Some fun kids I met while waiting 4 HOURS for my bus to Sibolga, followed by a brutal rainy and mudslide-filled 6 HOUR bus ride to Sibolga, a crap hotel because I missed the night boat, a 3 HOUR boat ride to Gunung Sitoli on Nias Island, and then a 4 HOUR minibus ride to Sorake Beach - and there I was surrounded by homophobic and racist Kiwis, desperate local hawkers, and a destroyed beach. Excellent decision I made. But these kids' smiles made it worth it. Not really... but I can trick myself into believing that.
Ok, so the scenery at Nias was unspoilt (save coconut tree stumps - center) and gobs of trash (out of frame) whipped up by earthquakes and flooding.
My favorite beach shot of Nias Island.
Yet another animal kingdom coupling caught on film. Doin' it lizard style.
The lovely clear river in Bukit Lawang. We camped next to this for two nights and on the third day rode innertubes down the river back to our guesthouse.
Erwin, the Dutch guy who was on my jungle trek. We then headed to Lake Toba, a lake in a collapsed volcanic crater (background). Here are taking a ferry from Parapat to Tuktuk, the main hangout joint on the island in the middle of the crater (see background, to left).
Typical traditional house of the Batak people, indigenous to Sumatra. It is supposed to be reminiscent of a buffalo.
Here I am being ritually tortured because I pretended to a criminal in a Batak village. If you committed a crime, you were judged by 10 kings, and if guilty, they blindfold you to eat your last meal. Then they beat you. Then they cut you repeatedly. Then they poured salt, lemon juice, chillies, and garlic into your wounds. Then they cut off your head. Finally, the kings and everyone in the village ate your flesh. They claim the last time this happened was 1812 after missionaries from Holland and Germany said it was bad. But today there are no criminals! So says our guide. Sumatra was surprisingly Christian, after a bunch of missionaries made them so. Only Medan, the biggest city, and Banda Aceh are predominantly Muslim.
The view from my porch while staying in Tuktuk, with a view of Lake Toba. I would jump off my balcony into the clear lake for swimming. Perfect temperature.
The famed Petronas Towers. No longer the tallest building in the world, but they say proudly, the tallest TWIN towers in the world.
One of the prettiest birds I've ever seen. At the KL Bird Park. Poor thing is confused and thinks he is a monkey.
KL sunset from the planetarium courtyard.
The 2 meter (6ft) cobra that slithered less than a foot in front of me as I walked to meet my jungle trek guide in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. This was before I even started my trek!
Cheeky monkey. Orangutans are amazingly human like. Absolutely fascinating to watch.
Some fun kids I met while waiting 4 HOURS for my bus to Sibolga, followed by a brutal rainy and mudslide-filled 6 HOUR bus ride to Sibolga, a crap hotel because I missed the night boat, a 3 HOUR boat ride to Gunung Sitoli on Nias Island, and then a 4 HOUR minibus ride to Sorake Beach - and there I was surrounded by homophobic and racist Kiwis, desperate local hawkers, and a destroyed beach. Excellent decision I made. But these kids' smiles made it worth it. Not really... but I can trick myself into believing that. 
Ok, so the scenery at Nias was unspoilt (save coconut tree stumps - center) and gobs of trash (out of frame) whipped up by earthquakes and flooding. 
My favorite beach shot of Nias Island.
Yet another animal kingdom coupling caught on film. Doin' it lizard style. 
The lovely clear river in Bukit Lawang. We camped next to this for two nights and on the third day rode innertubes down the river back to our guesthouse.
Erwin, the Dutch guy who was on my jungle trek. We then headed to Lake Toba, a lake in a collapsed volcanic crater (background). Here are taking a ferry from Parapat to Tuktuk, the main hangout joint on the island in the middle of the crater (see background, to left).
Typical traditional house of the Batak people, indigenous to Sumatra. It is supposed to be reminiscent of a buffalo.
Here I am being ritually tortured because I pretended to a criminal in a Batak village. If you committed a crime, you were judged by 10 kings, and if guilty, they blindfold you to eat your last meal. Then they beat you. Then they cut you repeatedly. Then they poured salt, lemon juice, chillies, and garlic into your wounds. Then they cut off your head. Finally, the kings and everyone in the village ate your flesh. They claim the last time this happened was 1812 after missionaries from Holland and Germany said it was bad. But today there are no criminals! So says our guide. Sumatra was surprisingly Christian, after a bunch of missionaries made them so. Only Medan, the biggest city, and Banda Aceh are predominantly Muslim.
The view from my porch while staying in Tuktuk, with a view of Lake Toba. I would jump off my balcony into the clear lake for swimming. Perfect temperature.
The famed Petronas Towers. No longer the tallest building in the world, but they say proudly, the tallest TWIN towers in the world.
One of the prettiest birds I've ever seen. At the KL Bird Park. Poor thing is confused and thinks he is a monkey.
KL sunset from the planetarium courtyard.
The 2 meter (6ft) cobra that slithered less than a foot in front of me as I walked to meet my jungle trek guide in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. This was before I even started my trek!
Cheeky monkey. Orangutans are amazingly human like. Absolutely fascinating to watch.
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