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...