the local countryside and villages. Emm and Luke cycled brilliantly, coping eith uneven roads, honking horns, kids running to try and touch them and everyone shouting hello. Luke had a few tumbles off the unfamiliar bike, mostly from being to interested in looking at things other than the road ahead, but no serious damage was done.

For lunch we found a german run hotel with a fantastic bakery. Today we have walked back from our hotel in the cool of the early morning to take advantage of the bread, rolls, cakes and buns in the breakfast buffet. We will catch the boat around the island back to our hotel for more swimming in the lake later. The kids are practicing their olympic diving from the diving board!

Tomorrow we move on again, to Beristagi and hopefully climb a live volcano if we can find a guide.

August 1, 2012August 1, 2012

Batu Ferringhi to Danau Toba

We journeyed to Sumatra today and it has to be one of the longest days since we arrived from the UK.

It was a dizzying mix of flights, timezone changes, restricted eating options, long car transfers, boat rides, financial worries and mosquitoes to boot.

We have made it however to Samosir Cottages on the small Samosir Island at the centre of Lake Toba, formed in a huge caldera.

It began simply enough, we had arranged a car to the airport but there was no time for breakfast before check in. We had a western breakfast at the only place open. You will be familiar with Ronald McDonald and his happy crew!

It was disconcerting as there was major renovation work going on meaning conversations had to happen round jackhammers. Still it was simple enough and we waited in departures for our plane. We didnt know what sort of aircraft we would have for a 1 hour flight. It was a surprise to discover our 11:00 flight did not arrive from its prior journey until 10:35 and I thought everything was going to be late. But no frills flying means no food to turn round so just fuel and a quick check over and we were in the air at 11:07.

We arrived in Medan, I spent the entire flight filling in immigration forms, and were waved towards Westerner corner. Essentially everyone who looks like a backpacker has a $25 visa to purchase. This was news and since all the children also needed one it cost nearly all of our emergency £100 we had in the local currency. Next was customs. I carry a pen knife and scissors in my main backpack so had to declare this and go through the red channel. On the declaration form the sharp objects tick box is the same one as narcotics, psycotropic agents, firearms, explosives and drugs. I was expecting fun and games but was waved through without a word.

We were met by Mr Sam a tour operator who had driven the 5 hours to meet us from Parapet and also hustled by just about everyone else in the airport. This included 3 money changers, 4 carry your bags sir etc. We xplaines we needed the loo and to get some money and we agreed to put our bags in the car. Not more than 10m from the car a nice chap I supposed was with Mr Sam helped me put my bag in the car and showed me where the toilet was, even though I knew perfectly well. He then pointed out the ATM I had spotted and waited by the car. As it turns out he was another”helper” and wanted 1100 rupiah. This is about 10 pence but having just given all the smaller notes to Visa man I had nothing but 100,000 notes. Mr Sam paid him for me and I knew it would be covered by the transfer fee. It was never going to have been possible to get to our destination on public transport. It would surely have taken 2 days and the kids were already struggling so tough as it was we made the right decision.

The car journey was frightening, there is no other way of putting it. We very nearly had 2 serious incidents, one where we undertook a lorry that was turning left and another where we began overtaking on a blind right hand turn on the brow of a hill into a motorcycle. Quite relieved to have made it. We stopped for a coffee over looking the lake. Being locally made and costing 40 pence it was joyous.

On the way we saw cocoa trees and beans drying in the sun, coffee trees, mango trees and rubber trees. One big plantation belonged to Bridgestone tyres and we drove through it for 10km with trees as far as the eye could see on both sides.

At 18:00 local time so an hour behind Malaysia we boarded the last boat to Samosir and were last to be dropped off as the sun set over the mountains. There must have been 50 shades of blue on the horizon it was spectacular.

We had a meal at our hotel where someone had accidentally tipped the salt container over it (or so it tasted) washed down with a couple of litres of water! Finally we retired at 20:00 and here we are with the kids awake at 07:30 pondering how we will approach the day to tour the island, swim in the lake and work out how long we want to stay.

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