After a couple of days in Bukittinggi, we travelled further southwards to the very small village of Kersik Tua. Kersik Tua is located on the base of the fantastic Mount Kerinci volcano. Sumatra has many volcanos and we definitely want to climb one. We decided to climb the Kerinci volcano because it is still active, it is the highest mountain on Sumatra (3805 metres), and because it is located in Kerinci National Park. This park is famous for its birdlife. Many endemic bird species of Sumatra can be found in this park. So, you probably will meet a couple of fanatic birdwatchers in Kersik Tua if you decide to visit this park. Unfortunately, also this park suffers a lot from the still ongoing logging activities in the park. So, it is doubtful if this park will stay as special in the future, as it is today. Eventually we climbed the volcano, but it was a really tough ‘expedition’ for us. It was a typical example of “glad that we did it, but we wouldn’t do it again” (see also the photo impression and article of Kerinci NP). After our visit to Kerinci NP we had to spend a full day in the bus again to get on the Trans Sumatra Highway. But by the time we reach the town of Bangko on the Trans Sumatra Highway, we are stuck for one day. All the buses southwards are full for the next day, so we have to wait for one day. Bangko is not really an interesting place, but it is nice to stay there for a day to experience Sumatran town life. You will get a lot of attention, because they do not see a lot of foreigners in Bangko. But finally on Sunday, we got on the bus at 2.00 pm for the 21-hour bus journey to the city of Banda Lampung, in the very south of Sumatra. We were looking forward to this city, because we heard it is the place where you can take a middle class hotel room for a very reasonable price. And that is what we wanted after a couple of weeks staying in basic hotels.

After arrival in Banda Lampung we checked in in the Andalas hotel and enjoyed the hot shower, the good bed, the simple breakfast buffet and the nearby Pizza Hut. We loved the salad bar and it gave us the necessary vitamins that we didn’t get for a long time. We even treated ourselves on a lunch at McDonald’s. Oh man, it is great to enjoy these simple western luxurious ‘things’ once in a while. We found the typical Sumatran food a little bit disappointing. Of course, there are probably many upscale restaurants where you can have great Sumatran food, but if you eat in the places where also the locals go, the choice is limited. Most of the time you have to choose between Nasi Goreng (fried Rice), Mie Goreng (noodles) or Nasi Padang. Nasi Padang is some kind of buffet where you can choose between different dishes. The dishes are eaten with a lot of white rice. However, the dishes are most of the time limited to meagre chicken legs or pieces of fish full of bones, which means that the main element of the meal is the white rice. Sauce or vegetables is unheard of. Not the type of food that fills the stomachs of western people who are on the hop all day. For convenience’s sake, we do not take into account the different kind of curries that we would never consider, like for instance the cooked cow skin of the leg. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. We heard that the Javan kitchen is much better. We hope it is true, and we will know it somewhere in the next couple of days when we go to Java. That will be the time that we can also gain the kilo’s again, that we lost during our almost 6 weeks journey through Sumatra. But the fact that we lost these kilos was probably our biggest luck in Way Kambas, when we unexpectedly looked into the eyes of a wild tiger. He probably thought: “I am not going to put my teeth in these western skeletons” (read the whole story here). So, thank you Sumatran kitchen for letting us live!