The journey was not that bad, we had some music and talked about different things so it wasn't too boring. I realised I need to learn more facts about the UK to hit people with when they ask. After about three hours driving we stopped outside a house in a residential area. This was Abrar's family home and we went in to meet his parents. They had just got back from going on the Hajj in Mecca, the pilgrimage which all Muslims are meant to make in their lives. It was cool because I remember learning about that most years in school, and it was interesting to actually meet some people who have done it. They had brought back some mineral water and sweets from there which they offered us, very nice! Abrar's parents didn't really speak English so this was another opportunity to practise my Indo-skillz. I managed to understand about 60% of what they were saying but I need to get better at speaking, and being able to actually answer their questions. Abrar's dad is a school headteacher in Prabamulih and he invited me to go to his school one day. That would be cool if I can get a day off to go some time. Also, obviously had a picture taken with Abrar's mum so they can remember the day an English girl visited their house, and they gave me a bracelet that they had brought back from Arab. Such nice people, showing the hospitality that people think of when they think of Indonesians.
After arriving within the Pagaralam city limits, we stopped at a nice restaurant on stilts on a kind of little lake thingy. Here we had a meal of fish with rice and some vegetables. On this trip I learnt to do lots of things that are culturally different to the UK, like eating with the hands, no knives and forks! I wouldn't say I've got used to it yet, I still think it feels weird and I think less efficient than using cutlery. Maybe I'll get better at it some time.
We continued on and arrived at Gunung Dempo, a mountain in Pagaralam. The slopes of the mountain are covered as far as the eye can see in tea plantations, a truly spectacular sight. On the first day there was a mysterious mist to add to the atmosphere. We drove around the mountain asking in the numerous villas if they had room for us to stay. Every single one was fully booked for the night. We drove for what seemed like ages and after it had got dark, we found one with a room for us. It was the worst place I have ever seen in my life. The floor and all four walls of the room were covered in white tiles, which themselves looked greasy and unclean. There was brown damp all over the ceiling. There was a grotty bathroom tiled with blue and a dim light to add to the terror, if you've seen the film "Saw", imagine yourself in the room in that. So this mucky, blue, slightly spooky bathroom was host to my second Indonesian culture experience - the Indonesian bath. So an Indonesian bath is a lot smaller than the kind of bath you are thinking of, but still quite deep. This comes with a plastic pan thingy which you use to scoop out the cold water and pour it over yourself. The used water then goes down a drain in the floor and the water from the tub is not touched with anything apart from the plastic pot. This I did get used to doing but I'm sure it would be much nicer in an actual clean bathroom. To add to all of this the bathroom door did not close so everything you do in a bathroom had to be done with the door open, not ideal.
So you can imagine that in the morning we were not unhappy to leave that place. Looking on the bright side I now know that anywhere I stay will never be worse than that and I can appreciate everything more! So we drove to Mount Dempo again and had breakfast at a place that Kikky and Abrar stay at sometimes when they come to Pagaralam. It was a nice meal of fried rice and chicken. We also bought some strawberries there that had been grown on the slopes of Dempo. We then drove around to a place where there is a nice little waterfall. The weather in Pagaralam is a lot milder than in Palembang, Kikky would even say cold, but for someone from the UK it's just a nice, pleasant temperature. People were swimming in the pool of the waterfall, but we gave this a miss. Obviously a group of people asked to have their photo taken, celebrity snap of the day, number one!
Abrar then took us to a little place that didn't look like much if I'm honest. We walked up to a blue roof and fence which surrounded some stone statues. Apparently these were made by the indigenous people thousands and thousands of years ago, veeeerrry old. So this was quite cool to see. We then crossed the little stream to see some rocks which were positioned to make a little shelter. This was one of the houses which the people used to live in, although I think it was a replica because the rock looked pretty new. As we were crossing back over the stream there was a man with a camera approaching. He said he was from the local newspaper and wanted to take a picture of us with the statues. This included a very cheesy one of us looking at the statues in an enthralled manner. I wonder if we'll be famous.
As we continued to drive around, with the windows down, the number of shouts of "Bule!" (which means foreigner) or "Hello Misteeerr!" (which people say a lot because in Indonesian the word for he and she is the same) steadily rose. We stopped off at the market to by some coffee, then in a little traffic jam we had to wait awkwardly while people shouted and laughed. This is always done in a friendly way, but it is still kind of annoying. I don't think I'd make a very good celebrity. Anyway, I decided to see what would happen if the tables were turned. As I was awkwardly trying to avoid their gaze, the moment I looked out again there was a man almost right in my face. I got out my camera and tried to take a picture. As expected he immediately shied away. Yeah, that's how I feel too guys, learn from this!
That evening we stayed in a much nicer hotel, international standard, with a proper bathroom, hot water, TV and everything. Very luxurious and the ultimate contrast from the night before. Our final dinner of the holiday was spent at a seafood restaurant. We had a fish, duck and squid, very delicious.
So this was a great way to spend a few days off work, and it felt nice as not many western people get to see this place, felt special, and brought Sumatra higher up my ladder of favourite places in Indonesia. Go Sumatra, let's hope you bring me many more nice experiences and surprises, well done and thanks for a lovely weekend!
