Bus'es, vomit, trekkin, earthquake and Bukittinggi

Trip Start Sep 13, 2006
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Trip End May 08, 2008


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Where I stayed
Orchid Hotel
(Bukittinggi hotels)

Flag of Indonesia  ,
Tuesday, December 19, 2006

I wasnt expecting a smmoth journey but this was and is the worst bus journey i have ever had to endure. Got onto the executive bus in Parapat on Lake Toba heading for Bukittinggi just below the Equator. Was the only westerner on the bus which was grand... but on the bus'es here they all smoke and Indonesian's are really bad travellers. The journey took 16 hours and much of what we traveled on wasnt road at all but dirt tracks you would need a 4x4 for. The journey is all up and down mountains and your constantly holding onto your seat the bus swerves so much.. Honestly after about 2 hours i even felt like shit and by this stage at least half of the people on the bus had been vomiting into little plastric bags which they give u getting on.. (when ur givin a plastic bag geting on a bus in asia u know ur in for a rough one) Not a pretty sight. Anyway half way through i was really wishing i had flown especially when the bus got stuck in the muck and we all had to get out and push the bus and then run after it.. I didnt get any sleep and the whole bus is just a haze of cigaret smoke, i knew we werent far away from Bukittinggi but at 6 in the morning the bus pulls up at a mosque and half the bus went in for prayer... so much for schedules.
So when finally got to Bukittingggi got off bus and got my rucksack which looked dirty for some reason. As the bus pulled off i noticed my bag was wet too so when i opened it all my clothes inside were soaking. the bus stopped in the middle of the nite at some point and the boys were out with hammers hammering or fixing something.. chewing on sugar cane during trekkin
chewing on sugar cane during trekkin
 Anyway they must have taken my bag out and left it lying in a puddle..fuckers.. the bag and every item of clothing was sapped and mucky so i had to just hand in the whole lot for laundry when i checked in at the Orchid hotel.. Only clothes i had left was what been wearing for more or less the last 24 hours straight so i was pretty pissed.
Anyway i managed to get in a power nap and hit the Bedudala cafe bar which Simon had recommended to me. This place is a great hang out joint and met a bunch of differnt people here. The staff are all sound and the food is great there too. While in Bukittinggi i managed to take in the city walking tour which was good. Only problem with the hotel is that its rite beside the mosque so at 4.30am the loud speakers are belting out prayer etc and you cant sleep.. was ok when was arriving back to the hotel one or two nites at half four in morning after been in Bedudala but the rest of the time its a killer and they have these prayers like 5 times a day.
On saturday i took off on a trek to Lake Maninjau with Jefry a guide from the cafe who simon had also recommended. This was kinda of  a cheeky trek as took bus to top of Lawang mountain village and then trekked down the mountain seeing all kinds of cool stuff along the way and strolling through lush rice fields until hit the Beach inn where we were stayin rite on the beach. Swam quite a bit in the lake which was so warm and relaxed in the bar for the evening. This place is also famous for hosting the world  championships in power gliding appearantly. Following day after more swimming and relaxing it was a bus trip to the top of Sakura hill going through the 44 hairpin bends in quick succession which is nuts. Walked then from the silver village back through sianok canyon to bukittinggi arriving at the bar for a well earned drink. That nite i was pretty tired and woke suddenly to find my bed shaking slightly... i was wondering for a minute was there some funny business going on in the next door room but it was actually an earthquake that had hit in north  Sumatra and we were geting the tremmors.
My last day in Bukittinggi i spent hitting the markets and takeing it easy i have to admit before a large group of us had a good nite out in the Bedudala bar.
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