February 22, 2007
Danau Maninjau (SUMATRA)
Paradise at Maninjau and Motor Biking for an Afternoon
Maninjau by Motorbike Photo Gallery
I had to be out of my Bukittinggi hotel for the 9am check out, but before heading off I savored every last drop of hot water from the shower. I didn't have a towel to dry off, though, so I hopped on the bed and rolled around until I was suitably dry. For breakfast, I have been careful about eating eggs or chicken because Indonesia has the highest bird flu mortality rate. For now, I am sticking to the basics of toast, coffee, and fruit. Before catching a bus to Danau (Lake) Maninjau, I had several academic issues to take care of and I also posted some updates to the website. Without my laptop I would never be able to keep the journal going because I don't have the time to sit at an internet cafe and type updates. As it is, I write as I eat or as I am trying to sleep, and then find an internet cafe with a friendly owner who allows me to connect my laptop directly to the web.
Enough of the boring stuff.
It took roughly two hours to make the journey to Maninjau, but the final 30 minutes was memorable: we descended down 44 hairpin turns to reach the lake. At one point a motorcycle even ran off the road because there wasn't enough room for both of us. The road looked like it was once a footpath that was later converted because the turns were clearly not meant for large vehicles.
I
alighted from the bus at a lake-side town called Bayur in hope of
finding a homestay for the evening. I wasn't sure
which way to walk as there were no signs, no one spoke English,
and there certainly weren't other tourists to ask.
In the end, I figured no way is broken in Sumatra.
After about a kilometer of walking I came across a sign
advertising Arlen's Paradise. I figured any place that describes
itself as a paradise must be an absolute dive, and the
sign didn't make it seem much
better. In the end, I had to walk across several rice
fields and cross a small wooden footbridge before I even
found the homestay - I was afraid the place had closed
down because it took so long to find it.
As
soon as I arrive it was obvious this place was an
amazing find! The lodging consisted of
five small bungalows nestled against the lake in what
felt like a world of its own. I was thankful for having
to walk so far to find Arlen's because I was far from
the noise of the road (not that there was that much
traffic to begin with). Only one of the five bungalows
was occupied, and it was by an elderly Dutch couple who had
also happened across Arlen's. Like me, they
instantly fell in love and decided to spend two weeks
enjoying the solitude. At only 5 bucks a night I
couldn't believe my good fortune - this was the same
price I was paying for the concrete holding cells in
Batam and Bukittinggi.
The
best part of the place was the view form my front porch.
It looks like the setting for the
Corona commercials
where the man and woman are relaxing without a worry in
the world. I have uploaded a stream of live sound from
the bungalow so you can have a better feel for the
place. It should remind you what peace and quiet sound
like.
The
ingrained student in me was tempted to take out my homework and spend
the afternoon studying in harmony, but the wiser part of
me said it is better not to spoil a good thing. I caught a
minibus to the lake's main town in hope of
finding a bicycle for hire. A local cafe was able to
point me in the right direction, but I couldn't get the
bicycle I had hoped for.
Instead, I rented a man's motorbike for the afternoon. He was looking at me strangely as I jumped on the bike and started rolling it out of his garage. Little did he realize I have never ridden a motorbike before! I will stick to the argument that this little detail was simply "lost in translation."
The
bike was manual, but I quickly learned how to shift
gears and control the throttle. A little confidence goes
a long way - a year ago I never would have pulled this
stunt off. I gave the man five bucks, waived goodbye,
and began circumnavigating the lake (with a helmet, I
should add). The views were nothing short of stunning,
but for the first half an hour I was primarily occupied
with not killing myself. I stayed at around 40kmh as I
tried to get a feel for the bike while dodging chickens,
potholes, and most importantly, the occasional public
bus that took up the whole road.
Once I had the basics mastered and could control the bike without thinking, I loosened my grip and straightened up in the afternoon sun. The lake was formed by a crater (it was easy to see the outline while we descended in the bus), and there were mountains on all sides. To the right of the road were the men and women working the rice fields while the view to the left afforded stunning vistas of the lake and the occasional set of fishing traps. The photo gallery is a must-see because words cannot do justice to how beautiful everything was. I could not have imagined a more perfect place for learning to ride a motorbike.
I stopped for a mid-afternoon lunch in the little town of Maninjau after I completed my first circumnavigation (roughly 50km). I was thankful the bike's owner was nowhere to be seen so I could do more riding later, but I was growing hot and hungry from the afternoon sun. While I was ordering my food two other travelers walked by and we exchanged greetings. As if Sumatra itself isn't out of the way enough, Danau Maninjau is even farther off the beaten path and seeing Westerners was a pleasant surprise. Usually, I cringe when I see groups of Westerners because I am afraid of being stuck in a touristy area. Suffice to say Sumatra does not fit the bill of being touristy.
The
young couple were from New Zealand and were 3 weeks into a
year-long journey around the world. Like many other
world travelers, they opted for an around-the-world
plane ticket. This is something I have considered given that I
have done quite a bit of traveling over the past year,
but I prefer to structure my trips so that the majority
of it can be done over land. The two joined me for lunch
and we had a good time chatting: the woman recently
finished her PhD in Biology while the man was working as
a structural engineer. It is strange that it works this
way, but I meet more engineers and scientists when I
travel than I do literature, business, or political
science majors. I have many theories on this, but I
find it more tactful if I keep them to myself.
After
eating, I said my goodbyes and retraced my path around
the lake (at a much slower pace). I must have waived to
greet at least 75% of the people I passed, and following
in my wake were always warm calls of "Hullooo."
I
arrived back at Arlen's as the sun was making its final
descent over the lake. I joined the elderly Dutch man, Tom, for
a long chat along the waters edge. He laughed aloud when
I told him I would be leaving tomorrow morning. He remarked,
"Americans, Chinese, and Japanese all travel the same
way: you arrive one day, take your pictures, and leave
the next. All the while you think you have seen the
country, and if anyone should ask you have the pictures
to prove it!" I rolled over laughing because he hit the
nail on the head with his observation! I purposely
design my schedule to maximize the number of places I
can visit. Although I may not be as bad as the
tour-guide tourists who pull up to places in an
air-conditioned bus, get off to take pictures for 45
minutes, and then drive to the next stop, there is still
an element of truth to what he said. I suppose another
big difference is that Tom vacations, while I travel. My
biggest fear is that I won't have a chance to return to
these places so I want to make every second of every day
memorable.
And today was certainly memorable.
** For any who did not pick up on my bad joke (I blame my parents), no sound was added to the webpage. **