Wandering Fractal

Taruko cafe in the Sianok Canyon. The walk from the city to the cafe was mostly on a small road full of scooters and cars, but the landscape is beautiful. Unfortunately for me, the cafe was closed during Ramadan. From the Kerinci valley I took a night bus to reach Bukittinggi (10 hours). It's a pretty city perched on the side of a canyon and surrounded by three volcanoes. From Bukittinggi I booked a bus to Dumai on the east coast. It's the gateway to go to Malaysia by ferry. The company BWE has a night bus that will reach Dumai in the morning so that you can directly board on a ferry. You can go to the BWE office to book a ticket. It's close to the market (check on Google Maps). The ferry took 3 hours to cross the Malacca strait and reach the city of the same name. Price: Bus: 160'000 IDR Ferry + taxe + big baggage storage: 320'000 + 50'000 + 10'000 = 380'000 IDR Bukittinggi has many buildings with traditional roof.

Danau Kaco, a cristal clear spring in the middle of the jungle with blue color given by the minerals at the bottom. The Kerinci valley is a hidden gem of Sumatra. Hard to access, only three roads to go in or out and one small airport that has just recently started to do daily flights to Jambi (Apparently it's still expensive for an Indonesian local flight ~850'000 IDR). If you want to experience preserved jungle with loads of wild animals and traditional villages then the biggest national park of Sumatra is for you. The center of the valley is home to a multitude of villages. The biggest of them and the place you will probably arrive first is Sungai Penuh. From there you can go trek into the jungle. The best way is to contact Luke Mackin a guide that can arrange different tours with him or local guides. Check his website, its the best source of information about Kerinci:  WildSumatra.com . The first day, I did a night safari. We went with a car in the jungle duri...

Bus and ferry trip from Jakarta to Sungai Penuh in the Kerinci valley. Moving around the island of Sumatra without a plane was pretty challenging. The southern half of Sumatra has fewer attraction than the north so I decided to go directly to the Kerinci valley. I started by a bus from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung. The bus itself goes on the ferry to cross from Java to Sumatra. It costs 155'000 Indonesian Rupiah to go from Jakarta Gambir Train Station to Bandar Lampung city center with the company Damri (~8 hours). Bandar Lampung is a provincial city. It's a good hub if you want to go to the Way Kambas or Bukit Barisan Selatan National parks, but the city itself has not much attractions. I stayed one night in the Gesthouse Palapa. The next day, I went to the Terminal Bus Rajabasa in the outskirt of the city to find a bus to go north. At the bus station you have several company with bus going everywhere on the island, all the way to Aceh (a few days of ride). People t...

Merdeka Square Jakarta hasn't much to offer, apart from a few museums, shopping malls and the slowly decaying old Dutch center. But still, it was interesting to witness the contrast of this city. Luxurious skyscraper right next to slums. Beware, the city is extremely polluted. The smog from the thousands of cars and scooters covers the streets like a thick mist. The rivers looks more like a mix between a sewer and a garbage dump. No need to stay too long in Jakarta, one or two days will be more than enough. Fancy buildings. And people living next to open sewers. Shopping mall with hundreds of small shops.

Borobudur temple. The city of Yogyakarta in the center of Java was an interesting stop on my way west. It's famous for it's two ancient temples: Borobudur (Buddhist) and Prambanan (Hinduism). They are located outside of the city, but can be easily reached by local bus. They are quite fare apart, so using a day for each is less stressful. In the city itself there are a few interesting spot like the Kraton, the sultan's palace. One think to be careful is the Batik sellers. You will most likely meet a really friendly local, who will chat with you, advises you on what to see, sometimes telling you they have a brother/sister living in your country (they know a few words in many languages). In the end they will always take you to the "only original" Batik art gallery of the city. It's just a shop where they will try to sell you Batik art. They never were too pushy with me, so I could easily say that I wasn't interested and walk off, even when I was ...

Mount Bromo on the left and mount Batok in the front. They are all contained inside the huge caldera of  the ancient Tengger volcano. Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on east Java offer an astonishing view over volcanoes. There you can hike a sea of black sand, peak at the mouth of an active volcano and experience life in a mountain village. When I was there most people rushed the visit in one day. They went before sunrise to a view point, crossed the sea of sand, got to the rim of the Bromo and finally left around 9 to 10 am. I would advise to go to the village of Cemoro Lawang by yourself and stay there 2 nights. This will give you plenty of time to enjoy the place and avoid the crowd. Everybody rush to the Bromo between 7 to 9 am, so if you go latter in the morning it will be less crowded. What I did was: Wake up at 3am to leave the village of Cemoro Lawang and start hiking to the King Kong viewpoint. You just need a torchlight and warm clothes. To go there you fir...

Miner reaching the rim of the crater with baskets full of sulfur. The Ijen volcano is famous for being the last place where the sulfur is mined manually inside a volcano. Workers climb the Ijen and then go down the crater to collect chunks of solidified sulfur then have to carry back up to 90 Kg on their shoulders. They do this while being enveloped by toxic fumes. No need to say that it's a dangerous and painful work, but the pay is worth the risk for them. Our guide explained that the Indonesian government is now helping the miners learn English in order to become guides, a less dangerous and better payed job. Along with the miners, the Ijen sees tourists attracted by its turquoise lac and blue flames. The hike to the rim of the crater is an easy 1-2 hours walk. If you want to go down the crater you will need a gas mask, a head torchlight and a guide. Other guides will try to stop you if you try to go down without a local guide. While the first part is easy the path do...

From Cairns I took a plane to Bali since it was the only direct flight to Indonesia. I quickly went away from the airport and the party places around Kuta and headed to Ubud. This town is still touristic (can't walk on the street without people yelling at you "Taxi !?") but it's more a cultural and artistic center. Inside the city you will find many Hindu temples and traditional houses. Outside of town you can stroll along rice fields and old villages. But one thing you must not miss is the traditional Balinese dance. The mix between enchanting Gamelan music and mythological story told through dance is truly exceptional. You can find many places in town performing each night. I went to the Ubud Palace and payed 100'000 Indonesian rupiah. Ubud has many sleeping offers, so you won't struggle to find a bed. The aggressive competition is also lowering the prices, making Ubud the cheapest place I stayed in Indonesia. I stayed at the Happy Mango Tree...