Wed 14th Nov - Harau Valley

Hello again from Western Sumatra,

I had a very interesting drink from a stall in Bukittinggi last night. I consisted of hot Ginger water a beaten egg, pine nuts, pomegranate, bread cubes, condensed milk, sugar and what looked like roasted lentils. I think it is called Sekoteng. Quite pleasant but very sweet, as many of the drinks are here.

I had a great day today. I decided to try and get out of the busy town of Bukittinggi and take a bus to get to one of the smaller towns. I planned to go to Payakumbuh which is about an hour or so away. On telling the landlord of the hotel he suggested I go to a place called Harau Valley. To get there involved getting a mini bus to the bus terminal a public bus to Payakumbuh and then a Odjek to the Harau valley. You may ask what n Odjeck is? There would appear to be 5 maybe 6 main form of road transport here:

Bendi – a Horse driven cart for very local journeys.

Odjek – A motorcycle or motorcycle with side car for slightly longer direct journeys.

Opec – Small minibus often a Suzuki which follow a set route

Minibus - Bigger faster bus for longer journeys

Public Bus – for longer journeys

Executive bus – longer journeys in more comfort. Do they exist?

Haru valley is a peaceful little oasis away from the noisy and busy main roads. It is one of the tourist sights but there weren’t many tourists there, either Indonesian or European. It’s a spectacular gorge between the mountains.

There are wild macaque monkeys there. These came as a bit of a surprise. I had climbed a path, which lead to a view point above the gorge and a monkey suddenly walked across the path in front of me. On walking about a bit I found that there were troops of them. They are fairly shy and keep their distance from you.

There is some great accommodation in Haru . Echo Home stay consist of wooden chalets, ranging from the luxurious (300 rupea 15 pounds) to a small shack (50 rupea 2.5 pounds).It is set completely on its own with a fantastic view of the gorge and surrounding paddy fields. I am seriously considering going back there to stay a few days. The guy who I spoke to there is called Ikbal. It appeared to have few residents at the moment but I spoke to a Dutch woman who was traveling around Sumatra with a 4x4 and a guide. Now that’s the easy way to do it.

I got some great pics there of beautiful butterflies with 4 inch wing spans, paddy fields with buffalo ? and farmers in their pointed hats, Vietnam style. I’ll need to find out the correct name for them.

So far I have found the people of West Sumatra very friendly and willing to help without looking for anything in return. Even the guides will tell you what they have on offer and then leave you alone. Walking along the street numerous people will shout “hello mister” and if they can speak any more English will only be inquisitive about you and willing to help where they can. In my previous experience once you leave the tourist areas you almost everyone is genuine and this would also appear to be true here. I have even been asked by group of young Indonesians if they can take a photograph of me, with them in it. Fame at last. At least I hope so, it could have been a similar situation to the one in La Gomera where a German went out of her way to take a photograph of Sally.

I have arranged with a guide to go on a day trip tomorrow. We will go to some villages and view points including lake Singkarak.

I have definitely missed lots out from what has been an amazing day but I can’t cover it all, at least not at the speed I type\compose.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow