Ride to Sumatra from Thailand

heineken

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Location
Pattaya
Bikes
1996 Harley Davidson Softail Custum
Hello . I am planning to ride a Thai registered bike from Thailand down to Penang Mailaysia. Then put the bike on to a boat over to Sumatra Indonesia ( Medan ). Have anyone done this trip before and have some good tips for me how to have the correct papers to get into Indonesia and thru custom ? Thanks for all help I can get. Regards Helge a Norwegian living in Thailand :-)
 
I rode the other direction, from Sumatra.

Mr Lim at Cakra Shipping in Penang is the man to talk to. There were some difficulties that arose last year, after the Indonesian navy stopped a boat going from Penang to Medan and as a result, shipping of bikes in that direction had been suspended. Talk to him. I'll dig out the phone number
 
Here it is. Malaysia then 04 262 5879..... so +604 262 5879

Correct name is CAKRA Enterprises
 
Address is 2nd Floor, 187 Lebuh Pantai, 10300 Penang.
 
Try to contact Robert Hiekel - he is a member on this forum (you can send him a PM - see View Profile: rhiekel - Ride Asia Motorcycle Forum). He did this trip from Thailand to Sumatra in 2007 or so and I remember that everything went quite OK but that he had problems entering Indonesia as he did not have a Carnet (for info on a Carnet see http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...9-where-world-you-need-carnet-de-passage.html) and here: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...ents/1500-carnet-de-passage-thai-scooter.html.

By the way, Robert lives in Pattaya and if I remember it correctly, that is also where you live so it should be easy to link up.
 
Thank you very much Bigfella :-) I will contact both Mr Lim and Robert Hiekel. I still got my carnet for my bike, after I did Thailand, Laos,Vietnam and Cambodia in 2011 and I did Burma/ Myanmar in February 2013. That was one hell of a trip :-) Look here on face book. Its in Norwegian , but you can look at the pictures :-) https://www.facebook.com/pages/MC-T...arBurma-260113-090213/258692454260865?fref=ts Started in Thailand, then Burma and back to Thailand . The trip in 2011 was great to :-)
 
Try to contact Robert Hiekel - he is a member on this forum (you can send him a PM - see View Profile: rhiekel - Ride Asia Motorcycle Forum). He did this trip from Thailand to Sumatra in 2007 or so and I remember that everything went quite OK but that he had problems entering Indonesia as he did not have a Carnet (for info on a Carnet see http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...9-where-world-you-need-carnet-de-passage.html) and here: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...ents/1500-carnet-de-passage-thai-scooter.html.

By the way, Robert lives in Pattaya and if I remember it correctly, that is also where you live so it should be easy to link up.

Thanks Lone Rider. I am in Usa now. I am working as a Tourguide on Harley Davidson on Route 66 every summer for the last 5 years. I will get in touch with Robert when I get back home to Pattaya :-) Regards Helge
 
Everything I read is its totally hit and miss getting into Indo that end..
 
Give me a shout when you get back to Thailand. A few beers might loosen my lips regarding how to get into Sumatra... Just kidding, with a carnet it should be a piece of cake. I did not
happen to have one, so I had to enlist the paid services of an " influential" person near the port. And yes Cakra Shipping did the shipping for me on an onion boat for the bike. I had to take a high speed ferry separately. You can check with Cakra, but I seem to recall the freight boats are not running anymore.
One of my best trips ever. Extremely scenic, and people so friendly it was amazing....

Banda Aceh
CIMG1949.JPG

Kicking back on Lake Toba
CIMG1725.JPG

You won't see this on your GPS very often.....
CIMG1773.JPG

Million dollar view out my room on an island near Banda Aceh
CIMG1976.JPG

Six dollar view inside same room.... :-)
CIMG2025.JPG
 
Ha... Love the 2 room views !!
 
Give me a shout when you get back to Thailand. A few beers might loosen my lips regarding how to get into Sumatra... Just kidding, with a carnet it should be a piece of cake. I did not
happen to have one, so I had to enlist the paid services of an " influential" person near the port. And yes Cakra Shipping did the shipping for me on an onion boat for the bike. I had to take a high speed ferry separately. You can check with Cakra, but I seem to recall the freight boats are not running anymore.
One of my best trips ever. Extremely scenic, and people so friendly it was amazing....

Banda Aceh
View attachment 18651

Kicking back on Lake Toba
View attachment 18652

You won't see this on your GPS very often.....
View attachment 18653

Million dollar view out my room on an island near Banda Aceh
View attachment 18654

Six dollar view inside same room.... :-)
View attachment 18655
Hello Rhiekel and thanks for the reply. I would love to take a beer or 2 with you and talk about the trip when I come back to Thailand. I will be back in oktober. I am going home to Norway also in oktober for a couple of days and then I am of to Australia , to take a motorbike trip there. But will be back in Thai from November for 7 months. I have been to Sumatra before in 1997 but not on a bike. Would love to get back.. We are planning on going all the way to Bali and then the bikes on a Cargo plane back to Thai.. So see you around . Thanks Regards Helge PS Nice pics :-)
 
Hello Rhiekel and thanks for the reply. I would love to take a beer or 2 with you and talk about the trip when I come back to Thailand. I will be back in oktober. I am going home to Norway also in oktober for a couple of days and then I am of to Australia , to take a motorbike trip there. But will be back in Thai from November for 7 months. I have been to Sumatra before in 1997 but not on a bike. Would love to get back.. We are planning on going all the way to Bali and then the bikes on a Cargo plane back to Thai.. So see you around . Thanks Regards Helge PS Nice pics :-)

Give me a yell when you get to Sydney. I rode from here to the China border. Went to the top of Cape York, shipped the bike from Darwin to Timor-Leste (Perkins Shipping in Darwin) then via ferries through Flores, Sumbawa, Lombok, Bali, Java and Sumatra.

The freight boats are still running... but the ferries aren't. I had to fly. Don't rely on the freight boats from Penang to Sumatra without checking with Chakra first. It cost someone $4,000 on the last boat they had a bike on going the other way - so they said no more that direction (only). Sumatra back to Penang is OK. It may be sorted by now, but it certainly wasn't this time last year.

 
Oh yeah... stay away from the elephants. This bastard threw the bike (and me) three metres, whilst trying to spear me with his tusks



Don't miss Bukit Lawang

 
Give me a yell when you get to Sydney. I rode from here to the China border. Went to the top of Cape York, shipped the bike from Darwin to Timor-Leste (Perkins Shipping in Darwin) then via ferries through Flores, Sumbawa, Lombok, Bali, Java and Sumatra.

The freight boats are still running... but the ferries aren't. I had to fly. Don't rely on the freight boats from Penang to Sumatra without checking with Chakra first. It cost someone $4,000 on the last boat they had a bike on going the other way - so they said no more that direction (only). Sumatra back to Penang is OK. It may be sorted by now, but it certainly wasn't this time last year.

Hello Bigfella and thanks for pictures and reply. I will be in Sydney from 25 oktober. It would be great to meet if you have time and if I have time. I will return to Thai 11 November. I have sent an email to Chakra and waiting answer form them :-) How are the roads on Sumatra of you stick to the "Big" roads? Are they paved ? I am planning to do this trip on my Harley. :-)
 
Most of what I did was paved.... but there were places like this



.... and if you take the Harley... I seriously suggest that you don't go from Berastagi to Bukit Lawang via the National Park. I went a long time here without seeing another human, in the lengthening shadows (yes, it is tiger territory) with a white screen on the GPS, having absolutely no idea where I was. Yeah, doesn't sound nasty... but once I'd dropped off the ridge, there was absolutely no way I was going to make it back up.



Yeah, that was the "road"... not a creek.

Incidentally, I did see a tiger, down south... in the National Park at the bottom of Sumatra, at night - beside the track in the jungle.

That track was around the back of this steaming volcano



There's plenty of other nice dirt to enjoy too, but it isn't the main routes



But it will get you to interesting places, like the upper parts of Samosir Island, on Lake Toba, which is one of my favourite parts of the planet







This is a back road, from Lake Toba to Berastagi, as I said, the back way... much longer route, quite doable on the Harley and really nice



But this sort of crap pops up all the time. There's also a lot of broken bitumen, but some that was horrid was resurfaced when I went over it 2 months later... so its a moving feast






The road up the west coast varies from 170kph+ bitumen to broken... but its good fun







Given a choice... I'd do it on knobby tyres again.... I got run off the road several times and reckon I'd have dropped it on street tyres.
 
Bigfella, thanks for the photos. Especially from Samosir .... brings back memories of 1985 and 1990. The latter I made an tour up the mountains of Samosir on a Honda Dream.

Chang Noi
 
BigFella, wow I really like your bike set up. Also that shot of the elephant about to stomp your bike
is priceless. How did that get resolved ??

Yeah I really liked Samosir Island too. Here is my morning coffee spot in front of my bungalow...
CIMG1670.JPG

Beautiful style of home I have never seen anywhere else in the world.
CIMG1685.JPG

Part of my island circumnavigation of the island. I left in the morning , foolishly thinking the road would be paved all around the island. So I dressed in shorts and sandals and went off to take pictures on my heavy Africa Twin. Next thing I know
the road has turned to shit, it is getting dark, and I am high up in the mountains.... :-)
CIMG1717.JPG
 
Thanks for all replies and nice pictures :-) I have a email to Cakra Shipping in Penang. cakrashipping@gmail.com . But no one replies on that email. Does anyone have another email address til Mr Lim in Cakra Shipping ??
 
Can't help with an email. I'd just phone him. He speaks English



I'll dig out some more Sumatra photos
 
Thanks Bigfella :-) I will give him a call :-) I would love some more pictures .. The route you took from Bali thru Java up to Sumatra and Medan. How was that route ? I been looking at the map and there are many routes to take . But which one is the best ? Thanks again :-)
 
That morning coffee spot looks familiar. This is one of the places I stayed (trying out my new waterproof camera, to replace the one that elephant smashed)



The staff there, having their wash



One of the Batak houses. There's a story behind this one. Its 120 years old, btw. I had an American woman on the back of the 950 - staying at Carolinas and she came day-tripping with me for a couple of days. We were looking for the King's tomb... and got lost. We pulled up outside this house... as there was a rice paddy stopping progress past that newish house (behind the bike). This lovely young lady stuck her head out of the traditional house and asked if she could help as "you lost"... yep... we were. She invited us in for coffee.



Some interior detail



Our saviour, Sarma, on the left






Half the village ended up there for a look. This is Sarma's dad



I went to show him a photo I'd taken and was told he was blind. To cut a long story short, a guy following my ride report on advrider and I decided to try and get his eyes fixed. I ended up finding a surgeon in Medan and went back to Lake Toba and took Sarma and him to Medan - but his eyes were stuffed... too many problems, blind for too long. A very sad moment. We then decided that we'd spend the money we were going to spend on his eyes, helping the family. It took a week to sort out what we'd do, as the relative who'd been interpreting for us was away. Eventually, we decided to build the family a pig farm (his idea).... and here it is



Sarma's mum "lost it" when I wandered in and handed over a roll of cash to build the pig farm. I should point out, they never asked for anything, but their generosity and situation touched a soft spot.



They are lovely people in that village. Here's me having lunch in the paddy field with them one day while they were harvesting the rice



The matriach of the village. She's 100



... and having a beer in their warung



If anyone is going through Samosir, I'd love to put them in touch with this village. I hear from Sarma from time to time, as recently as this week by SMS... but I'd love to have someone look over the pig farm and make sure they've got what they need.

... and I reckon you'd get a cup of coffee



As for that elephant.... here's the exact moment that the young prick decided to kill me.



Trunk up, mouth open. You don't want to be in front of an adolescent bull doing that. He put his left tusk into my left thigh and started to push... to spear me. I got the leg out (it was badly bruised, but I escaped getting puntured)... he had me trapped, but he threw the bike and me. We landed 3 metres away - and I got up and ran. I'd asked the guard if it was OK to ride through the camp and he'd nodded. It wasn't OK. I'd stopped at a couple of smaller ones and they'd been OK... and I fed them some grass. This one, at 4 years and 2 tonnes was way too old to go near. There's 65 wild bulls in that camp. There was an American vet professor staying at the same lodge (the eco lodge just outside Way Kambas National Park)... and she said I'm the luckiest man on the planet "he was trying to kill you and I cannot believe he didn't succeed... he was trying to spear you, get you on the ground and do a headstand on your chest".
 
This is most of what I did through Indonesia. The mainland Asia stuff (blue dots) was my rough idea, but changed a bit. What's missing from here is the Berastagi to Bukit Lawang leg.... which is just a 1cm spike from below the "e" in Medan, up through the "M". I never got up to Aceh. I followed the main highway for a while, but ended up in Bengkulu, after yet another "moment" with the pissweak Garmin map. I then followed the coast road up the west coast. The ride from Bengkulu to Padang appears to be about 400km according to that map, but I recall it as a 12 hour ride that got me in a couple of hours after dark - not a good idea btw, and I got run off the road 3 times in the process.



I had one extremely close call in Sumatra. A matter of millimetres. I was enjoying a left-hand corner, not hammering, but going at the sort of pace one would ride in Thailand. A full-sized bus came around the blind corner on my side of the road. Overtaking a truck. I stood the bike up, slammed the brakes on and turned left. If I'd done anything different, I wouldn't be writing this. I didn't "enjoy" a single left-hander after that. I was talking to another rider about it and he said his Sumatra experience was getting run off the road by an overtaking truck on a corner. He fell off and was knocked out. He came around with the truck driver standing over him. "Oh, you alive.... the one two weeks ago, he die". For the inexperienced, Sumatra will make or break you.

When I took Sarma and her Dad to Medan, it was in an 8-seater taxi ($6.50 each, 5 hour trip). The driver was overtaking around blind corners. We chipped him about it and he said "You must understand, you have a third eye, in the middle of your head.... you do not overtake unless it feels right, when your third eye tells you it is OK". These guys believe that the moment of your death is pre-ordained and nothing that they do will change that. It has serious implications for how you have to ride.

... and seriously... if you ride at night, you WILL get run off the road



These guys didn't make it. That's a big truck... about 75 metres, straight down.




Here's a back road, down south, between Way Kambas and the main north south road



Its Indonesia, so you will get diesel fumes all over you.



The local lads are fun to talk to



A local lad, on a Harley.... chugging along at 80kph



The roads can be great... but not long after this, I was riding along a beach, because the road had been washed away



Lake Maninjau is another beautiful spot. 43 hairpins on the descent into town





My Garmin told me to cross this bridge....



Some lads collecting a toll for having cleared the road. They probably blocked it in the first place



On that point... have a pocketful of 2,000 notes and maybe some 5,000s in another pocket. The "bush telegraph" works. I started always putting my change in the mosque building fund box in roadside stalls and in the nets that the locals hold out at roadworks and for mosques. The news travelled up the road. It can't hurt

I want one of these



The locals are friendly... this was a private party that I crashed. They fed me and tried to get me pissed (just out of the Islamic area - bit of friction between religions around here)



The volcano at Berestagi is worth climbing



I stayed at the hotel next to these at Berestagi - many of these are derelict inside




Ooohhh.... girls in uniforms



... and some good friends in Medan. Lovely girls



Typical Sumatra



First of two or three flats in Sumatra



My trip over the top of Samosir was with these guys. The other westerner is Chris, from Switzerland, who I'd met on the road. He was given a brand new big Husqvarna and gear to ride. I found out about it on the day, turned up, was refused entry because the 950 was too big... but got a thumbs up from the organiser when I rode through the start gate. About 500 bikes. Not the poor folks either - one of the entrants paid for my petrol.





I ended up on Indonesian tv and in a magazine article as a result. I probably shouldn't have picked up the tv interviewer, eh?



Had a bit of a bald rear knobby... but the lads rescued me



I wasn't the only one to make it up here unaided... but I was the first of our group to try it. After me, then this guy... the rest took the "chicken track" around the hill



... and I was the only one to get through here unaided. About a 75 metre drop over the edge



Oh... and some elephant scars... there's a groove in the Safari tank, where his tusk slid up the tank... took out the "o" in "Doctor"



Did I put this one in earlier? Definitely do the 2 day walk through the jungle at Bukit Lawang. I was exhausted at the end of the walk... absolutely stuffed... but it was worth it. The guide asked me how old I was... "nearly 57".... "Oh, at 57, Sumatra man not go in jungle any more"




The overnight jungle camp. Don't do it if you don't like leeches, bitey ants, etc





 
Hei Bigfella and thanks again for a great report and great pictures. I will take care when I go down the roads on Sumatra . I have experience from driving in Thailand. Laos. Burma/Myanmar. Vietnam Cambodia .So I know I have to be extremely carefull on these roads . But thanks for the heads up :-) I just have to take the time I need . You say the road between Bengkulu and Padang is about 400 kilometre. ? Was the road very bad the hole way ? And is there some places to stay between Bengkulu and Padang ? I am very greatfull for all info I can get :-) Have a great day :-)
 
Hei Bigfella and thanks again for a great report and great pictures. I will take care when I go down the roads on Sumatra . I have experience from driving in Thailand. Laos. Burma/Myanmar. Vietnam Cambodia .So I know I have to be extremely carefull on these roads . But thanks for the heads up :-) I just have to take the time I need . You say the road between Bengkulu and Padang is about 400 kilometre. ? Was the road very bad the hole way ? And is there some places to stay between Bengkulu and Padang ? I am very greatfull for all info I can get :-) Have a great day :-)

Sorry, I meant to say that it looks 400km on the map... but it was 600 km on the bike.

I only stopped for about 20 minutes for lunch and a couple of very quick water stops in the 12+ hours... I didn't see anywhere to stay, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I would ask in a village if I wanted to find somewhere to stay. Wave $10 around and you'll attract some interest. The "restaurant" I ate in had some bamboo platforms with cushions for truck drivers to sleep. I'd been told that there were "bad people" down south... but I never had the slightest concern the whole way through Indonesia (well, the whole way through Asia, for that matter).

Not sure if I know how to embed video... but this first one is Sumatra... showing that oncoming traffic ALWAYS expects bikes to get out of the way. They invariably swap sides when they see potholes too


This next one is actually in central Java... but its indicative of the main roads anywhere in Indo. I got into the habit of never bothering to check the speedo or my mirrors. I made sure I rode faster than anyone else, so it didn't matter what was behind me. I paid attention only to the killing zone....


... oh yeah... I reckon the Super Enduro, with soft bags, was the ideal bike for Sumatra. Enough grunt to overtake anywhere, narrow... and with nice knobby tyres so that you could ride anywhere, any time... like in the video above. I hated sitting in the fumes behind trucks and buses... so I didn't.
 
I agree with Big Fella. Sumatra is an astonishing place as the pictures clearly show. But driving is perilous to say the least. Trucks will in fact pass directly into you, driving
you off the road onto the shoulder. Do not even think of playing ricky racer in the corners hugging the line, instead go wide and be prepared to meet another vehicle in your
lane in the middle of the corner.... I learned that when there was approaching traffic,
I would glance at the shoulder of the road to see the condition in case I was run off. In general the roads are good, but do not drive at a speed that would exceed your line of sight. Here is the main Trans Sumatra highway near Banda Aceh. Not a good piece of road to meet at night....
CIMG2081.JPG

And he is correct about the pot hole swerving. I was following behind a slow truck. Was just hitting the throttle about to pass him. A half second later he violently swerves across the road to miss a pot hole , directly across the path I was seconds from being in....
And the friendliness of the people will truly astonish you. I left there humbled..

Ah the mosque fund gathering in the road......
CIMG1918.JPG

A KTM 950 would in fact be the perfect bike. The entire country is winding two lane roads with lots of traffic. So you will be doing a lot of passing, so you need a bike with lots
of passing power to minimize the amount of time you are spending exposed during the
pass.
 
Hi Bigfella and Rhiekel. They drove the same way in Vietnam. Felt like the big trucks tried to hit you .... Pretty scary some times .. Keep on posting pictures. I love to see them and I am sure others do too. A friend of mine that works in Malaysia, called Mr Lim today, and its not a problem to ship bikes from Penang to Medan / Belawang. So things looks better now .. Thanks again both of you :-)
 
Hi Bigfella and Rhiekel. They drove the same way in Vietnam. Felt like the big trucks tried to hit you .... Pretty scary some times .. Keep on posting pictures. I love to see them and I am sure others do too. A friend of mine that works in Malaysia, called Mr Lim today, and its not a problem to ship bikes from Penang to Medan / Belawang. So things looks better now .. Thanks again both of you :-)

I spent three weeks traveling in north Vietnam, felt it was far more civilized that Sumatra... :-) How would you like to meet this as oncoming traffic?? As you can see , part of the problem is the narrowness of the roads. This is the road heading to Bukittinggi, a really nice town with lots of nearby sightseeing.

CIMG1734.JPG
 
Sorry, I meant to say that it looks 400km on the map... but it was 600 km on the bike.

I only stopped for about 20 minutes for lunch and a couple of very quick water stops in the 12+ hours... I didn't see anywhere to stay, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I would ask in a village if I wanted to find somewhere to stay. Wave $10 around and you'll attract some interest. The "restaurant" I ate in had some bamboo platforms with cushions for truck drivers to sleep. I'd been told that there were "bad people" down south... but I never had the slightest concern the whole way through Indonesia (well, the whole way through Asia, for that matter).

Not sure if I know how to embed video... but this first one is Sumatra... showing that oncoming traffic ALWAYS expects bikes to get out of the way. They invariably swap sides when they see potholes too


This next one is actually in central Java... but its indicative of the main roads anywhere in Indo. I got into the habit of never bothering to check the speedo or my mirrors. I made sure I rode faster than anyone else, so it didn't matter what was behind me. I paid attention only to the killing zone....


... oh yeah... I reckon the Super Enduro, with soft bags, was the ideal bike for Sumatra. Enough grunt to overtake anywhere, narrow... and with nice knobby tyres so that you could ride anywhere, any time... like in the video above. I hated sitting in the fumes behind trucks and buses... so I didn't.

Watched your Java video.....HOLY CRAP !!!! You are a wild man.... :-) I have been riding Asia for 12 years, and I would never pass to the inside like that at high speed. Too many unknown variables, with no escape out.
 
Watched your Java video.....HOLY CRAP !!!! You are a wild man.... :-) I have been riding Asia for 12 years, and I would never pass to the inside like that at high speed. Too many unknown variables, with no escape out.

I think it was getting to me a bit in Java and Sumatra. I was riding a bit like a 17 year old at times... and that video doesn't show it. I've quietened down a bit now.
 
Yeah.... Vietnam. Hmmm. I shouldn't have taken this photo. Headed east from Dien Bien Phu if I remember correctly



I was headed downhill, doing about 70kph at this stage. Didn't have a front brake on the scooter. I ended up passing the bus, still steaming along, with me on the grass
 
When you stop posting, I'll know the reason why!

Yeah, I've been laid up for five months with a badly busted knee.

.... smashed the tibial plateau.... at 0 kph... kickstarting an old Beeza.

Its much safer on the Sumatran roads

... speaking of which, here's a construction crew. They were doing 10 metres at a time. A bucket of hot tar - with holes in the bucket to spread it, then shovel on some gravel



... and watch out for the local traffic.

 
Sorry to hear about your busted knee. The twisted hand of fate eh! You survive some high-speed overtaking madness in Indonesia only to be laid low by the kick starter on a 500 cc Beeza! Best wishes for a speedier recovery. I will be directing my mates to your posts as they are well worth a look. Cheers.
 
Yes it sure looks an appealing country to me, perhaps in a year or twos time I will get there
 
Wow... just wow. Awesome stories and pix... thanks for sharing fellas!
 
We better dig out a few more Sumatra photos then eh? I suppose I should write up Flores at some stage too... I loved the ride through Flores

One thing you'll find right through Indonesia (and East Timor, thanks to their 25 year occupation) is weird monuments. This one is for those with a back-scratching fetish



One thing you'll find in Sumatra is the world's biggest potholes. These are tiddlers... the big ones are damn near a metre deep and the trucks slow to a crawl and climb through them, swaying as they do.



I'm not sure what was going on here.... but this ambulance had wall to wall people in it. I was flagged down to let it onto the road... then it went at about 20kph... so I blasted past



More lads with their racing Vespa sidecars. Saw lots of groups of these. Generally gave them some money to buy a couple of litres of fuel



Can't say I've ever encountered green bread before....



My longest day in the saddle was a 600km blast up the west coast to Padang. Got in at night and got mobbed trying to find my bearings. I wish Auke would head over there and do some mapping.... my Garmin map was absolute crap.



An old dear that I bought a coffee off in Padang



While I was drinking it, I saw the state of her washing up facilities. Ugh



I stayed in a great guesthouse, run by two sisters, who I think have moved to Bali now. It was one's birthday... so I shouted dinner. Takeaway fish, Padang style



Few decent prawns too. The girls were happy



Lake Maninjau was interesting. I lapped it and there was still a lot of evidence of the earthquake from Sept 2009. Speaking to a German engineer involved in the recovery, he said the death toll was much higher than the official number.



Fish from the aquaculture setups being prepared for live shipment



Lovely views. About 70km around.



More aquaculture and smoking the fingerlings



Spotted an Africa Twin and BMW 650... turned out to be two guys from Finland, one of them of Japanese origin.



This guy, in his dugout, was only 20 metres from my hotel room door. Lovely spot. I could spend more time there....

 
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