Photo trip report: North Sumatra, Indonesia

[buksida]

Back in Banda I wanted to have a look at the tsunami museum as I came closer to it than most. The ordeal I witnessed in Thailand was nothing compared to what happened to this city which was virtually wiped off the face of the earth on December 26, 2004. Over 30,000 lives were lost in the city alone and the museum is a testament to them and those that survived to re-build Banda Aceh into the thriving hub that is it today. It is a somber and humbling reminder of the power of mother earth and the fragility of human life; we are but specs on this big rock.

To follow: Heading south

[Big Boy]

There are some nice photos there that obviously mean a lot to you, but a bit of commentary telling us wheat we're looking at would be helpfull.

[buksida]

The above is the Banda Aceh tsunami museum as mentioned in the blurb. The last two pics are a model of before and after the tsunami hit, I thought the rest were self explanatory.

[Big Boy]

Actually, those 2 were 2 of 3 that I was fairly certain of i.e.

144 - Entrance to museum.
149 - ?
150 - ?
152 - ?
156 - Names of victims?
158 - ?
161 - Model before
162 - Model after

[buksida]

They are just general shots inside the museum, the outside one is a graveyard. Banda Aceh has two grave yards with over 20,000 unidentified bodies in them, people that have lost loved ones go to the one nearest to their location to offer prayers.

Final shot of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque before we head south.

Pretty much everyone in Indonesia smokes, it is practically encouraged. Adults will smoke in the faces of their kids and consequently the kids are smoking before they’re in their teens. Maybe it makes up for the lack of alcohol … not sure which is the lesser of the two evils, actually I am – it’s the cigarettes.

To follow: Medan to Berastagi

[buksida]

It was time to leave the north and head to Medan to work out what to do with our remaining days in Sumatra.

Our original itinerary should have taken us to Bukit Lawang next, a jungle retreat on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park famed for its Orangutans. Time was now against us so we had to choose between this or the Karo highlands of Berastagi. After reading online that Bukit Lawang was a bit of a tourist trap and that the jungle treks are way overpriced we opted for the latter.

A short internal flight took us to the steamy metropolis of Medan, Indonesia’s third largest city. With our days dwindling we took a taxi directly from the brand new Kuala Namu airport up into the highlands and Berastagi. On the map the distance looked to be about a hundred kilometers so we wondered why it costs 600k (about 1700 baht) and took three hours to get there.

Our query was settled as soon as we left the airport and hit the chaotic traffic of suburban Medan. Driving in Thailand is a breeze compared to Indonesia, roads are invariably unmarked, single lane, and have more craters than the moon. Add hundreds of trucks, buses and bikes to this recipe and you get utter mayhem. Three hours was going to be a bonus at this rate.

There is only one road from Medan across to the western side of Sumatra, and every vehicle was on it. As the elevation increased the single lane road climbed and switch-backed, snaking its way arduously upwards. As if racing to the summit lumbering trucks and buses would frequently over take us and each other – sometimes three abreast - into the oncoming traffic causing waves of panic induced nausea, a hankering of horns and plenty of brake stamping. On one side a rock wall, the other an abyssal drop, and to make things worse a thick fog descended over the jostling rows of vehicles reducing visibility to a couple of meters.

We arrived in chilly Berastagi after dark, very tired and grateful to be there in one piece. Since we only had a couple of days before our return flight I booked a decent resort, this turned out to be a bad idea as the place was seriously overpriced (250 baht for a beer) and they wanted to charge us extra for pretty much everything. The more stars the more sting seems to be the pattern with hotels here.

Apologies for the pics, they're screenshots from the video I took.

To follow: Berastagi

[buksida]

At 1300 meters above sea level the town was cold to say the least, and our reason for venturing up here was a geological one, the two active volcanoes of Sinabung and Sibayak. I’ve always wanted to climb an active volcano and this was the chance. Sinabung was off limits since it erupted last month causing the evacuation of 15,000 people, better to take the safer option of mount Sibayak.

Our guide collected us at 07.30 and we took his battered minivan to the base of the volcano to begin the trek. It is possible to do this alone but the trails were unmarked and the weather on the mountain very unpredictable so we didn’t take the risk with the kids. Dr Smiley (http://www.drsmiley-sumatra.com) was probably not a doctor but very friendly and knowledgeable nonetheless, he is part of the Batak tribe, an indigenous group of originally cannibalistic people that settled around Lake Toba and lived in isolation for centuries.

The climb is a relatively easy one and we were surrounded by pungent sulfurous clouds and gurgling pools within about an hour. We reached the rim of the crater and peered over to discover that you could actually climb down into it. Noisy columns of steam vent from bright yellow openings in the rock face, these channels come directly from the belly of the mountain – the whole place feels alive and full of energy.

The weather has slowly started to close in and the clouds reduced the visibility quickly so it was time to grab a few rocks and start the descent. By the time we had reached the base it was sunny again so we stopped off at the hot springs powered by the volcanic steam.

To follow: more from Mt Sibayak

[buksida]

To follow: More Berastagi

[Big Boy]

Definitely my favourite photos of the trip so far.

[STEVE G]

It reminds me of an active volcano I visited in Java which looked very similar. You could cook eggs in the bubbling springs in the crater and there were people around to sell you eggs and little wire baskets to dip them in the water. The enterprising Indonesians then had stalls selling sandals to replace the footware that you had melted whilst trying to cook eggs in a volcano!

[buksida]

The whole area is a very rich and fertile one and with a cooler climate locals are able to grow all kinds of produce such as carrots, potatoes, cabbage, spring onions, strawberries, and plenty of other stuff seldom seen in the topics. We stopped at a little strawberry farm where you could pick your own … 200km away from the equator!

DSC_0278.jpg (88.19 KiB) Viewed 443 times

To follow: more Berastagi

[Bamboo Grove]

How did the strawberries taste? I've always found the Thai strawberries pretty tastless.

[buksida]

Not bad, though not as sweet and juicy as English ones!

[buksida]

Our guide also took us to a huge Buddhist temple and garden complex which was totally empty, not even the monks were home. Berastagi is one of the few places I have ever seen where many religions live in harmony; you can see churches, mosques and temples all in the same place. To add a fourth religion the local Batak people are animists, believing in the tree of life and the souls of all living things as opposed to one central god.

Locals expressed disappointment at the amount of money spent on it and the lavish gardens for the Chinese in Medan when there were still local villages in poverty and people going hungry.

To follow: Batak funerals

[sandemb]

Great photos again Buks. Have been to a lot of places in Indonesia, will have to add this one at some time.