Sumatra Island / INDONESIA!!!

Coconut grill


My first interaction with the Indonesians was with the security guards at the bus terminal. A friendly welcome, a few games of chess, and my first lesson in Indonesian..





Coffee shop Indonesian style


Rice fields everywhere




Youngsters break dancing


On the left is my tree house room


Sunset at Lake Maninjau


Indonesian Christian Fusion





Teenagers playing the guitar at Lake Toba

Ohhh the sweet taste of mangoes, lychees, salas and a ton of other tropical fruits I don't know the names of. Fish dressed in a variety of sauces and curries, accompanied with delicious vegetables, and of course rice, and chilies, always the chilies. No matter how magnificent the nature may be or great the architecture is, it's always the food that lures me first and foremost. And I already like Sumatra for that very reason. Of course there's more to it than just the cuisine. People are friendly in a sincere way, and it's very underdeveloped, which makes it attractive for a traveller like me even though the locals would have preffered it otherwise. Sumatra has also been the place with the least number of tourists around. First question you get asked is your country, naturally, then whether or not you're a muslim, and finally if you can speak Indonesian or not. I tell them I'm from Turki (Indonesian for Turkey), pretend to be a muslim (scoring big points), and start listing all the basic bhasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) I know of, so right away we become BFF. :)
The island is a natural beauty, covered with lush green tropical forests, volcanic mountains, and gigantic crater lakes, where I spent many of my days chilling around in. Downside of such a mountainous landscape is loooooong bus rides (also contributing are terrible conditions of the roads and run down buses). For a short distance of 400km (250miles) which should only take 3-4 hours (2 hours if I'm driving) you end up spending 12 to 15 hours in an uncomfortable bus. And the broken seats are not the worst part of it all. Apparently Indonesians've never heard of second-hand smoking, because people (only men actually) smoke everywhere, including the buses. I don't think I've ever been to a country where smoking is as wide spread as it's in Indonesia. From young teenagers to old old men, every male in this country smokes it seems like. One entertainment you get during the bus rides is (I'm not considering the cheesy ear scratching Indonesian pop music video clips they play as entertainment) guitar players getting on and off the bus for short periods of time to play their music and collect money. Guitar is like a national instrument here, every teenager plays it, making one think it originated here. During any given bus ride you may encounter at least ten different guitar player/beggars performing in the bus. Interestingly enough, people always give some money to these performers. It's such a contradiction how people in poorer countries such as India or Indonesia give out a lot more alms to beggars than the ones in developed countries like the States. If guitar is their national instrument, chess should be their national sport. Everywhere you go you come across chess sets and they're not there just for decoration, people actually play chess to pass the time. Having always liked playing chess, I got to practice my skills quite often in the short amount of time period I've been here.
Sumatra definitely deserves more than just a week, but unfortunately there's so much to see in Indonesia and I only have a 30 day visa to do it all. Off to Java island...