October 21, 2006
To Parapet: Overnight bus
Today we meet with Yudi at 9am. We take the coffee we bought on our tour earlier in the week and pick up some cookies to give to Yudi. These are to enjoy with his family during Idul Fitri. This is an important religious celebration by Muslims worldwide marking the end of Ramadan.
Patrick takes the flashcard to be able to download an old movie about the area of Bukittinggi. After a short visit, we invite Yudi to join us to go through the Saturday market. We already had made a pass through the main market last Wednesday, but today with Yudi is great. Patrick needs to get over his reluctance to have the camera out in places like this. He thinks he looks like a tourist anyway so might as well act as one. Most if not all people do not mind one bit being photographed. They actually love to see themselves on the little camera screen. We walk through the fruit and meat sections first. Huge buffalo heads are transported in a wheel barrow.
In another shack a couple of guys are cutting up another buffalo...Blood everywhere. We get to the chicken and duck section. Chickens are laid out in rows, their legs bound together. Ducks are stuffed in large bags with holes in them, heads sticking out everywhere. Asia is not a good place to be an animal.
Rachel wants to buy a metal spire, used as decoration on the Minangkabau roofs. We end up buying a small one we can use somewhere in our garden. After about an hour and many pictures, we come to the end of the market and say our goodbye's to Yudi. He is a smart nice guy, determined to learn Spanish and have an edge. We hope we can help him somehow in the future. (Update 2022: Wahyudi 'El Aventurero, is on Facebook and now lives in Valladolid Spain)
We have lunch, say goodbye to Feecan and Das at the Bedugal Cafe and relax in our room for the afternoon. We have paid an extra half day to stay until six. Our pickup isn't until 6:30pm but at about 6 the Mitsubishi Colt shows up already loaded with four people, a driver and quite a bit of luggage. We are not going to get the four seats we have paid for, instead it turns out a tight fit to get our bikes and all our gear stuffed in the back and still find room for the other people's luggage on the third seat we paid for. We are stuffed in the third row of seats among all our gear. We set off, immediately and outside the city on a winding narrow road, lots of climbs and down hills, with a maniac driver. Then a cassette tape with Indonesian rock band and a base speaker right behind our seats. It's going to be a ride from h*ll.
Patrick takes some Dramamine and tries to relax. It is soon dark, the medicine works well and makes Patrick drowsy, not really sleeping but the time passes faster in a slumber. We stop at around eleven for dinner and at about 2am we reach Sibolga on the coast. Patrick is surprised at how many people are still out and about at this hour. Another pleasant surprise is that we lose three of our passengers, after a crazy race across town they are dropped off at their homes. Patrick can now move up a seat and have a more reclining seat, Rachel stretches out on the back seats. We still don't sleep much as the race continues down the narrow trans-Sumatra highway that is getting worse. Potholes and whole sections with no pavement, just deep red mud.
Traffic is also picking up with a lot of people travelling for the end of Ramadan holiday. Just before sunrise we stop again at a roadside restaurant where another 500 people (maybe a few less) are having rice for breakfast. We both have to use the restroom. Patrick finds it to be a horrible place where guys pee on the floor and use a big scoop of water from a huge mandi to wash their feet and legs afterwards. It's much worse for Rachel, a large trough with no privacy from the many women dressed in burkas.
We reach the south side of Lake Toba just as it gets light and get to Parapet at about 8am.
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