On the 27th July, the year of the monkey, for a reason that is still not entirely clear, we set off on an adventure to Sumatra (where the hell is that? why would you go there?) and Singapore (isn’t Singapore just a sterile stop over place?). We set off not knowing what we might find, but thoroughly loved our travels through two very different countries.
We kicked off with 3 days in Singapore, followed by a 15 day tour of Sumatra with just us and our driver, Dedy.
First stop in Sumatra was the city of Medan, then Tangkahan (elephant fun), then to Bukit Lawang (orangutan country). Next was Brastagi (a village in the highlands where the Batak cannibals made their home), then Lake Toba (for a rest) then Padang Sideman (the armpit of Sumatra - will not be mentioned again), Bukittinggi, a welcome respite (luxury at the Hills Novotel) and finally bustling Padang.
With the tour over, and back to the heat of sea level, the next 5 days were spent snorkelling, sleeping and especially eating at delightful Cubadak Paradiso - an island resort off the coast of Padang.
After many negotiations and with a great deal of fuss we finally found a vaguely sensible way to get out of Sumatra (by boat, then car, then plane, then car, then boat, then taxi…) and back to the safety of the Intercontinental Singapore for a few more days of big city adventure.