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…
Hopefully, the Wisma DU is NOT a Google Maps mirage!
Tuesday, February 7, 20236:41 a.m. Room 12, Wisma DUPangkalan, Sumatra, Indonesia This is quite a change from yesterday morning. I’ve woken up inside a hotel room instead of my tent. Oddly enough, being inside this hotel room doesn’t automatically present ALL advantages. It’s mostly more comfortable and easier, of course….
An Unusual Place to Sleep
Monday February 6, 20237:07 a.m. Travel Gulamo CampsiteSumatra, Indonesia I’m writing these words from a fairly unusual location. I rode forty or fifty kilometers out of Bangkinan yesterday, and I arrived at the place I had picked out in advance. It’s a small village at a large bridge going across…
Counting the Days Imaginatively
Friday, February 3, 20236:35 a.m. Room 4, Tengkong Kost(SPOT ON 91950 Guest House TekNong Syariah)Bangkinan, Sumatra, Indonesia These are strange times on Planet Doug. I have a flight from Padang to Kuala Lumpur booked for February 14. Padang is two hundred and fifty kilometers away. Yet, I’ve just been hanging…
Will this ATM give me any money?
Wednesday, February 1, 20237:44 a.m. Room 4, Tengkong Kost(SPOT ON 91950 Guest House TekNong Syariah)Bangkinan, Sumatra, Indonesia My excursion to get money from an ATM was successful yesterday. I had a vague memory that the last time I was in Indonesia, I had good luck at the Mandiri bank, and…
Making Choices: Booking a Flight from Where to Where?
Monday, January 30, 20237:57 a.m. Room 4, Tengkong Kost(SPOT ON 91950 Guest House TekNong Syariah)Bangkinan, Sumatra, Indonesia I don’t have a lot to say about Indonesia or my life here this morning. I had some plans to go exploring yesterday, but I started editing a video, and much of the…