Fear of Flying – Erica Jong. It would be interesting to here a womans take on this book
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate - Alexander McCall Smith
Valley of the Wild Horses- ZaneGrey
Getting my constitution backing order
Trouble getting back to eating street food
Good hotel breakfast
Markets
Chinese Food
The gorge
The Zoo
Sun, November 25th Earthquake
At about 10am this morning I was in my hotel room having a brief rest after breakfast, that’s the life. The room started to shake a little and I could clearly see the curtains move. It lasted little more than 5 seconds but was like nothing I have ever felt before. A little like a large lorry or train passing the house you are in, but not quite. I was fairly sure it was an earth tremor. Later in the day I checked the internet and sure enough there had been a pretty large earthquake just off the coast of
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7112471.stm
Generally had an easy day today wondering around the markets and reading.
Goodbye to Eddy and wife
Direct bus to
Good idea to know bus trip prices beforehand
Immanuel hotel not great
Crashed car on plinth
Eddy was heading South on a business trip, I think he is some sort of construction contractor. He asked me if I would like to go along and I could stop anywhere I fancied. So we headed south at about 9:30 with a friend of his and they dropped me off at Kambang beach. This is a fantastic sandy beach stretching for miles. Only occupied by fishermen it would appear.
I spent an interesting couple of hours watching them fish with nets. First of all they take the nets out about 300m from shore and then take ropes, which are joined to each end, to shore. They then start to slowly pull in both ropes. Eventually the net is brought ashore and the catch is ushered into the end of the net. The result of the catch I saw was only about 50-60 small fish. Not much reward for about 2 hours work for 10 people.
I took a quick look at Kambang town which was much the same as other small towns I had seen, got some lunch, Nasi Padang and headed back to Painan by minibus.
On the way back I spotted a fantastic beach just 1km south of Eddy’s place. I asked Eddy later and he said it was called Sungainipa. Worth a visit at some later date.
Later that night I visited one of the islands at the other end of the bay and had a couple of beers, out of a fridge!!!!. Beer seems to be readily available here but fridges aren’t. Hot beer wouldn’t do and the only alternative they have is to put ice in the beer., not for me.
Later that night I started to feel sick. It was pretty obvious from the start it was food poising. Where from? It could have been from any one of three or four places. Not Eddy’s I didn’t eat there. I must have had to be sick etc at least 6 times that night. Not pleasant in a dark Mandi when you are imagining 8 foot crocodiles coming out the water vat.
The Odjek driver Vino had arranged was called Andi which was convenient. We quickly agreed a price of 60,000 rupeea from 9am to 4pm,including petrol.I would cover lunch. Vino had set the route detailing the local sights which required transport to get to. These were :
Waterfall – Timbulun
An impressive waterfall not far out of town.
Hydro plant - Dam – Salidokecil
Climbed about 500 steps in this heat and humidity to get to a great view point but no lake as I had expected, just a tunnel and some water routing and feeding water down the hill to the turbines. A good bit of exercise.
Root bridge - Jembatan Akar
Guess what a bridge made of live tree roots and tendrils. About 30km out of town. This sits about 20 feet above a river and is a fair length. I can’t imagine that this occurred naturally. When I asked Andi he said god had made it. It is supported by some steel wires but Andi says this is a recent thing, for safety only. Quite an impressive sight either way.
Waterfall 2 – Bayangsani
We didn’t quite make to the last sight, we were running out of time and it had been a very hot day.
By far the most interesting thing was traveling through the small Sumatran villages away from all the traffic. It really is a paradise once you leave the Cars Busses and Motorbikes behind.
On the way Andi Took me in to see his family. We saw a guy training a small monkey to through coconuts down from a coconut tree and saw some enormous fruit bats as dusk fell.
Andi didn’t speak much English but we managed to have a laugh. I gave him an extra 20,000, he seemed pleased. A good trip.
On getting up I had a look at the map and planned to take a trip to trip to Kambang, a town on the coast about 60km south. However on reaching Painan the rain started in torrents. I took shelter in the market for an hour or two and had lunch in a stall there. Centre of attention again. “Hello Mista”
When the rain stopped I tried to get an Odjek to the nearest Internet café. Eddy had taken me to one the previous evening but it was very very slow and expensive ( Mahal). The Odjek guy didn’t know where the internet cafes were ( Eddy says there are 3) instead he took me to the
Asral asked if I would be willing too help with some conversational English later that day. I agreed but specified I wasn’t willing to teach a class alone. Given the English couples experience. He said he would pick me up from Eddy’s nearer the time.
Later that day Vino, one of Asral’s teachers showed up to take me to the class. On arrival Asral took me into the class, explained that the class would ask me some questions and that I only had to reply. He informed me when I had had enough to come and see him. I didn’t really have time to complain.
There I was in front of a class of 20 14 to 19 year olds. Anyone who knows me will realize this is my worst nightmare. So, this wont be too difficult? Hi my name is Andy I come from
He later told me that he ran this private English school and had another in Kampbang which his brother ran. Apparently he learned his English in a 4 star hotel in Bukittinggi which was run by someone called Sir Stewart George Priston. I had a quick search on the internet but no luck. You could tell with certain words that Asral said he had those marbles in the mouth, old boy.
He was not the first person to speak to me about the danger of Earthquakes and Tsunami. He said the Painan area was at risk and drew me a map showing me how the whole of
Vino arranged for a friend of his to Odjek me around some sights tomorrow.
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
3. Minibus to
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
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
A Sunday would appear to be a very dangerous day in Bukittinggi. Packs of children accompanied by there teachers hunt down poor tourist and force them to perform conversational English, make them sign their school books and then, worst of all, take pictures of them with the pack. Seriously on a Sunday it’s hard to get down the street. Today I have been stopped at least a dozen times by groups of three or 4 children. I was even interviewed by one group who had a tape recorder.
A group with their teacher helped me find an English to Bahasa phrase book. The book shop wasn’t near at hand so we all jumped in a Bendi (horse drawn cart) to get there. Later we went back to the main square, her whole class of about twenty had turned up by then. They all wanted to take photographs with me, using the mobile phones. Apparently they had come from the town of
The teacher was telling me that it is her dream to visit
Anyway I got off lightly an English couple I met were asked by a teacher to help out in a class last Sunday. They went out to a nearby small town on the Monday to discover they were expected to teach a class of about 30 each, on their own. They said it was a great experience.
It can be quite an arduous process getting anywhere by Bus\Minibus. First of all the Bus station ( Terminal) is about 3km away and the mini busses manage to take about ¾ of an hour to do this, the traffic is horrendous and they tend stop at a couple of points to wait for the bus to fill up. The journey is hot, noisy and the diesel fumes are terrible. Then you need to wait for the Public bus to fill up which can take half an hour or more. Today it took me about 2 hours before we were out of Bukittinggi. Of course I picked a bad day, Market day, but it’s not much better on other days. However once you get into the country the scenery is stunning and worth it in the end.
On the public bus today we stopped to pick up some ducks. About 20 of them stuffed into 4 sacks with holes cut in the sack for the heads and necks to stick out. They were then put on the roof of the bus. They looked quite comical up there but I felt sorry for them.
I visited a couple of beach side chalets which were sign posted from the main road. The first one ( I don’t remember the name) was a little run down but in a fantastic position right on the beach and surrounded by Palm trees, 40 000 rupeea a night (2 pounds). With free use of a canoe, one carved out of a single tree trunk. There were at least three chalets but no customers at the time. The next one was a bit further along just after the town of
On the minibus back to Maninjau town I spotted a guy with a wheelbarrow full of coconuts and a large monkey sitting on top of them. I assume the monkey is used to gather the coconuts, now that would be something to see.
The bus back was much easier and I probably got back to the Hotel in about half the time.
Anyway off for a few Bintangs now
I
It was a bit rainy today so I had a nice lazy day. Burned a couple of mp3 CDs for Jeffrey, he’s into blues music. Visited the local markets with him, purely as a friend i.e. no charge. You can buy just about everything there. I got a few batteries a set of sunglasses (15,000 rupea 0.75 pounds) and a nice short sleeved shirt (30,000 rupea 1.5 pounds). It definitely helped that Jeffery was there to handle any bargaining. He said that the shirt would probably have cost me around 50,000 which I believe. We then went and had some Sate to eat, very nice.
I’m looking forward to the Scotland Italy football game tomorrow. It doesn’t start until midnight here but the guys in the Bedual café have said I can use there internet machine all night if I want. You never know I may see some of it on the TV. The England Australia game is on TV tonight so there may be a chance.
I think I’ll probably stay here a few more days before heading for Painan. After that maybe
Trip was called the Minang Kabu Tour It covered:
Visiting some small villages where we saw lots of coconut trees, cinnamon trees, Papua, cloves, chilies and of course lots of rice paddy fields.
Stopping of at some lovely view points in the mountains.
A stop at an ingenious but very basic waterwheel powered coffee mill.
A visit to some very old traditional Sumatran houses and a look inside the
A stop for Lunch at
All in al a very good tour. Jeffery was really good guide and spoke very good English. He was very pleased at the end to get some of the MP3s off my player. I ended up having quite a few beers with them afterwards with me behind the bar doing my DJ from the MP3 player. Really nice people and I had a great night.
The Bedual Café is apparently owned by a Scottish woman, from
I’m going to take it easy today and maybe just visit the local markets.
Hello again from
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?
I got some great pics there of beautiful butterflies with 4 inch wing spans, paddy fields with buffalo ? and farmers in their pointed hats,
I have arranged with a guide to go on a day trip tomorrow. We will go to some villages and view points including
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.
Arrived safe and well in
I had a hair raising journey from
There were some amazing sights on the way up here Palm trees, Paddy fields, waterfalls, jungle and shanty towns. Bukittinggi is a fairly large town up in the mountains.
I’m staying in one of the hotels recommended by the Australian girl Emma who stayed here for 3 months. At first I had a room on one of the lower floor which wasn’t great, a bit damp and the bed was solid. However an English couple who were staying in the “penthouse room” (recommended by Emma) moved out today. So I now have a great room with a view over the town for 4 pounds a night.
I’m hoping to get out into the countryside for some day trips soon. I have already been approached by a number of guides but they are not at all pushy so I may take them up on one of there trips. Tomorrow I think I’ll jump on a bus to one of the nearby smaller towns an see what the countryside is like.
| Sun 11th November Went down to KL Sentral to check out the SYE buses for tomorrows trip to KLCC. It would appear they are every half hour approx and KL sentral to KLCC takes arounf 1 hour 15mins. On my way there I came across a mass celebration of the Hindu festival Deepavali (festival of light) the idea is that this festival brings together the three communities Hindus, Malays and Chinese. There was music and dance on a number of stages and free Indian food roti, rice and curry. Some of the performances were really good. One Indian dance troop in particular had fantastic costumes and a nice trick where the female lead sat on a large double up rope supported by the cast of men. Unfortunately the rain came down really heavy and the PA was deemed too dangerous to use, I think. The also deputy Prime Minister turned up so there was lots of fuss for that. |
| Sun 11th November Spent yesterday on a day bus trip to Melacca, a coastal town which has lots of Portuguese buildings and, even now, a small Portuguese community. It was nice to see a bit of the countryside and some traditional Malay houses on the way. I'm off to Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia tomorrow which I think will be a lot different. I'll probably head for a town in the mountains called Bukittinggi so It will be a lot more rural. I'm not sure what the situation with Internet access will be so It may be a few days before you hear from me. I liked KL so if Sumatra isn't great I can always get a cheap flight back here and then head north to Panang by bus. |
