The Adventure Next Door

You’ve got a holiday break coming up, and the energy to see something new. You might have friends who’ve seen orangutans in Borneo, and bragged about their rough trek up Mount Kinabalu, but chances are good they’ve never stepped foot on a much closer island neighbor that’s equally as spectacular: the Indonesian giant of Sumatra, the worlds 6th largest island.

Sumatra is 1100 miles long, the distance from New York City to Miami, with enormous cultural and natural variety that rewards the curious. From Singapore, regular flights make the island accessible around centers such as Medan and Padang. A good starting destination is the stunning Lake Toba in the north, where five days is just nice for a restful retreat. It’s also worthwhile to spend a couple of days at the nature reserve at Bukit Lawang for a glimpse of the endangered Sumatran Orangutan.

For as little as $100, it’s a quick one-hour flight to Medan, where you can hop a taxi for the half-day journey to either the nature reserve to the north, or Lake Toba to the west.

At Lake Toba, a gentle ferry shuttles visitors to the tourist center of Tuk Tuk on Samosir island, in the center of the lake. Here, midrange and budget accomodation line the lake, some with excellent swimming and panoramic views. Restaurants dot the town, offering western fare and Indonesian specialties. Days are spent renting bikes, attending cooking classes, hiking, or chilling at the lakeside. At night, visitors can enjoy traditional Batak dance and music. The pace is slow. Simple pleasures take hold.

“But isn’t it dangerous there?” I heard this question a surprising number of times on my return to Singapore. Simply put: I felt safe and comfortable at all times. The uneasy peace further north in Aceh province is far away, 400 miles to the northern tip of Sumatra, 15 hours by car. The gentle Batak culture around Toba Lake creates a warm atmostphere and laidback feel that charms the visitor.

I like to blend holidays with a mix of relaxation and active exploration. A great way to add spice is to rent motorbikes for a scenic tour of Samosir island’s open roads. Get out into the glorious countryside, wave at the kids, and smell the fresh air. Rice paddies glow neon green and yellow in the sun. Batak houses sport boat-shaped rooves that defy standard architecture. Smiles are given freely.

Active exploration is exactly what you get in Bukit Lawang, a day’s journey from Toba. We sighted 4 adult orangutans and 1 baby on our 3 hour hike through the forest, followed by an exhilarating rafting trip back to town. No special gear was necessary. Getting a great guide is part of the joy of a trip like this, and Bukit Lawang has no shortage of super-friendly, lovable characters. Ours even met up with us at night for some soulful singing with guitar and drums. Those guys sure could belt out a tune!

Connecting with people comes easily to some travelers, while others fumble with the first steps. The effort is worth the reward. That little smile from a child can make your day. A thumbs-up and smiles from two waving teenagers is great fun.

Here are 3 ways to get started:
1. Smile broadly and make eye contact: hold that eye contact long enough so the person can be sure you’re really looking at them as a person, not just as part of the scenery. That’s the moment when they will break out into a radiant smile. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, or a frown remains, but don’t get discouraged. Another day-making smile is right around the corner.

2. Learn 3 basic words: hello, thank you, and a third one of your choice. Good options are beautiful, child, delicious, or how are you?

3. Become a customer, act like a guest: frequent the same restaurants and shops often. Learn the name of your waiter, shopkeeper, and driver. Introduce yourself and family, shake hands warmly. When passing by, consider making short stops for a quick chat, a cup of tea, and to ask how things are going today? Even when hurrying past, it’s fun to wave and say hi. This is a proven way to shift from tourist to friendly neighbor.

Sumatra offers the traveler many rewarding opportunities to practice connecting with people. And it’s the people, natural beauty, and relaxing atmosphere that will bring me back. This is the kind of place that has you coming home and researching your next trip immediately… Bukittinggi anyone? Nias?

Cooking Class

Heddy, our teacher, came well prepared to her kitchen classroom, perched on a hilltop overlooking Lake Toba in Sumatra.

First task, shave the coconut meat from the shell. Coconut is used in many Indonesian dishes.

Toast the coconut over high heat.

This is the secret to the classic rich curry called rendang. Pound the toasted coconut until the oil releases and it turns to a dark paste.

Erik smashes chillies and tomatoes for the fish course.


The feast: chicken rendang, sayur lodeh (a veg curry), and fish sambal laduh

The reward is enjoying the meal together

A great view

A good teacher

Banana fritters for dessert

Aamir

Aamir Khan
Versatile, intelligent entertainer
Best films: Rang de Basanti, Lagaan
Not bad to look at, either ;)

Phuket Fever

Sometimes holidays just don't work out like you want them to. We were really looking forward to our long weekend in Phuket. But fate had something else in store. Slammed by the flu the night before we left, we spent a large part of our stay shivering under blankets in our hotel room.


But we were determined to enjoy ourselves! Every day we made sure to do something to get us out of that room, even if it was just a meal across the street from our hotel. A few days we even made it to the beach. And what a lovely beach Kata is!

Our room had access to a pool right off the balcony, a very cool concept. So that made for a pleasant view.

I guess when life hands you a lemon, you really can make lemonade most of the time. It wasn't our best vacation, but we still found ways to enjoy it. Hoping for better luck next time!

Paradise prayer

Dreaming of my lovely Karakorum views... As I read the bad news coming out of this special country, all I can wish for is peace. Please, peace. There are too many beautiful people in Pakistan that need no more hardship. Please, peace.

Everyone has a story

Studs Terkel wrote people's stories. He listened, saw drama and comedy, and captured vignettes of many lives over his long career. I was reminded about this over the past week, while staying at a lovely beach town in South India. I noticed how everyone there had a story of their own.



Mr Basheer has filled his cliff-side shop with hand-picked items from his faraway homeland of Kashmir. His days are long, working morning till night to entice tourists to enter his well-ordered room filled with custom jewelry. His mature sales style indicates he's learned how to strike the right balance with foreign customers - just the right amount of push without going too far. During rainy season in the south, Basheer gets a few months back home with his family, travelling from the most southern tip of India to the furthest northern reaches, a distance of over 2,300 miles. In those brief months, home is real and the magic of Kashmir is his to enjoy.



Lobo is an enterprising young man from Periyar, the spice capital of Kerala. Yet the competition of so many spice shops chasing so few tourist footsteps drove him to relocate to a more unique location with the hope of higher financial returns. His wife and children remain home, while he pays nearly US$500 per month to rent his attractive cliff-side spice shop. It's a sizeable risk. He will need at least 2 people per day to spend as much as we did (US$10) to cover his costs. But Lobo knows the business and has a good chance of success. His immaculate shop is in a prime location and fronted by a welcoming garden. His markups are high, but still reasonable for the tourists. He's expanded into the ayurvedics and specialty teas that are popular with the long-staying Yoga crowd. Most of all, his personal warmth and sincerity engender trust and goodwill with his customers.



Buying T-shirts doesn't need to involve much personal interaction, unless you're in India! The kindness and charm of this delightful family from Karnataka made shopping a joy. I was impressed with the gentle manner of this hard-working mother, and the warmth she and her children showed to us.



We took some drums and the new rhythm toys we got for Christmas. Although the fellow from Africa House had left India, we didn't let that stop us from forming our own drum circle. At the hotel, we handed out drums, bells, woods, and shakers. Soon, the individual talents of our hotel staff came pouring out. Special mention goes to our restaurant man and one of the housekeeping guys - these guys could really drum. Jaison and John tried the bell and shakers, and the General Manager wasn't bad either. He asked me if I'd been to Pakistan, and were there good people there? Three months in Pakistan, I answered. And yes, the people there are good, just like the people in India. After all, I ventured to risk, "you're brothers." His face was indescribable! Part smile, part defiance. He quickly laughed to ease the tension I'd introduced. We drummed on.

Tourists had stories too. Kate, the American embroidery artist, was a Buffalo native living in London with annual trips to India and a wealth of knowledge on Kerala. Nicholas, a Devon native, had been surfing this beach for over 20 days, and kept us immensely entertained with his stories of playing an English colonial officer in the upcoming Malayalam film "Palasi Raja." We'll look for him on the DVD.



In hearing their stories, we naturally look to our own. On this occasion, our story was simply one of enjoying so many encounters with such fine people. As with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in India we can talk with strangers, make friends, and laugh. The common language helps, yes, but there is more. There is openness and willingness to take a chance and connect, plus all those intangible qualities that make the subcontinent my favorite travel destination on earth.

R&R at last

After a rough planning season at work this fall, we finally got some R&R over the past few months with a short trip to Krabi with drumming friends, a longer trip to Vietnam with Boise friends, and a fabulous Christmas break in Florida & Colorado.

But before any of that, we had a visit in early July from our dear friend Mark, who left the comfort of Perth to stay with us old folks in Singy. Mark was our house mate back in Jakarta in 1996, when the rupiah was worth 2500 to the dollar and Suharto ruled in front, not behind. Horacio knew just where to take us all for a great night out, although Mark's partying skills left us reeling and in great need of recuperation! Of course, we didn't want to be outdone by an Aussie, but alas, we're old.

Work was hell for 3 months and that's all I'll say about that. But finally, our first break came and our drumming buddies accompanied us to our fave Thailand destination. They taught us that you CAN bring 5 drums and a bag of noise-making goodies on a plane without a problem. Those noise-makers came in very handy at the bars where we played. Thanks to Gordon, we got invited to the likes of the Smile bar, where guests and bartenders alike enjoyed shaking the maracas and grooving with the cowbell while we played our djembes.

Only a few weeks later, we were met by the sweetest couple in Boise, Idaho - our friends Anne & Joel. They flew 25 hours to see southeast asia and get a taste of living abroad somewhere besides Italy, their previous expat home. They could handle tame Singapore on their own, and we gave them a few tips in Vietnam, and they quickly proved what quick studies they were by using their new bag of tricks at Angkor Wat. I was so proud! They were terrific traveling companions - easy going, fun, and curious.

At Christmas it was our turn to do the long flights. I've got to hand it to United, this year they did a good job with service, despite mechanicals problems on the way home that caused our 32 hr journey to stretch to 48. By that time, we were so relaxed from our two blissful weeks, we just rolled with the punches.

Mom and Dad have hit paydirt with their fabulous new home in Venice on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It's caribbean-beautiful on the Gulf! They even took us to a drum circle on the beach, followed by the most intense display of Christmas lights ever designed by men with too much time on their hands. But the best treat was hanging out and watching the birds fly in to their pond every late afternoon. First the egrets would come, then the ducks, then the sandhill cranes... it was spectacular. M&D were so welcoming. I could have stayed there for months, just laughing away and doing puzzles.

Tajik teahouse in the Rocky Mountains? Yes! Boulder has the real thing. In Colorado, we had another warm welcome from Erik's family. Gordon and Thea reminded us just how special Denver is. There are great views and plentiful trails, first-rate shopping and innovative restaurants, and live music to top it all off. Amongst the charming neighborhoods of Denver and Boulder, we saw the life we left behind 3 years ago. We saw big skies, and lovely back yards, and organic whole grain what-have-you, and we have to say, it's a good life there.

Yet somehow, Singapore has become home, and arriving back to our little condo and watching the bicycles and temple parades go by was just as pleasurable as any other part of the trip. As we lugged our 150 lbs of luggage back through the front door, we sighed with relief that we had finally arrived after that arduous 48 hr journey.

At last, we are relaxed and ready to face the new year. But what's this? Another New Year? Yes! Chinese New Year is right around the corner, the last week of January. So off we'll go again, this time to South India, to spend another few relaxing days in our adopted continent. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!