Sumatra, Indonesia

For Cambodia's largest holiday, Khmer New Year, Leanne and I jet-set to Sumatra, Indonesia for the entire 10 days. This was an extremely timely break because it came after weeks of difficult and hectic work as well as in the middle of the hottest month in Cambodia. We were so relieved to get on the plane and say goodbye to Cambodia for a few days and welcome mountain temperatures, clean air and a break from the cultural stress we sometimes feel here. 

Our first nights were spent in Berestagi, a small market town that only has two redeeming qualities; the volcanoes that surround the city. We spent about 19-minutes walking around the town before we decided to hike one of the volcanoes, the activity we had planned on pursuing the next day. After our two-hour approach hike to the summit, Sibayak Mountain turned into the surface of the moon. Gatorade green sulfer came from vents and the crater itself was covered in a pool of water about 100 feet below the top of the peak. We were engulfed rain clouds, listening to the concussion of thunder above and smelling the sulfer from the mountain, it was an assault on all of our senses. On our hike down, we got hammered by a monsoon rainstorm and the dirt path that we were walking on turned into the slides from the Goonies, it was very entertaining to slip our way down the peak and into the hot springs that awaited at the bottom. 

Our next destination was Lake Toba, in the center of the island. The fresh-water lake is one of the deepest in the world and we stayed in a hotel with waterfront access, a diving board and a remarkable pool. Our agenda for four days included a lot of sleeping, eating and, when we could find some time, running, hiking and kayaking. Leanne and I both mentioned may times how we had rarely been in such a beautiful and quite place. We woke up slowly each morning, listened to nothing but the water against the shore and ate at nearly every restaurant on the island. Toba was a highlight destination for not just Indonesia but for all of our time traveling in Asia.

After the intense news of the massive earthquake that hit Sumatra while we were there, we were a little nervous to fly to the coast that the quake happened near. However,  thank God, there was very little damage on the island and our travel plans were not interrupted at all. We made our way from the lake down to Medan and flew across the island to see what it held for us.

Our last major stop was Bukittinggi, another small market town much like our first destination. However, in our only full day there, we saw the largest flower and learned that it only blooms a few days each year. Though I thought a big flower would be lame, it turned out to be a total highlight. The Raffleasia was about 3-feet wide and remarkably intricate. I also drank a cup of coffee in which the beans are actually collected from the poop of a wild cat before it's roasted. It was organic as it comes, I think I will open a coffee shop with just Coffee Luwak (poop coffee) in Boulder, Colorado and become independently wealthy.

We spent our last two night walking around Padang, resting on the beach and looking for other westerners in which we counted three in two days.We listened to the call to prayer and watched the men and women go to Mosque, which is an experience that far to few Americans get to have. It is one of the most striking memories I have of traveling in Indonesia.

This trip was exactly what we needed at the time we needed it. We rested, read, ran and relaxed for the entire time and we returned to Cambodia feeling rested and ready for the last few weeks of our time before we return to the States.