Monday, November 19th Bukittinggi to Painan

Decided I had spent enough time in Bukittinggi and I would head for Pianan. I had been warned by Jefry that this may involve 4-5 bus changes. He wasn’t wrong, at least he didn’t exaggerate. In all it took 7 buses or Odjeks.

1. Mini bus to Bukittinggi Terminal. 2,000 Rupeea 2,000

2. ANS bus from Bukittinggi to Padang – 15,000 Rupeea

3. Minibus to Padang central – 2,000 Rupeea

4. Minibus to bus stop for Painan – 2,000 Rupeea

5. Public bus to Painan – 10,000 Rupeea

6. Minibus to Painan central – 2,000 Rupeea

7. Odjek to Eddy’s Home stay – 2,000 Rupeea

Quite a trip. It wouldn’t have been possible without the good will of the guys at the bus stations and helpful locals, given my limited Bahasa.

On the way down from Bukittinggi there is, helpfully, a mangled car placed on a plinth to warn of the dangers of the road. It may be that my first bus driver was particularly mad but the driving appears to be safer now. Although I have learned not to look out the front window, unless I’m looking for some excitement.

The coastal road from Padang to Bukittinggi is spectacular. You climb up and down to successive bays with sandy beaches.

Arrived at Eddy’s home stay by Odjek. Eddy’s had been recommended to me, and others, by PPamela from on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum. On arrival Eddy was sitting drinking with some friends in his café. I spotted him straight away from Pamela’s pictures and went up to him and saying”hello you must be Eddy”. He looked a bit surprised at first but quickly said “Pamela Internet”. Over the next few days he repeated this story to his friends explaining how Pamela promoted him on the Internet.

I noticed that he and only he appeared to be drinking alcohol, of some sort, from a Jar which contained something strange. On further examination I discovered the jar contained a Deer fetus and a sea horse. Apparently these had been in the jar for seven years and he kept it topped up with local brandy. I can only assume this imparts some flavour. He offered me some but I politely refused.

Eddys home stay is a pretty basic affair and perhaps not for everyone. Guests stay in a spare room which contains a mattress on the floor and a fan. This room is beside the road and can be extremely noisy. Covers and a towel are provided if you ask. This was my first experience of the Mandy toilet shower. It consists of an outside squat toilet which contains a large vat of water. The idea is that to get a shower you strip off and pour buckets of cold water over yourself. Not as bad as it sounds in this climate.

I quickly discovered that Eddy seems to keep a small zoo. Two crocodiles!! and I mean full size 8-9 feet crocs in a dirty little pool at the bottom of a pit. Apparently one of his dogs had been eaten by them recently when trying to get to some pig meat they had been fed. He also has some dogs and a poor little Bear which is kept in a cage. I’m no expert on animal welfare but this bear seemed to be exhibiting signs of distress. It was repeatedly walking up and down its small cage making the same movements on the bars with its paws. I could hear it whining at night outside my window. I don’t know the circumstances of why theses animals are there so perhaps it’s unfair of me to judge.

On the good side Eddy’s Homestay is clean and nicely located on the edge of Painan bay looking onto the small town, a snip at 40,000 rupeea, and I didn't bargain. This was a great opportunity to stay with an Indonesian family. Although having two crocodiles and a bear in your garden may not be typical even in Sumatra. Eddy and his wife are really nice people and Eddy fully justifies the name of “Clownen”. To explain, he showed me an article from a 1989 Swedish magazine in which he was pictured, with the title “Clowen Eddy”. I guess this means joker. I ended up staying 5 days and really enjoyed it.