Hi there
We just got back from Sumatra - and I feel like I have to write something about our trip here because I benefitted a lot from all the posts about Sumatra in this forum (eg. Pamela and others).
The problem is: I really don't know where to start :-).
First the facts: We stayed 4 weeks on the whole and travelled the "usual road" from north (Medan) to the west (Padang). We spent about a week in Bukit Lawang, a few days on Lake Toba, a week in Bukittinggi area (and Lake Maninjau), 3 days in the Kerinci Seblat National Park (Jambi), 2 days at Bungus Beach near Padang and the last day in Padang.
The trip was one the best trips we have ever made. We've absolutely fallen in love with Sumatra - so: if you have the chance to go there: DO IT!
All the informations below are personal impressions, of course.
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Bukit Lawang
If I could, I'd go back to Bukit Lawang straight away - we loved that place! We stayed at the "famous" Jungle Inn, in our opinion the best place to stay (because of its character and location). We arranged a pickup from Medan airport which was very convenient. In Bukit Lawang, we did a 5 days Jungle Trek. Most of the people opt for a shorter trek, one or two days - so other tourists there were quite surprised we did 5 days (in rainy season). We think it was the best choice we've made. Yes, it was muddy and sometimes exhausting, yes, there were leeches. But this is the only way to really see something of the Jungle! If you do the one or two days trek you don't really get into the jungle. If you need more information about our trek please ask, I can't really write everything down here :-) But still - if you're not so much into the rainforest as we are - it still worth going to Bukit Lawang - just for the views out of the Jungle Inn!! -
We chose the longer road to Lake Toba over Brastagi and the Sipisopiso Waterfull. The views were great! Arrived in Prapat quite late and there was no ferry anymore (the last one goes at about 7). We stayed in the rather overpriced and a little bit shabby Charlie Guesthouse. In the morning we took the ferry to TukTuk. We stayed at "Romlan's", a place owned by German woman and her Indonesian husband. We liked the place. In our opinion, it was better than the other ones like Bagus, Tabo, Carolina (too big). The rooms were very clean and comfy and had great views on the lake. The place was good for swimming and the water seemed to be very clean. We did some trips on Samosir (to the usual places) by motorbike (more info? just ask...). No matter what people tell you about the road going south around Samosir: They're rebuilding it and most of the road is new by now. For the views: Head south, up the hill - absolutely fantastic!!
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We took the bus from Prapat to Bukittinggi. It's a long way, it took us 18 hours. It's a night bus, opt for the Super Executive and buy the tickets at your hotel and not at the office in Prapat (they're much more expensive there!). The bus ride was quite an adventure - a big part of the road through the mountains is unsealed - we even had to get off the bus and walk up the hill at 3o'clock in the morning... The whole journey is nothing for those with weak stomachs... ;-) We still liked the ride, it was quite an adventure and something you remember for a long time.
Bukittinggi is a nice place, we stayed at the Orchid. Ronny, the guide of the Orchid and his friends are great fun and we had a very good time together! We did a two day trek to Lake Maninjau from Bukittinggi - staying overnight at Anas Homestay (a very basic place at the slope down to lake Manijau). We had an upstairs room with no walls overlooking the lake. I've never had a room with such a view out of the bed! At Maninjau we stayed at Lily's, a nice place in Bayur. We went around the lake by motorbike. We couldn't swim because of that "dead fish problem" (more infos? -> ask), the water was murky and smelly. On the whole we were a little bit disappointed of Lake Maninjau: We had read so many good things about it and expected something great. We thought Maninjau is a good place if you have no time to go to lake Toba, but in no way comparable to it. Toba is much more beautiful. -
From Bukittinggi we took a 7 hours Bus ride to the Kerinci Seblat National Park. There is a direct bus going there (which means you don't have to go through Padang), the road is good and the views out uf the bus are absolutely stunning. You drive trough tropical rice paddy fields up the mountains and then trough tea plantations, passing mountain lakes... We stayed at Subandi's Homestay in Kersik Tua, ask for it, everyone knows. We did a two day trek up Mount Tujuh, camping at the crater lake. We had Endatno as guide, he absolutely fantastic. He know so much about the rainforest, he knew the birds of the sounds they were making. Compared to our guides at Bukit Lawang he knew a lot more about nature, wildlife and so on. His English was very good, too. So if you've got serious interest in flora and fauna you'd probably spend more days at Kerinci and less in Bukit Lawang.
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From Kerinci we went down to the coast, to Bungus Beach close to Padang. We stayed at Carlos' the place almost every tourist stays. The beach was average - but the snorkling trip to the islands close to Bungus (south) was fantastic. If we had had more time we would have made an overnight trip with camping on the islands...
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We finally arrived in Padang and stayed there for the last days, just eating wonderful Padang food and doing some shopping.
Some general words about travelling in Sumatra:
Lonely Planet Guidebook
I know this is the Lonely Planet forum - but I really have to say it here: Forget about the Lonely Planet (Indonsia, Sumatra part). Almost every information there is wrong and gives you a very wrong impression. The so called "touts", for example, that are so often mentioned in the Lonely Planet, they don't exist on Sumatra!! We haven't met any tourist tout on the whole trip.
Tourists
There are NO tourists on Sumatra, no matter what the Lonely Planet says. You'll be the only tourist on the plane to Medan and you'll be greeted by everyone. People that work in tourism kept on telling us about the "golden age" (1991-1995) when there were quite a few tourists going to Sumatra, but now, after the Bali bombs, the Tsunami and the earthquakes there is almost no tourists left - which is - for the individual traveller - great.
Prices
Sumatra is very very cheap, cheaper than Thailand, p.e. The usual room costs about 3 to 5 dollars, the usual Padang food 1 dollar.
People
The people are so very friendly and cordial, we've really fallen in love with them.
Why Sumatra?
Because there are no tourists, people are friendly and reserved (there are no aggressive touts or something like that), you can have everything on Sumatra: Climb volcanoes, see Orang Utans, go jungle trekking in virgin rainforest, snorkel at tropical beaches, swim im crater lakes, eat delicious food...
I'm sure I have forgotten many things - please ask.
Yours,
Marionna
