In Tanzania, I rode a "piki-piki" just
about every day in order to get out to the school where I was
working. I loved this part of my days—cruising down the dusty
roads, past the tiny villages and the farmers tending their crops,
the breeze in my face and the bright blue sky overhead. Gazing at the
scenery and enjoying all of the new sights, this was easily one of my
favorite things about our time in Africa.
Here in Asia, too, a scooter or
motorcycle is often the best way to get from place to place, and
certainly the best way to see a lot in a small chunk of time. When we
were in Malaysia, we made the excellent decision to rent a scooter
for a day, and explore the island of Penang. It was one of the best
days we've had on our trip so far. We picked up a scooter for a mere
30MR for the day (about $10) plus a negligible deposit and the small
amount of gas we used. Map app in hand (I can't even begin to
describe the extent to which modern technology has aided us on this
trip!), and another blogger's tips in our heads, we set
off. With Sean at the wheel and me clinging on the back, we quickly
began to feel comfortable as we headed south, through the whizzing
traffic and away from the city. The island of Penang is relatively
small. With a circumference of only 70 kilometers, and basically one
road going all the way around, it's an ideal locale for a day trip.
As we rounded the south end of the
island, we found a nice little trail that lead up to a viewpoint
overlooking a peninsula and the Malacca Straight, which divides
peninsular Malaysia from Sumatra. On our way up the incredibly steep
road, we ran into a group of peacocks stretching out and fluffing
their feathers in the sun.
At the top, there was a forgotten-looking restaurant where we stopped for a drink and to enjoy the
quirky garden area. These sorts of off-beat places are pretty common
here, and seem to be catered mostly towards Asian tourists who appear
to enjoy them thoroughly. We, on the other hand, aren't exactly sure
what to make of them besides funny photos, but then again, perhaps
that is the point.
As we continued around the island, we
pulled over now and then to check out a beach or small fishing
village, if for no other reason than that we could. We loved
having the freedom to take our time, to pull off whenever and
wherever we liked. We stopped only briefly most of the time, finding
the people to be occupied with their daily business and the places
without much for tourists to do. All the same, we enjoyed getting a
peak into the lives of the people on the island, and taking in the
scenery at our own pace.
Our favorite find of the day was a
place called “The Nutmeg Factory.” Having learned about another
traveler's visit there, we kept an eye out as we drove. After going
through the area where we expected to find it, and convinced that we
must have passed it, we stopped to turn back to have another look.
Sure enough, as we made our U-turn, we spotted it, not fifty feet
from where we'd pulled over (how on earth had we missed it?).
We were greeted by an incredibly
friendly woman who showed us around their little shop and offered us
samples of all of the nutmeg products they make. We purchased a few
of our favorites.
As it was getting towards lunch time, we inquired
about the restaurant next door. She informed us that the small
restaurant served by pre-arrangement only... but then she did the
nicest thing: she went and asked the kitchen staff if they might have
anything for us. They had just prepared an extensive lunch for a
large family who had been 'in-the-know' and who had made arrangements
ahead of time to come. The owner-chefs said they had plenty of extra,
and invited us to sit. They offered us no menus, but instead promptly
brought out dish after dish of delicious traditional Malaysian food.
Relishing in our unexpected and special meal, we eventually had to
ask them to please not bring any more—we were stuffed!
When we'd finished our lunch and
thanked our gracious hosts, we headed back over to the factory. The
woman who'd welcomed us offered us an in-depth explanation of the
nutmeg fruit and what they use the various parts for. She
then insisted on giving us free re-fills of the home-made
nutmeg drinks we'd bought before sending us on our way. We were
thrilled that we managed to find the place, and couldn't thank her
enough for the kindness she showed us.
We continued on past fruit stands and
waterfalls, weaving through switchbacks and climbing the steep green
mountains. We stopped for a while at a small beach in the afternoon
and even managed to visit the extremely opulent Kek Lok Si temple as
the sun went down before finishing our loop and returning the
scooter.
We were amazed by how much of the island we saw and
experienced this way, and could hardly believe we hadn't tried this
approach long before. We agreed there was no beating a scooter in
terms of getting around, and vowed to make more explorations of SE
Asia this way.
Last week, while visiting Lake Toba, we
thought we'd have another go at a scooter rental. Toba is the largest
volcanic lake in the world, and is also the sight of the largest
known explosive eruption on Earth in the last twenty-five million
years. This eruption—which took place around 70,000 years
ago—created the extraordinary caldera that exists there today, and also may have been responsible for both a global temperature drop and the population bottleneck which occurred in Asia around that time.
Classified as both a lake and a “supervolcano”, Toba covers a
whopping 1,130 square kilometers (about 436 square miles) and is 505
meters deep. Like all of Indonesia, the area is still volcanically
active, with the most recent (small) eruption at Toba occurring in
1987. The most notable feature of the lake is the large island in the
middle which has slowly formed post-eruption and continues to uplift
due to the magma underneath it. Being that Sumatra itself is
surrounded by ocean, Samosir, as it's called, is an island within and
island.
When we arrived on Samosir Island, we
knew immediately that renting another scooter would be the perfect
way to explore our new surroundings. We came across numerous places
offering scooters for rent, all for the bargain price of 8,000
Indonesian Rupiahs (about $8) including gas. Done and done.
This time we set out in search of a
place where we'd been told a group of locals performs a traditional
Batak dance each day. Knowing only the general area to look in, and
having forgotten to ask more details, we had a bit of trouble finding
the place. After turning back several times to look, and all but
giving up, we eventually found it when we came across a road marked
by a large sign that read “Traditional Batak Dance---->”
(Guess we didn't need those details after all).
We arrived just in time to hear the
music starting and were handed an information sheet as we entered
through the stone archway. As we settled in next to the small crowd,
we were shocked to read on our handout that one of the dances they
were to perform involved slaughtering and distributing the meat of a
buffalo, one of which happened to be tied to a tree in the center of
the area and surrounded by dancing Bataks...
We watched respectfully (wondering
what we'd gotten ourselves into) and hoped only that the
'buffalo-slaughtering' portion of the dance wouldn't end up being the
same part as the 'audience participation' portion that was also
mentioned on our sheet.
Sure enough, after about twenty
minutes, the 'magician'—who was leading the dance—approached the
crowd, offering us each a sash similar to those the dancers we
wearing and waving us onto the “stage”. As we faced the Batak
dancers, he led us in some basic rhythmic movements mostly involving
hand gestures and a slight bouncing of the knees. He then told us to
follow him and began making a large, slow circle around the buffalo.
After the first complete circle, we began a second, this time
exchanging a series of chants of the word “Horas!” (a traditional
Batak greeting and well-wishing) with the line of dancers as we
passed them. We then formed a line, and then dancers did the same,
offering us each an enthusiastic “Horas!” as they made their
loop. And then the dance was over. The magician collected our sashes,
and thanked us for coming. The lucky buffalo was untied and led to a
shady patch of grass behind one of the houses. We both breathed a
sigh of relief before gathering our things and venturing into the
nearby Batak museum. As it turned out, the Bataks were just as
respectful of us (and of our western desires to be entirely removed
from the killing of our livestock) as they seem to be of everyone
they come in contact with.
We set off again from the dance and
headed for our next destination: a natural hot springs on the other
side of the island. After stopping briefly for lunch, we crossed a
bridge over the small strip of water separating Samosir from the
mainland and followed signs up a steep hill to the springs. We found
them steaming hot and nestled in the rocks behind a restaurant.
They
were almost completely deserted, save for one other traveler we had
seen earlier at the Batak dance. We threw on our suits and enjoyed a
nice long soak and a chat with him in the sulphur-filled pool.
Wonderfully relaxed, we enjoyed another look at the island's houses
and neighborhoods as we scooted home.
Just yesterday, we arrived in Pai—a small
town in Northern Thailand where we'll be working for the next six
weeks. We were met at the 'bus station' by Beth, the director and
lead teacher of The Banyan Center, who immediately advised us to rent
a motorbike to use during our stay here. At a mere 2000 baht (about
$60) for a whole month of rental, a scooter was the obvious choice
for getting around the area. We loaded our packs onto our new scooter and
hers and she led us through Pai and up the short road to the school.
Passing through the picturesque town, we struggled to balance our
luggage on the motorbikes and admired our breathtaking new surroundings.
As we pulled up to the school house—which will double as our
residence while we're here—we gawked at the neon-colored clouds
which adorned the tops of the mountains, ablaze from the setting sun
and offering us an exquisite welcome to our new 'home'.
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