Last days in Padang....

...and our journey ends in Bali

My last 3 days in Padang I mostly spend surfing at Air Manis Beach, approx. 1 hour from Padang. I'm still surprised how fast I was able to stand on the board and ride on the wave and this is one of the most awesome feelings ever! So now I'm kind of addicted to this :)

I still can't believe that this is it! 8 weeks of travelling and 6 weeks of internship in West Sumatra are over.
Our last stop will be Bali and I'm really excited now to go there!

Even though Padang seemed to be really challenging to me in the first place and especially the first week wasn't easy for me at all. When I look back at those 6 weeks I don't regret one single day I spent here or the decision going to Indonesia. Because when I'm honest, this is exactly what I wanted: totally different culture, different religion, way of life, awesome islands, surfing, adventure, food, climate and so on. And on top of this I was to spent this time with some pretty awesome people I met here from all over the world, who I don't want to miss anymore.
Of course, there are still things where you can only shake your head and try to ignore, because I could go on to write about things and behaviors which I just don't understand or don't want to understand and/or accept...but nevertheless, after 6 weeks you can't help but feel kind of home, like when you return back to Padang after a weekend trip or so. You know the streets you wander, you know where to go, know what to eat....and even more important: know what not to eat :)
I'll especially miss my hostfamily, since they are just such nice, hospitable and kind people. Always made me feel welcome and made me feel like home.
Terima Kasih!!!!

Kerinci National Park

Those 4 days were as adventures as the last seven weeks all together...

1. Adventure: How to find a bus going to the National Park
   Our plan was leaving Padang at late evening, spend the night in the bus which takes us in just 7 hours to Indonesias largest National Park.
   In the afternoon everything was set: we reserved 5 seats in a bus which departures at 9pm. Luckily at around 6pm we checked again and what a surprise: our seats were somehow not confirmed and thus given away. No seats no bus! We were advised that there is a “bus terminal” where many bus companies offer rides to the park. We went there...the bus terminal turned out to be a normal shop, selling street food and other little things, with 2 guys claiming that they have a car which will take us to the park...3 hours later we are sitting in a minivan heading off to Kerinci National Park
2. Adventure: How to survive a 7 houre ride with road conditions that are literally made for suicide and a crazy driver...who obviously wants to commit suicide...
3. Adventure: How to find a homestay at 4am in a remote village somewhere in a National Park?
   After stopping, asking, knocking, calling, 5 homestays, we eventually were lucky and got 2 rooms
   5am – 9am sleep
   breakfast: nasi goreng and hot tea (1/3 tea, 2/3 sugar)
   Our plan for today: taking ankot (“taxi” for up to 20 persons, although space available for max.10) to go to Pelompek, from where we start our hike up to Danau Gunung Tujuh, being the highest volcanic lake in South East Asia (1966m).
   So far so good...
   

   

   Gunung Kerinci, highest volcano in Indonesia, 3,805 m (12,484 ft)

    

   

   Danau Gunung Tujuh

   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Adventure: How to NOT collapse in the jungle
   As we will find out at the way down the next day, the way we take up to the lake is one of the most challenging climbs you can take...challenge accepted! 4 hours straight up, mostly using your hands to pull you up the hill covered with roots which you have to hold on to, what makes it a little bit easier to not slip away.
   Panting and totally exhausted we suddenly can see the lake through palm trees and jungle brush. Beaming and grinning from ear to ear, we made it!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   lake

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   

   

   happy about our achievement

   
   But the excitement doesn't last too long → this is where the real adventure starts:
   
5. Where is the camping beach?
   I don't know how this could have happened but we must have totally misunderstood our lonely planet guide which says: “ It takes 4 hours to climb the lake (…) an additional 2 hours hike leads to a camping beach.
   It's already 4pm, we are staring at the lake and the remoteness around us. There is nothing! Slowly we realize that we won't make it to the camping beach before dawn and besides that we don't even have a tent or any other equipment to survive the night.
6. How to survive THIS boat ride?
   Out of the blue, there is a man in his boat on the lake, paddeling torwards us. With a few words of Indonesian we try to explain to the old man that we have to get to the other side of the lake to get to the camping beach. He nods approvingly and points to his “boat” (made of one piece of wood). We are desperate...really desperate! That's why we decide to enter the boat and at this point still hoping that everything will turn out well...
   The boat is as unsteady as it looks. Every single move makes the boat shakes and rocks from side to side. I'm afraid we will capsize any minute, we are in the middle of this huge vulcanic crator lake and for the first time I am afraid of not surviving...
7. Are you kidding me?
   After some time which seems like forever, we arrive. And suddenly it begins to dawn on us. This little places at the shore of the lake , where you can find one little hut covered with awning is what our new friend calls home and this is where we are going to sleep tonight.
   We make him understand that we don't have a tent to sleep in and he generously offeres us to sleep in his hut, where he just lit a fire...hello smoke poisoning!
   We can't help but laugh about this totally messed up situation we stuck in.
   Despite the fire we are sitting at, at 10pm we can't stand the cold outside anymore and reluctantly have to move inside. 
   

   

   our new buddy

   

   our homestay and host :D

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   the interior...

   

   nice view...at least

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
   Covered with only a light blanket and a towel, I'm freezing and shivering like never before the hole night through. When I get up at 6am my body is all stiff from the cold, my back hurts from the “bed” which is made of a wooden matress and covered with awning and my head is numb from the lack of sleep...best conditions to get up and climb back down the volcanic lake...that's what we did.
   Up-to-date Condition: haven't got anything to eat since 12pm the day before. Running out of water, no more than 2 hours sleep that night, aching body
   

   

   trying to warm-up in the morning sun

   
   We litterarly run down the hill in 2 hours, almost collapsing of exhaustion when we arrive back civilization, in Pelompek where it all started 24hours ago.
   Breakfast: Magnum Classic, Sprite and Water. Feels like heaven!
   
   
   Going to Kersik Tua, renting a room in a homestay, having an ice cold shower that still feels perfect when you haven't showered for 2 day, in which you experienced extreme heat and extreme cold.
   Sleep for 4 hours.
   We decide to go back to Padang this evening. Since the ride takes 7 hours we don't want to spend all day long, we rather go at night.
   
   
   Arriving in Padang at 4am. Trying to call my hostsister to wake her up so she can open the door for me ( yes I told her before that I'll arrive at this late hour). No chance! Little sleepyhead does not hear her phone ringing. So I spend the next 2 hours in front of the house, sitting on my towle, trying keep my eyes open.
   
   Perfect ending for such a crazy and adventures weekend :)

Bukittinggi

Last weekend we spontaneously decided to rent a car and spend the weekend in Bukittinggi (indonesian for "high hill").
To rent a car in Indonesia doesn't work the way it works in other countrys. You don't just go to car rental, because there are no. Somehow you know someone who knows someone who has a friend who can lend you his car.
Thats how we did it :)

Bukittinggi is one of the biggest cities in West Sumatra and only 90km away from Padang. What still takes you more than 2 hours by car due to the crazy traffic.
The best thing about Buki is, that it's located in the highlands and therfore the climate is way cooler than in humid Padang.
We hit the road heading to Buki, stop at a nice waterfall on our way and before we arrive in Buki we make a little detour to lake Maninjau. The street winds down to the lake in no less than 46 serpentines. Unfortunately the weather is too cloudy to have a good view from the hill down to the lake, but it's still a nice palce to rest and enjoy being outside without breaking out in sweat as you always do in Padang.

another way to dry your clothes

waterfall

 

Marianna&Jaja

"Big Ben"

After having dinner Buki we stroll to the central market to see famous "Big Ben", the clock tower and major landmark of the city. Big Ben is not even 30meters high...
But what is really impressive is the night market around it and especially the people. Dancing, singing, couples holding hands in public!. It seems like people are having fun here, something you do not see in Padang.
So we spend the evening at the night market, also having fun, before going back to our hotel (5€ per night) and resume the fun part.

The next day is quiet busy:
Sightseeing Plan:

1. Drrive to the Equator
2. drive all the way back, stop at the reflesia sanctuary to see the biggest flower on earth - after half an hour fighting our way through thick jungle we are looking down at the flower...which is already withered...GREAT :( and we are too exhausted to continue the track deeper in the jungle to maybe find another one.
3. get invited to taste one of the most expensive coffee on earth: luwak coffe - made of the poop of wild civet cat :D Of course I buy a little package of it for ~20€ (in Germany 1 cup of luwak coffe cost between 55€-75€)

civet cat coffee beans

4. last stop: Sianok Canyon near Bukittinggi

Caynon

Café in the middle of the caynon

man planting rise

 Driving home by night is even more challenging than by daylight in this crazy traffic. So we are all pretty exhausted when we arrive at home. And since we haven't had something to eat besides a little plate of nasi goreng at 12pm. The dinner I had at home tastes like a 5*dish. yummi :)

Update No. 2

Time does fly! 8 more days and we are off to our last adventure: BALI
 I didn't really like the idea going to Bali in the first place, but since Padang it is as non-toursitic as possible, I'm really looking forward now to go there, just being a plain and inconsiderable tourist among others. No one staring at you, asking for pictures or shouting BULE at you....

The last couples of weeks went by so quickly and a lot has happenend.
Just a little inside of my daily life here in Padang:

just some curious school kids

At 5am the loudspeakers mounted on top of the mosque next to our house go on and the muezzin (using a microphone) starts to call for prayers. The volume is turned up so that the call for prayers can be heard at the entire neighborhood. If you want to know how that sounds: Azan - call for prayers. Unfortunately the muezzins voice is most of the time not as nice and endurable...
At the same time at least 3 alarm clocks in our room go on and ring for one hour  in snooze mode until the mum enters the room and kicks the girls out of bed. Although they are supposed to get up at 5am to pray, they just keep sleeping and don't even wake up at the most annoying alarm clock sounds. BUT I DO!
So 5-6 hours sleep a night is also what I needed to get used to...

I always have school from 7am to 11 or 2pm. Most of the time I'm in class with another teacher, but its also no surprise anymore if one morning I have to improvise because a teacher got sick or surprisingly went to Jakarta for "business".
In this case the best you can do is trying to find the one or two kids in class whos english skills are at least good enough to communicate and use them as interpreter.
Even in senior high school their english skills are so low, they  hardly can answer questions like "How are you?", "What did you do today?" not to mention trying to start a conversation with them. Add to that the incredible shyness talking to a "Bule". Only the really tough and brave kids are bolt enough to aks questions.

Bule is how western people are called in Indonesia. They explained to us, that it is not ment to be insulting or anything, but when someone on the street calling you Bule, pointing at you und taking pictures of you secretly, it feels kind of weird. And think about it, if in Europe everybody would shout at e.g. black people and call them names, I would say it's kind of racism (even tough in a positiv way).
Just another circumstance we all needed to get used to. 
I could write about school for hours, just because it is so different from what I have ever experienced.

Dicipline: There is no! If even the teachers answer their phone during class, how are they supposed to learn. Chatting, laughing, going out, coming in while the teachers is explaining something is totally normal. If you ask for silence and concentration they keep their mouth shut for max. 30sec. After 3 days of teaching m y voice already got hoarse because of trying to drown them out constantly...
But there are also many many really nice kids who try their best talking to me and some girls even learned a couple of phrases in german to impress me.
All in all, the school is one of the unorganised institutions I have ever been to. But I love teaching the kids or at least try my best to convince them that being able to speak english is the most important thing they can learn in school and that they can only benefit from it.

morning ceremony: flag hissing

After school we often meet in the central mall: Plaza Andalas, go to the traditional market, plan our next weekend trip or hang out at the pool of the pangeran beach hotel, where they don't mind if some western guys chill at their pool for free :)

traditional market

one of the biggest mosques in town

  

Mentawai Island

Friday 14.08

Great Excitement! Tonight we are going to take the boat from Padang to Mentawai, a chain of several islands about 150km off the western coast of Sumatra. Mentawai is known for huge waves and a paradise for surfing.
Everything was planned perfectly, we had tickets for cabins on the boat where we will spend the up coming 10 hour journey (~10€), we would be picked up at the Mentawai harbour from the owner of the homestay we were going to stay and from former interns we knew Harris who is a local and promised to showed us the best places and beaches.....
Approximately 4 hours before we are supposed to be at the harbour for "check in" an earthquake occured just off the coast of Mentawai, magnitude 6.3
General panic among all interns.
The upshot was that 3 of the interns stayed in Padang because they were too afraid. So the remaining 7 of us begun the long journey. Arrival in Mentawai after 12 hours at 10am.

comfi cabin

charge of bananas  from the boat

Siberut Island (one of the biggest islands belonging to Mentawai) appears at the first glance almost the same as Padang. A lot of rubbish on land and in the water. But soon you feel the relaxing island rythm. Less cars not as dense and humid and everything is just more easy going.

We were all still tired from the long journey and the lack of sleep and so we decided to just explore the beach (5min walk) and the "neighbourhood".
 

huge butterfly

Day 2

Renting a boat and 2 surf boats (in hope of more wind and the possibility to surf) and heading to a close, small island. No wind but still worth it. The most "postcard-like" beach I have ever been!
Not much more to add. We didn't do much besides sunbathing (so far still sunburn free :) swimming, walking around the island...oh and snorekling! I wish I had my underwater camera with me. Huge coral reefs, 5-6 meters high, thounsands of fish in all kinds of colours and seize. Just amazing to see this undewater world in such bright colours and to see how all those tiny animals work and live together, creating a living ecosystem.

Some impressions :)

Joanna&I

Marianna,Pia,Sebastian,Joanna

Pia loves Mentawai :)

On the way back to the main island, we decided to buy fish for dinner. So Harris our local friend went to get fish. His answer to the question "what kind of fish is it?" he just answered "really expensive fish" :D Total costs for approx. 4 kilo  fish ~ 9€ . This is what I love about Indonesia :)
Before we started with the BBQ we went back to our beach and were staring at the dark night sky, which was covered with stars. Harris advised us to go to the water and move our feet. We never expected what happend next. The water suddenly got illuminated around us. Thousands of tiny organism using bioluminescence (production and emission of light by a living organism (thank you wikipedia)).
Everybody was amazed by this natural lightshow. And I can tell you, taking a swim in the dark sea watching the water around you lightening up is a unforgettable experience.

Afterwards we were drying ourselfs on the bonfire and had the most delicious grilled fish...and a lot of fun :)

before

...after

Day 3

After dragging everybody out of bed at 10:30am we realized that our time schedule for today is very limited. Our boat back to Padang was scheduled for 8pm.
But time for a little dschungel tour was still left. Destination waterfall
Not far, but the way there was quiet challenging...In fact, there was no way! So we were slippering and gliding through the dschungel until we finally reached the waterfall. Somehow they are always smaller as promoted and expected...but still nice :)

feet afterwards

After the exhausting tracking tour all I wanted was a shower, food and water. I got all that,  before we went back to the port, entering the "safety first" ferry which will bring us safely back to Padang

For those who want to see how Mentawai looks like when there are waves...and an international surf competition, check this out:
Part 1
Part 2

btw.: the cousin of our host on Mentawai was one of the participants in the surf competition :)

Weird facts about Indonesia

Some of the facts, habits, traditions I discovered about Indonesia that made my jaw literally drop:

• There are no rubbish cans...at all! In Padang you can see collected garbage on the street, and regularly some people burning them. Imagine the smell.
• Smoking is permitted and common almost everywhere. Inside public transportation, public places, restaurants and generally everywhere.
• Young people are literally addicted to their phones. 99% have Blackberry, and they stop texting their friends only when they sleep. It’s common to see people hang out in a café together, and all of them melt their fingers on their phones instead of talking. 
• Reaction to foreign people. If you are white and want to feel like a celebrity, just go to Indonesia. I have encountered various reactions: people shouting “bule” (white person), “hello mister” (even if you are a girl!), or just any sound to get your attention, people following me, taking pictures of me, cars stop in front of me, the most extreme were some boys on motorbikes following me and my friend for more than 10 minutes trying to show off with their non-exsisting english skills....to be famous can be really hard...and annoying sometimes.
• Traffic. Crazy, it seems like there are no traffic rules. motorbikes in every direction, a few traffic lights and zebra lines. honking the horn is kind of the national sport. Everybody honks constantly, the taxis for attracting people to get into the car, the cars to announce that they're going to overtake another car or just for fun.
  almost impossible to cross the street if you don’t have guts.
• It’s totally normal for boys to spit in public.
• Indonesian English. The few people who CAN speak English, are sometimes hard to be understood because bahasa Indonesia doesn’t have verb tenses, just present, so in English they use simple present to talk about past, present and future. Also they don’t have genders, so they usually use he instead of she and the opposite. Quite confusing!
• The Indonesian way to celebrate birthday: friends gather, cake, candles and… eggs on the head of the birthday boy/girl! (luckily I will not be here during my birthday!)
• Most of the people believe in ghosts, and for that reason they never turn off the lights, even when they sleep!
• Animals inside the house are totally ok, especially cats can be found inside every household (and shop and hospital), but also you can find pets like fish, turtles, birds, monkeys, lizards. You can commonly find other kinds of “pets”: ants, mosquitoes, cockroaches, weird bugs and rats!
• Food. It’s normal to eat fruit salad with mayonnaise and banana with chili or cheese! Rice and noodles are used for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everything is spicy and the dishes are combination of rice/ noodles/ chicken/ beef/ veg. Nothing more, nothing less.
• It’s impolite to eat, shake hands, give money to someone with your left hand. Challenging as I’m left-handed;) This habit is based on the fact that people here don't use toilet paper, instead they rinse it with water using the left hand. The left hand is concidered to be unpurified hand.
• Toilet. 99% of houses and restaurants have “primitive” toilets, just a hole in the ground with no flush. They never use toilet paper.Only the bucket with water or fancy style: kind of small shower head
• Shower. 99% of houses don’t have normal showers or bathtubs, just big buckets with water and smaller ones with which you can throw water on yourself and bath. The water is always cold. Perfect after a typical hot Indonesian day.
• Indonesian time. Indonesians have a more “take it easy” perspective about time and punctuality. When you say for example you will meet your Indonesian friend at 4 pm, be ready to wait from 30-120 minutes (sometimes more).
• Indonesian (and Asian in general) people want to be as white-skinned as possible(opposite to Europe),so they avoid the sun in every way they can (umbrella, jackets during summer). You can even find “NIVEA whitening” in pharmacy.
• It’s not respectful if you touch the head of someone who is older than you.
• to greet a older person you take their hand and put in against your forehead. 
• Typical Indonesian families have at least 3 children. Everyone is surprised when I tell I only got one brother.
• Family and freedom. The parents have huge influence on the children lives, like choice of studies, husband/ wife, religion. Most of the families are (extremely) conservative in matter of clothing, prayer etc.
• muslims pray 5 times a day
• you are advised to be home no later than 9pm. The sun sets at 7pm.
• The culture of “what the society will say” is very wide spread. So the fear of doing or behaving the wrong way, in class, in student organisation or even among friends is great
• Food is extremely cheap compared to Europe, you can buy full dinner with soup, main dish, juice for 3 euros or even less. And it's always really tasty.
• Local transportation. Ankots are small buses with fancy decoration ( stuffed animals, lcd tv, hi-hi systems), super loud music (you can hear everthing from Indian music to house and electro music, and traditional Indonesian to Celine Dion and Backstreet Boys), you don’t wanna know how they manage to move and u pray for your life everytime, crazy drivers, and the ridiculous fee of 2.000 rp (less than 1/6 euro) for regular distance. 
• In West Sumatra when a couple is married, the property goes directly to the wife. The groom has to move to the wife’s house and not the opposite.
• Traditional medicine is very common, suggested even by medical doctors. (traditional massage, herbs etc)
• It’s cheaper here to buy land and build your own house, than live in an apartment. In fact, apartments are considered the most fancy and prestigious place to live!
• It’s illegal for man and woman to kiss in public, it’s also illegal for not married man and woman to rent a hotel room together. Boys are not allowed to enter girl’s room without permission.
• No privacy. People want to be around others all the time. Even when they sleep they prefer sleeping together (up to 5 people) in one bed. The night is also not considered a time you should respect the slep of other person, so it’s common to chat loudly or listen to music in the room, while others are trying to get some precious sleep.

Just a few discoveries...
I did not believe it in the first place, but you get used to (almost) everything :)

PADANG Vol. 1

27.08

Padang – here we come und Hallo Kulturschock

5am klingelt der Wecker in Kuala Lumpur um halb 6 sind wir am Flughafen, um 7:50am geht unser Flieger nach Padang. Soweit alles problemlos geklappt, ausser dass alles ungefähr doppelt so lange braucht, da die Indonesier teilweise ein sehr relaxtes Völkchen sind.

Am Flughafen werden wir von Ayank und meiner Hostsister Arin abgeholt. Sind zu Arin nach Hause gefahren Gepäck abgeladen, kurz gechillt und dann mit einem sogenannten Angkot zur Mall gefahren um andere Interns dort zu treffen.
Über das Angkot muss ich wohl noch einen separaten Blog schreiben, weil es einfach das Verrückteste ist, das ich jemals erlebt habe. Es können, wenn man gut quetscht und stapelt 12-15 Menschen in dieses Gefährt passen! Abhängig vom Fahrer hat man entweder nach der Fahrt einen Hörsturtz, weil die Musik so laut ist oder eine Gehirnerschütterung weil man sich bei jedem einzelnen Schlagloch den Kopf und Rücken anschlägt und natürlich auch beim aus und einsteigen, was nur in gebückter Haltung machbar ist.
Aber mehr dazu ein ander mal :)

Ich brauche wohl noch (sehr) viel Zeit um alles hier zu verarbeiten. Der erste leichte Kulturschock hat sich bereits eingestellt. Padang selber ist sehr weitläufig. Das heißt wenn man Pech hat und weit draussen wohnt, brauch man bis zu 1 Stunde mit dem Angkot in die Stadt. Alles ist super hektisch, laut und dreckig. Viele Roller und völlig chaotische Verkehrsverhältnisse.

traditional house

Nachdem die anderen uns dann erzählt haben dass es hier in Padang leider nicht allzuviel zu tun und sehen gibt und sie eigentlich den ganzen Tag, wenn sie nicht arbeiten (und das ist oft) in der Mall rumhängen war die Stimmung ersstmal etwas gedrübt. Der Strand ist leider auch nicht wirklich zum baden geeignet, sehr schmutzig und abgesehen davon herrschen an diesem Strand, da direkt in Padang, absolut muslimische Regeln, dh keine Röcke oder Hosen die kürzer als das Knie sind, keine Tops geschweige denn Bikini.

Es ist alles schon sehr krass anders hier. Obwohl ich wirklich eine nette Gastfamilie hab, ziemlich nah im Zentrum wohne und mein Zimmer nur! mit meiner Gastschwester und ihren anderen 3 Schwestern teile, ist das Leben, die Kultur einfach alles sooo unglaublich anders als alles andere was ich jemals gesehen und erlebt habe, dass ich das Ganze erstmal verarbeiten muss.

Was natürlich dazu kommt, sind die hygienischen Umstände: Es gibt einen großen Eimer mit Wasser und einem Schöpfer und ein Stehklo, gleichzeitig Waschbecken. Duschen tut man sich indem man sich mit dem Schöpfer Wasser überschüttet. Das heißt, der Boden ist immer nass, da alles ein Raum ist.

Ich meine, im Grunde wusste ich was auf mich zukommt, dass haben mir alle die davor schon in Indonesien waren gesagt, aber glauben kann man es erst wenn man es wirklich sieht.

bathroom... :)

Die erste Woche wird sicherlich nicht einfach bis man sich an alles gewöhnt hat und vllt sowas wie Alltag eingekehrt ist. Am Samstag fahren wir nach Pagang Island, eine Insel ca 2 Stunden von Padang entfernt.

Morgen ist unser erster „Schultag“. Bin sehr gespannt!

To be continued.....