Bukittinggi - only locals

We arrived in Padang last Friday evening. Padang was our first stop in Sumatra, only for a night. The city is on the coast, so the seaside promenade is very pretty. However, at night, most streets don't have light. So we had to walk around with a torch because the sewer holes are on the sidewalks and are not covered. I guess locals are smart enough not to walk on the sidewalk at night. I was just amazed by how easy it would be to get injured. We walked and walked looking for the bus terminal but couldn't find it. The map we had was not accurate, and not being oriented stresses me out. Consequently, Padang was a little disappointing.
The following morning we took a minivan bus to Bukittinggi, a small town up the mountains. We liked it a lot. One of the reasons is because we didn't see many tourists. I can count with one hand the number of tourists we've seen in our first 3 days in Sumatra. We are so rare that we've been asked numerous times to be on a picture standing by giggling locals. Also, we answered dozens of questionnaires from high school and colleague students. It seems that the English teacher sent them out to practice their English with foreigners, so some approached us trying to make conversation, some were more practical and handed out their notebooks instructing us to write our names and sign, end of business. With all these photos and autographs, I feel I'm a jet setter. I like this town :)
On Sunday we went to nearby Lake Maninjau. The road approaches it from the top of a mountain, the view from there is beautiful. We trekked down from the lookout to the lake. We wonder if people take the 2-hour path often because it was right through the jungle, at times we couldn't even see a path. It didn't show signs of much traffic, just monkeys eating durian. It was really fun and slippery, and as usual I fell on my bum to show my love for local mud. After the jungle, we crossed rice paddy fields to arrive at the bottom (see picture). After lunch by the peaceful lake (so huge and blue, and no boats or any activity on the water), we went on another trek, up a hill for 45 minutes. The purpose was to see a blooming Raflesia, an almost 1-meter wide red flower with five rubbery petals and a spiky circle in the middle. So rare that it didn't seem real, but very famous in Sumatra, and we were lucky to be there when it blossomed. The reason I say lucky to be there is also that the trek to the flower was the hardest I've ever done. We had to climb down on hands and knees, holding on to branches to avoid sliding downhill. Luckily we made it, and the flower was really worth it. So far when I think of Sumatra, I think of jungle. Ah, and I'm limping today.
Back at Bukittinggi we had dinner at Anita's restaurant. She was the friendly owner that would advice us to order less food because she didn't like leftovers. Only here a restaurant owner would tell you to order less food. She was like a mother.
On Monday we woke up early to have a full day of transit. From Bukittinggi we took a 1.5-hour ride to the airport, then a 1-hour flight to Medan, then a 3.5-hour drive to Prapat, and finally a 1 hour ferry to our hotel Toledo Inn in Tuk Tuk, a little town on an island in Lake Toba. Tuesday should be a day to just relax...
Mercedes