Tropical Tioman

Malaysia’s Tioman was a lush island with untouched jungle and mountains as a backdrop. To make it even better, we arrived in the off-season, so although many restaurants were closed, the beaches were deserted. On the downside, the beach was narrow and rocky along the part we stayed and when we stepped into the water, we inevitably stood on sharp stones. Still, the island felt like a remote paradise.

Same place, a decade later

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Medan in Sumatra and spent three days roaming markets and exploring the city. KL had changed since my previous visit before my youngest daughter had been born. Modern buildings extended skywards. Footpaths were easy to navigate. And the city was vibrant. But remnants of the old still existed, like the Chinese temple with its overpowering infusion of giant incense coils.

Orangutan occasion

After four days on Samosir Island, we caught a ferry back to Prapat, then took a bus to Medan on Sumatra’s east coast. After the stillness of the island, Medan’s sprawl and noise hit us like surf pounding the sand. Luckily, we were headed for Bukit Luwang the following day.

Prapat, and an island in the middle of a lake

We headed to Prapat in central Sumatra situated by Lake Toba. Because of the gruelling bus ride, we stayed overnight in this quiet lakeside town before catching an early morning ferry across to Samosir Island, situated in the middle of Lake Toba.

Under Bukittinggi and far above

Bukittinggi had a dark, hidden past under its town. During the war, the Japanese used local Indonesians as slave labour to build underground tunnels where they stored their ammunition. We found the bunkers disturbing, as if a cloud of pain and death still resonated off the stone walls and rushed out.

Minangkabau territory

The architecture of this region was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Roofs were shaped like pointed buffalo horns. Close by Bukittinggi, we visited the largest house in all of Sumartra where once the king had lived. The huge main room was relatively empty, but the building itself was an architectural masterpiece. Behind was an equally beautiful small building that may have been for servants.

Bukittinggi and it’s famous mountain

Through jungle, mountains and over a winding road we left Pekanbaru and arrived six hours later in Bukittinggi near Sumatra’s west coast east of Lake Maninjau. Because of the altitude, approaching the Equator was relatively cool. Our Bukittinggi hotel was on a hill, but even higher was Mt Marapi not far away—smoke rising from its summit. This was Sumartra’s most active volcanic peak aptly named Mountain of Fire. The volcano had erupted more than one hundred times and was last active in 2020, but on our visit it merely signalled with a puff of smoke. 

Stinkin’ Pekanbaru

More than a year after our trek through Java, I handed my daughter an Indonesian guidebook and said she could plan our trip to Sumatra. It was two years since our last Indonesian visit before we flew to Singapore, caught a ferry to Bantam Island in Indonesia, then flew to Pekanbaru—the closest town in Sumatra.