Motorcycling in Bukittinggi

We were definitely back in Islam country - the call to prayer started at 4:15 this morning and there were dueling mosques all blasting the call to prayer at full volume. One of the mosques not only did the call to prayer, but also broadcast the entire morning service. There was no sleeping in this town. We handled a few administrative details- changing money, and arranging for our final bolt from the group in Java. Although we were going to forego our tour money, we just couldn’t take group mode and seeing more volcanoes…so we’re going to do the last part of the trip on our own. Once we started to price the options, it was even more upsetting—to think that we were paying $100/day for something that we could coordinate easily on our own for ¼ of the cost. We just had to chalk it up to the learning experience….but what a painful one!
Once we took care of the admin stuff, we headed for the panoramic view of the Indonesian “Grand Canyon” (Sianok Canyon) and to the Japanese caves (these caves were actually a network of tunnels built by the Japanese using Indonesian slave labor in WWII- their construction halted with the end of the war).

On our way to the museum, we admired a motorcycle – a new red 120-cc bike- and the owner asked if we wanted to rent it….a mere 25,000 rupees for ½ day (about $3.00). How could we resist? There is a “helmet law”, so we got our undersized, plastic helmets (more like batter’s helmets) and gave John’s drivers license as collateral! Nothing else—no contract, no insurance- just an agreement to return the bike by 6:00 p.m.



After a quick stop at the military museum- nothing to write home about- most of it was in Indonesian and it was a bit hodge-podgy.

Then we headed off on the bike for the hills. The tribe here is the Minangkobau—the only matrilineal tribe in Indonesia. We made our way to Koto Gadang, a village known for silversmithing and bought a few earrings and a charm- for about $10.

Then, it was back to town and a trip around the Fort (Fort de Kock), a bit of antique shopping, a run through the market and back to the Star Café. It was a strange sight- sitting in a bar filled with Caucasians drinking beers (yang dingen), listening to James Brown singing “Livin in America”, while the Muslim women walked by in their hejab- looking in at us with either stares or smiles. The tourist trade has completely died in Indonesia, largely due to the news stories about riots in Jakarta and Ambon. There was basically a small core of backpackers and a few small tour groups- but the towns were for the most part empty. It made it great for us- the exchange rate was fantastic ($1 = 8500 rupees) and everything was extremely cheap- but the people were really suffering.
After dinner and street scene entertainment, we headed back towards the hotel with a stop for a “grilled corn on the cob”- grilled then coated with chili sauce—it was excellent!