Bukkitingi and Maningjau, West Sumatra

The next day we took the hot Bukkitingi minibus to the Rajawali guesthouse where the German owner told us he had very basic rooms at a very basic price. We accepted at $7 a night but decided to move on as the bathroom emitted a random rather pungent smell every time the wind blew. 

  Bukkitingi at night

 Rajawali...our room for 1 night

Unfortunately by this stage the ear infection Dave picked up while surfing after a huge storm near the river mouth at the Mentawai’s had become steadily worse. So we ended up visiting the hospital, paid $2 to see a specialist ear doctor and further $13 for some meds and we were off. It was a wonderful service, the staff were so helpful and Dave was of great interest in the consultation room with 10 medical students and waiting room where father’s took photo’s of him with their kids.

That arvo we headed to Meninjau, which is a MASSIVE crater lake that takes 2 hours to get to even though it’s only 38kms from Bukkitingi. This isn’t surprising when there are 42 hairpin turns as part of the trek down the mountainside in a solid steel bus, past sleeping monkeys. We arrived stupefied by the view and proceeded to walk almost a km through some fields and a farm towards what promised to be a guesthouse. Ibu welcomed us to a lovely little bungalow, in one of the most tranquil spots overlooking the lake. Ibu also cooked amazing meals at amazing prices, it was a wonderful set up.

The solid steel bus to Meninjau, decorated in true indo style

Our bungalow at the Arlen guesthouse in Meninjau

The Arlen dining room

An Arlen resident bat, very cute and small!

A view of the lake from the dinner table

Dave enjoying his ear infection

Views of lake Maninjau, which is incredibly 16km wide, 9kms wide with a max depth of 400 m

Unfortunately by the next morning Dave’s ear got 1000 times worse and he was suffering from the same amount of pain his root canals had delivered. We had to pack and take the solid steel bus back to Bukkitingi, where we promptly saw an Ear Specialist again. This time Dave was loaded with pain killers, anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics. It was a relief to see that the treatment was staring to sort him out almost immediately.  We were then able to enjoy a few quiet days in Bukkitingi eating delicious food at street stalls and watching small ponies trot down the road. The weather was divine, cool at night and cool enough during the day to be able to walk down the street without a sheen of sweat permanently attached to your skin.  

Pictures in and around Bukkitingi

A Bukkitingi pony, one of the many that trot around town as an alternative to chickenbus transport

The Bukkitingi Canyon, 10 mins walk from town

The view from our room at the Khatini guesthouse

We were sad to be leaving Sumatra where Bukkitingi again delivered some of the friendliest people we've met. Paying exactly what the locals do for everything from food, taxi’s, chicken buses and goods was so surprising we were delighted every time - thank you Sumatra for such a lovely stay.

Leaving Sumatra

The best ad I've seen in a while, thanks Air Asia!