@trjp1972
Thanx for the tips about wild cinnamon, i need to stock up, my Banda islands stash is already depleted
I'll see if locals can point me towards any vanilla as i stroll around Sumatra OR i ll just have to look for it in either Bangkok or Penang!
@Giora
That is exactely what i was planning to do, thanx for confirming :-)
@trjp1972
As you are the one more familiar with the Leuser part i am having yet another question
I have again red tons of reports and the LP and will likely stay longer around Kedah.
It seems to have better wildlife spotting opportunities and good hikes in better "climate setting" being higher than the damp lower forests.
I will stop for a night in Ketambe just to get to the hot springs for half a day. leaving Kedah in the morning arriving by mid day to ketambe, hike to the hotsprings, overnight at Pak Mus and leaving to Berastagi To Toba next morning!
Do you think it is a wiser choice....i need to make a choice and Gayo lues seems just about perfect on all levels!
Even if that 6 days trek to upper Alas river to see the "200 m waterfalls" (?) and Gunung Angkasan is reaaaally tempting i think i would not be able to manage that long, that is almost half of my planned stay in the north!
I guess i would like just to soak in a jungle atmosphere and spotting flying squirrels, orang outans, birdies, listening to the gibbon's calls...ect... that would be perfect if it is achievable from around Kedah immediately or around in a daytrips!
thanx for your help again
thanx
I
That seems a bit too rushed. The hotspring in Ketambe is a full day's hike there and back. Add another night in Ketambe.
The trek to the Alas river waterfall is pretty hardcore, but well worth it, even if it means missing out on Ketambe's hotspring. There are other easier-to-reach hotsprings. But October/November is not the time to climb Angkasan and descend beyond, some other trip maybe... However, it would be great for Kedah and surrounding jungle.
Assuming good weather (Jan-Aug) the Alas river waterfall trek is a 6-7 day minimum trek, including some night trekking. For me it was an 8 day, but I only paid my guides for 5 days as they abandoned me in the middle of the jungle for three days to go hunting (I decided I couldn't follow them as it would be illegal, but in the end they caught nothing except fish).
I will do without it, i am really content and happy with just day hikes around the guest house proper if that is good enough to get to see the wildlife i mentionned above... so no more problems afterwards if i need to spend a second night in Ketambe....
i know you are partial to kedah but could you summarize the pros of ketambe compared to Kedah, i mean what i will be missing if i spend longer in kedah than in ketambe ?
thanx again
Ketambe is lower altitude and therefore more forgiving in bad weather. There are more orangutans (50 vs 15) and a lower chance to see a wider variety of animals and birds, although overall, an equal chance of seeing something. (Do you really care whether you see a flying squirrel, a beautiful squirrel or a giant squirrel?)
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