Rating
:  (
4.8 ) ( 2 votes )
Heaven and Hell
Bukkitingi, Lake Maninjau, Lake Toba, Indonesia
Feb 01, 2004 16:06
Pros:
amazing and heavenly place
Cons: bad transportation
Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia felt like the old Wild West of the states. Lawless, mysterious,
amazing landscape, hardy people and adventure laden. It was literally
a last minute decision to hop the 4hour ferry from Malaysia to the
Indonesian island of Sumatra. I couldn't resist, I had already passed
up Borneo because I was running out of money and couldn't stand
the thought of missing out on this exotic land. Traveling Indonesia
is a 100 Percent Adventure. The Asian economic crisis of the late
90's, terrorist attacks in Bali, and political unrest in Jakarta
and Aceh has rocked and destabilized this once booming economic
nation. Though the US dollar is still very strong here, I saw few
foreigners on the apparently once hardened tourist route.
Travel in Sumatra, Indonesia is crazy. The distance between tourist
meccas are long, winding and slow. I took two separate 14hour overnight
bus rides that were equivalent to spending the night in HELL. Non-ventilated
compartment that led to a suffocating plume of cigarette smoke all
night long (no windows to open!), COCKROACH infested, cramped, non-reclining
chairs, nauseating twists and turns around the numerous wrinkles
of every mountain, flat tires in the middle NO WHERE, blaring techno
music at 5am in the morning.... never again.
Heaven/Atman/Nirvana/Big-Bang awaited me though. Bukkitingi, Lake
Maninjau, and Lake Toba were all slices of heaven/atman/nirvana/bigbang.
The two lakes sit in once active volcanos, with a visible rim and
lush green forest/vegetation surrounding both. Driving the switchback
road down into Lake Maninjau really gave you the feel that you were
going into a volcano. The rim was intact for most of the way around,
except for where locals cut a pass into the western corner to allow
more light to come in during the sunset. Lake Toba is the largest
freshwater lake in SE Asia. You actually stay on an island that
sits at the center of Lake Toba. Both places are ideal places to
take a Vacation from your Vacation. |
