Allie's Got Seoul: Sumatra

We divided the remaining three weeks among three Indonesian islands: Sumatra, Java, and Bali. This length of time would give us the flexibility to plan along the way and allow for inefficiencies in travel, at least we thought. We left a lot of territory uncharted but throughout the trip we seldom found another traveler keeping our pace.

Had we had any idea where we wanted to go upon landing in the Medan, maybe Indonesia wouldn’t have smacked us so hard in the face. Wake up…we’re not in Malaysia anymore and worlds away from Singapore. Upon being swarmed by cab drivers and tour guides we immediately sensed an increase in attention and how aggressive people were about selling their services. Unaware of what was going on around us, we stayed on-guard, wondering if there were ulterior motives to people so seemingly helpful. It was draining to constantly be questioning the character of everyone we met, unsure if in some unknown way we were getting taken advantage of.

But we were later rewarded at the most beautiful lake I’ve ever visited, Lake Toba. Accommodation and food prices were even cheaper than Malaysia…and put right on our room tab. Cozy chairs to accompany a traditional Batak dance performance. We really needed this moment.

Later on we hiked a volcano in Berstagi and recuperated in the hot springs below. The following day we went off-book to a waterfall crystal blue, thanks to volcanic sulfur and phosphorus. It required a few hours of jungle trekking but reaching it was exhilarating. We couldn’t quite bare the icy cold water, though. Our final morning in Berstagi we woke to a layer of volcanic ash due to an overnight eruption!

In Bukit Lawang we ventured into the jungle in hopes of catching a glimpse of the endangered orangutans. And successful we were! Maybe too successful, as we were soon chased back by an aggressive female. No matter how exhausted you are, when someone yells “Run!” you can always find a little energy to get the heck out.

There were situations when we’d question what the heck we were doing out here in southeast Asia. The majority of the time I kept my cool, but in some uncertain situations I’d glance over to Robin to reassure myself that at least she felt in control of the situation. We paired well in that we never had simultaneous meltdowns!

To round out Sumatran adventures, we returned, ticketless, to the Medan airport in hopes of catching a flight to Java. Though we got one, there was a number of moments we each thought that plane might not make it safely to Jakarta…