Above: I was surprised my guesthouse provided a peluk, gulung or bolster. It’s a cuddle pillow.
Leaving Berastagi
I woke to a dry morning, thinking that it would be OK for me to attempt climbing the volcano Sibayak. Popping out, I couldn’t see the two nearby volcanoes. The whole sky was grey. I thought, if I can see the volcano from here, then there would be nothing to see from up there! I did take an hour’s walk as token to find the trail going up. As I’m still coughing and spluttering from my cold (which Kim and I caught in Hong Kong), my disinterest in the climb was soon confirmed.
I left Berastagi a day earlier than planned, by shared taxi ride to Medan in an old jalopy of a Toyota Kijang. It cost IDR50,000 door-to-door instead of the IDR10,000 by bus. The thing with bus travel is that it would arrive at a station which would require a intra-city private taxi which could cost much more.
Pillows and Bears
Since I was back in Medan a day earlier than expected, I didn’t have any accommodation sorted. Fortunately I was able to get a room at JJ (Jimmy Janssen) Guesthouse, which turned out to be a little out of the way.
Strangely, Medan (at nearly sea level) was cool and dry (not humid). I did without the air-conditioner and felt like I needed a blanket over my feet. Strange but true! But the guesthouse didn’t supply them and that’s not entirely a bad thing as they’re not always washed between guests.
On the other hand, each bed was set up with a peluk, gulung or bolster in English. It is a long sausage-shaped pillow that is over a metre long. Despite being called bolster in English, it really gets cuddled between the arms and the legs. I’ve always thought it was an infantile insecurity thing that I don’t sleep well without it. My friend Marie calls it my Pillow Bear.
But I met an English nurse who sleeps with a modern version of this, called a “body pillow”. She explains that it keeps the chest and hips open, and the body more aligned as well. It was designed for pregnant women but she believes it’s good for everyone. Now I know the medical explanation for my very special need!
Mandi vs Shower
Unfortunately many guesthouses don’t come with hot water. I find a cold shower less bearable than a cold mandi (traditional style washing where you scoop water from a tank or bucket using a large ladle and pouring it over yourself).
My theory is that when you’re pouring it over yourself, the body is prepared for the cold water is going to hit you … a bit like how you can’t tickle yourself. To make it more bearable, my Mum used to dabble me with the water in key sensory spots (head and chest if I remember correctly) chanting “Oh semangat!”