We left Melaka today on a ferry to Dumai in Indonesia. On the ferry we were given a cupcake, 2 jellies and a water! When we got to Dumai we got through customs, where we were advised we could get an overnight bus straight to Lake Toba. Customs was funny, as they had to get Andre to crouch down when they patted him down, all the customs guys were laughing! The customs officer who advised us about the bus, got a guy working for the minivans (cheaper than a taxi) to get us to a bus ticket place. Must say there really was nothing in Dumai and it felt like a major culture shock! Once we got our tickets, the driver asked if we would mind visiting his brother who runs an English class, we had 5 hours to kill so we went. We taught the first class, who were lovely....
Then we got a class of at least 30 primary school kids. Talk about enthusiastic!!!!!! Apparently they finish school at 12 (and school is more to keep them entertained than learning) unless they pay to continue school. Not much english is spoken in Indonesia, yet everyone in Malaysia speaks english. The english teacher (next to girl in pink scarf) is very passionate about Malays learning English and is always keen for tourists to come and stay (free accommodation and food in exchange for teaching english) so that the kids have a chance to pratice with real English people! We are hoping to go back there for a bit, but have to see how we go.
After that he gave us a ride back to the bus and we started what was meant to be a 12 hour bus journey! It was hell!!! everyone smoked on the bus, there was dried fish and most of the windows didn't open and no air conditioning or lights. And the road was the bumpiest crazy road! At hour 14 our packs got put off the bus, and off the bus went, leaving us in the middle of no-where (not at our stop!) with no-one able to speak English. We eventually worked out that Parapet (where we should be) was 2 hours away, and a mincab would take us there. There was 22 people in that minicab (same size as Nelson minicab) and it was not 2 hours. however when we arrived, we found out, that was actually part of the bus journey and didn't cost extra. what a nightmare! But now we just had to catch a half hour ferry to an island in the middle of Lake Toba in a town called Tuk Tuk. more on that in the next post!
After that he gave us a ride back to the bus and we started what was meant to be a 12 hour bus journey! It was hell!!! everyone smoked on the bus, there was dried fish and most of the windows didn't open and no air conditioning or lights. And the road was the bumpiest crazy road! At hour 14 our packs got put off the bus, and off the bus went, leaving us in the middle of no-where (not at our stop!) with no-one able to speak English. We eventually worked out that Parapet (where we should be) was 2 hours away, and a mincab would take us there. There was 22 people in that minicab (same size as Nelson minicab) and it was not 2 hours. however when we arrived, we found out, that was actually part of the bus journey and didn't cost extra. what a nightmare! But now we just had to catch a half hour ferry to an island in the middle of Lake Toba in a town called Tuk Tuk. more on that in the next post!
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