Travelling across Sumatra
Broadly my plan was to start at the North from Banda Aceh and then travel my way south. At that point, I thought I should be able to travel by bus between the different cities and provinces, but soon realized that the distances were too much and bus journeys were over 15 hours. I then changed my tactic and decided to do flights between the provinces and bus journeys within a province which would be 4 to 7 hours which was doable.
I had come during Ramadan and this was good as well as bad. Good because traffic was low in the day time and accommodations were easily available. Not so good because the hustle and bustle is all part of the experience which you miss out. The Eid Holidays however is a different story. Buses and flights were not available. However the crowds were not big compared to say peak season in India.
Exploring the Provinces
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| Sumatra Map |
- Aceh - Banda Aceh and Pulau Wei Island
- North Sumatra - Medan towards the coast as the base and then the forests of Bukit Lawang and the highlands of Lake Toba and Berastagi
- West Sumatra - Bukittinggi, Padang and Mentawai Islands
- Central Sumatra - Jambi
- South Sumatra - Palembang
Observations
Infrastructure
The Island of Sumatra is underdeveloped compared to Java. There are no train lines and travel is mainly by road or by air. Transport options are less and distances far. This makes the provinces isolated from one another. The main highways are all two laned and good, but public transport is limited. To travel within a province, one needs to get shared taxis or hire a taxi similar to travelling within India. The big cities however have Grab which is very convenient. Flights are the easiest way to travel between the provinces. Most of the big cities have airports with small regional airlines servicing them.
Quality of accommodation is average except in the big cities and in Lake Toba which is more touristy. Wi-Fi is not very good in hotels. However mobile data is everywhere, inexpensive and speeds are decent, so its a life saver.
Tourist spots and museums are chargeable and reasonable so that basic maintenance can be done. Museums are all in Bahasa language and not too well curated, Google translate is a God send!
Average costs would be Rs. 2500/- per night for hotels, Rs. 1000/- per night for Guesthouses, Rs. 250 for a meal and Rs. 100 for coffee. Dinner is typically at 0730, but many shops are open till late.
Languages and Culture
Many provinces have their own language and the major languages are Acehnese spoken in the Aceh province, Batak which is a language family with several dialects, including Toba and Karo, spoken in the highlands of North and West Sumatra and Minangkabau, the native language of the Minangkabau people in West Sumatra.
Indonesian people are friendly and approachable though communication is a challenge as English is limited to only known tourist spots. Google translate is a must for menus and can be used to understand food dishes. I used Perplexity AI this time to get information on places and food and it was quick and efficient!
Drinking is limited and liquor is difficult to get and available only in Chinese owned establishments. A lot of men and teens smoke and smoking is allowed in public places which is going to be a big health issue for the country in general. For non smokers, pubs and bars are not convenient, as smoking is allowed inside. Similarly, smoking is allowed inside hotels, so one has to make sure that accommodation is on a non smoking floor or section of the hotel.
Women are independent and visible in public places, drive on roads and manage front end work in shops and hotels while men do most of the backend work which is the case across South East Asia.
Ordinary public workers are professional and have a sense of pride in their job and not entitlement like you see often in India.
Cities and Civic Sense
Cities are like Indian cities, however they are less crowded, have sidewalks and every one mostly follow rules. Compared to Java, garbage is relatively higher and there are more street dogs. Civic sense is less and public places dirty, but the government is efficient in cleaning streets up. There is absolutely no open defecation and this seems to be a problem only in the Indian sub-continent.
Nature and Environment
Sumatra is a great place to experience nature at its best. My must see and to do experiences were the Sumatran Orangutan, Lake Toba and the Sibayak volcano trek.
There are Palm plantations all across Sumatra like in Malaysia and though there is deforestation, large tracts have been protected by making them National Parks. However, there is continued environmental pressure due to growth of mining and plantations. As connectivity improves and a new railway line network which is being planned gets developed, this conflict will only grow.
Indonesia is one of the world's greenest countries with 51% of land area under forests. It is also one of the fastest growing countries in the world with a large young population and one only hopes that they are able to balance development with environment protection.
