Author archive
15 January 2011
Following my long but rewarding transit in Doha, I then continued my journey to Muscat where I was picked up by Ammi. He and his wife Salome (and their super intelligent cat Jackson Pollock) are hosting me in Muscat. We met in Syria last year. I was super-tired when I arrived.
15 January 2011
Long Day I woke at 0430 in Penang to begin a long day: 0h55 flight on Malaysia Airlines to KL at 0640 arriving at 0735 2h35 of self-connect transit time in KL 7h45 flight from KL to Doha at 1010 with Qatar Airways, scheduled to arrive at 1255 but delayed slightly due to headwind 7h15 […]
14 January 2011
Today I went to the Butterfly Farm near Teluk Bahang. The bus ride took me through Batu Ferringhi which is the beach-hotel district. There were some nice resorts and the sea looked quite blue further out but brownish in many parts closer to land … I’ve been told by many that they don’t bother swimming […]
13 January 2011
Above: From the AirAsia inflight magazine on my flight from Medan to Penang. Begs the question … is there a minimum age for carrying a kavadi? He hasn’t got any body piercings … no skewers through the cheeks, no limes attached to his back with fish hooks (I think, since we don’t have a photo […]
13 January 2011
I fly back to Penang from Medan this evening, so there’s enough time to do the sights around Medan. I’ve done the Chinese/Nyonya attraction (Tjong A Fie mansion), so it’s time to do those related to the Malay royalty and the Muslim population. Firstly to Masjid Raya which is kinda next door from the hotel […]
12 January 2011
Visit to the Posh Hospital I went to the doctor today to have my cold looked at … I was cycling through various symptoms for the last 3 weeks plus … caught it in Hong Kong when Kim and I were there. I felt it was affecting my chest and ears. I can’t let it get […]
11 January 2011
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 […]
10 January 2011
Above: This picture of Berastagi makes it look quite nice. And it was taken when dry … without all that mud. Today I took a 3.5 hour shared taxi-ride to the town of Berastagi, also in the highlands. The surrounding area is very fertile and they grow lots of cabbage, carrots and other vegetables. Unfortunately […]
9 January 2011
I woke and found the guesthouse reception and restaurant closed. On the street, it seemed rather quiet. Shops that were open were unattended. Then I realised it was Sunday and most people were either at church or recovering from the night before. It’s hard to imagine that Samosir island some decades ago was home to […]
8 January 2011
I had planned on cycling to various sights around the island but it seemed a lot easier to go on a motorbike with Alfred (my German taxi-mate from Medan, and now neighbour in the guesthouse). It turned out to be a seven hour jouney with three coffee stops and a sightseeing stop too. We circumabulated […]