Tuak, trains, and tourists

[As promised, we added more pictures to the last post, so see below this one for the changes.]

Just getting to Bukit Lawang was an adventure in itself. First we took a local minibus to the big bus station, which ended up just being a couple of buses on the side of the road. Then it was a long, hot, bumpy almost 4-hour drive north to Bukit Lawang, crammed in with locals and their endless cigarettes. Ryan befriended a guy that lived there, Baba, and he showed us the way to the hotel that his family ran. We ended up staying there, and also booked a 1-day jungle trek with him for the following day. Bukit Lwang was devastated by a flash flood in 2003, and the locals have slowly been rebuilding their riverside structures. Tourism is still suffering, and they're trying hard to get it back. The first picture shows our hotel on the right side of the river:

Bukit Lawang is known for the Gunung Leuser National Park that surrounds it. The Park is home to thousands of wild orangutans, which we were on the hunt for during our adventure through the jungle. Baba had said we would take it easy, as our feet were still not totally healed, but his idea of "easy" was uphill climbs using roots and trees to get up, and slippery leaf-covered walkways. It was a ton of fun, and the best part was of course the monkeys. We ended up seeing 7 different orangutans - 1 big male, 3 females, 2 babies, and 1 adolescent: (and our nasi goreng lunch)

We were also lucky enough to see the Thomas monkey, white-handed gibbon, and pig-tailed gibbon, a poisonous centipede (which, when Anna asked whether the red-legged insect crawling toward the group was dangerous, the guides lept to their feet as they wore just flip flops!), and some leeches. Anna discovered that leeches like her blood, sucking her ankle even through her sock. The trek was one of our favorite activites so far on our trip, as how often can you see wild orangutans swinging through the jungle canopy over your head? It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Unfortunately, we had to make the long drive back to Medan to continue to our next destination, Danau Toba, but our choice of taking a minibus instead of the big bus made the trip a little easier, despite the fact that our bags were not in our view, and we made quite a few stops to let people on and off. That night, we decided to squander all the rupiahs that we had saved at our less than US$4 a night room in Bukit Lawang on a room at a big hotel, complete with actual glass shower, air-con, and TV. We knew the next day was again going to be an interesting travel day.

We arrived at the port town of Parapat after 5 hours of bus riding, hungry and with headaches. There was still a ferry to catch, and, half an hour later, we were finally on Pulau Samosir, an (kind of) island in Danau Toba, the biggest lake in southeast Asia. We found a good deal at Samosir Cottages, a room with a lakeview, and settled in.

We had decided that we needed a place to unwind, from the constant travel and busyness that had surrounded us since we left Denpasar, Bali. And Tuk Tuk, the town on the island, was the place to do it - cooler, since it was at higher elevation, and with few tourists. We lounged around the cottages, jumped in the lake to cool off, rented a motorbike (with some reservations, and going very slowly) to see more of the island, and learned how the Batak people used to try criminals while sitting around in their stone chairs, then deciding how to kill the person - they tortured them by knife, beat them with a "long stick" (which we now have a short version of), then beheaded them. This gruesomeness continued when the king, then everyone else present, would eat the dead's insides. Mmmmm. The last beheading took place in 1816.

While in Batak country, we decided to hunt down an alcohol they make from palm sap, called tuak. We knew we wouldn't find it anywhere else, so finding locals in the know, they pointed us to Ciadari, a spot that was just starting to pour it at 6:00pm on the dot. You can't get it before 6pm, and after 8pm, it's all gone. We met Albert, who serenaded us with his guitar and singing of "Hotel California," some Beatles songs, and random riffs. We were the only white people there, and Anna was the only woman.
We lounged about Tuk Tuk for a couple more days, enjoying the no-need for a fan or air-conditioner, and hot water, and especially the friendly people. Ryan helped a restaurantuer figure out a way to make a sign advertising a choice of vegetable cooked any way the customer likes, and we got a deal on the motorbike by buying Bintang beers from a family's store and returning the bottles to them. Some Batak village kids attacked us with their smiles, too.

But we had to head back to Medan again, this time to leave the country. Our Indonesia visa was almost up (one month is a short time!), and we had booked a flight to Malaysia on Valentine's Day. However, before we left, we decided to go see the mosque, Mesjid Raya, that is heard in every corner of Medan. In order for us to get in, Ryan got a sarong, and Anna had to wear a traditional head covering, much to the amusement of the people who worked there.

Arriving in Penang, we were relieved to see that some of Singapore's effecient transportation had rubbed off on the neighboring country. A nice, air-conditioned public bus ride took us into Chinatown, near the ferry where we crossed to the mainland. We wanted to find a place to stay in Butterworth, on the other side, as our train ride into Thailand the next morning left at 5:19am!

Many, many hours later, we found ourselves in Hat Yai, the first big Thai town. Our passports stamped, we decided to make it a true travel day and get all the way to Krabi on the west coast of southern Tailand, where we are currently. It was a good 12 hours of non-stop travel, but we're glad we did it. Krabi is a rockclimbers heaven, though we didn't partake in it. It's also a base to get to Ko Phi Phi, where, you Leo Dicaprio fans might know, The Beach was filmed, at Maya Bay.
Fellow travelers had told us that Ko Phi Phi was beautiful, so we thought, might as well see it. It's expensive, though, so no staying there for us. We booked a speedboat day trip to numerous beaches and snorkel sights, and though we were there with every other tourist near Krabi, it was nice to get a day of sightseeing and snorkelling in. The water was clear, the weather was beautiful, and we really wish we had an underwater housing for our camera! The limestone cliffs that descend straight into the water really are amazing, and tons of longtail boats, the traditional transport boats, mingled with the modern speedboats.

While eating dinner one night during a big rain, the power suddenly went out, and stayed out. Usually the outages last just a few seconds, but this time, staff started lighting candles, while the cooking went on as usual. Here's Ryan with our beers, waiting in the dark for our food:

We like it here, but we're anxious to see more of Thailand! Especially to get to some other islands on the east coast - specifically the island of Ko Pha Ngan, where, depending on the moon phase, we might get in a "New Moon Party," a "Half Moon party," or probably any phase except the famed "Full Moon Party." We're not sure we'd want to compete with thousands of kids for accommodation anyways. Then, finally, we're going to get Open Water scuba certified on Ko Tao, supposedly the most beautiful and diverse dive areas in Thailand!

Our downward valley is definitely starting back uphill; our travel appetites must have just needed a little Pad Thai.