Saturday, February 25, 20236:48 a.m. Village HouseNegari Sariak, Sumatra, Indonesia I’m sitting on the bed in my room at this house in the village. I just finished taking a cold-water bucket bath that was very refreshing. The mother of the family, Ibu Noor, was busy frying up some lunch or…
Category: Planet Doug Journal – 2023
Last Day in Kuala Lumpur – Shopping for GoPro Mount
Tuesday, February 21, 20238:44 a.m. Room 607 Nan Yeang HotelKuala Lumpur, Malaysia This is it, my last day in Kuala Lumpur. My flight to Pekanbaru is at 4:40 this afternoon. With the time change, I actually go back in time and land at 4:35. As far as I’m aware, the…
Sleep Patterns, TV Series “Garcia”, & Itchy Boots’ New Trip
Monday, February 20, 20236:01 a.m. Room 607 Nan Yeang HotelKuala Lumpur, Malaysia I now find myself wishing I was staying in Kuala Lumpur a bit longer, even a week longer. I’m flying back to Sumatra tomorrow, and it feels like that is too soon. I could use some more time…
A Week of Errands and Being Social in Kuala Lumpur
Sunday, February 19, 20237:28 a.m. Room 607 Nan Yeang HotelKuala Lumpur, Malaysia I’ve been wanting to finish this story for a long time, but I seem to have very little time each day. Let me try again. It’s interesting to wake up in Kuala Lumpur after my two months in…
From Bukittinggi to the International Airport near Padang
Friday, February 17, 20236:40 a.m. Room 607 Nan Yeang HotelKuala Lumpur, Malaysia I’ve jumped ahead quite a bit, and I’m currently sitting on the bed in my room at the Nan Yeang Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. I was considering a range of places to stay here, including that pod place….
The rain! Oh, the rain!
Monday, February 13, 20237:02 a.m. Room 204, ReddoorzBukittinggi, Sumatra, Indonesia Here is my question for the world: When will it stop raining? And I don’t mean today or this month or this year or in Sumatra or in Malaysia or in Thailand? I mean in my life, ever? Why does…
I Arrive in Bukittinggi – Wet and Muddy!
Sunday, February 12, 20237:03 a.m. ReddoorzBukittinggi, Sumatra, Indonesia Well, I am here. I arrived in Bukittinggi yesterday afternoon after a relatively short ride from Payakumbuh. And, to be honest, it feels a bit anticlimactic. I haven’t seen much of the town, to be honest, so I can’t really say much…
Some Logistics and Planning
Friday, February 10, 20239:03 a.m. Room P3, Wisma FlamboyantPayakumbuh, Sumatra, Indonesia I woke up at a more reasonable time this morning. And I just came back from the Wisma Flamboyant breakfast. They have an actual dining room in the back, and they lay out a small breakfast buffet. It isn’t…
The Best Day Yet in Sumatra
Thursday, February 9, 20233:36 a.m. Room P3, Wisma FlamboyantPayakumbuh, Sumatra, Indonesia I made a mistake this morning. I was woken up by slamming doors, shouting voices, and a large truck backing out of the parking lot. I checked my bedside phone, and I saw that it was just after six…
Kelok 9, Monkeys, and Climbing in the Day Ahead
Wednesday, February 8, 20235:10 a.m. Room 12, Wisma DUPangkalan, Sumatra, Indonesia There should be three or four interesting aspects to today. The first is that I will likely be climbing a lot and will finally ascend to somewhere close to the levels of Bukittinggi itself. In hotel reviews for that…