Lake Maninjau, Sumatra
A beautiful morning at serene Lake Maninjau

Why you should not return from SE Asia without a visit to Sumatra?

It is an otherworldly place. The only place we went in South East Asia where English was not understood, foreigners and travellers from outside were few and far in between, people were genuine and hospitable and no matter how hard we tried, we could not explain what vegetarianism meant.

People smoked all the time, everywhere: inside the air conditioned buses, in public areas and offices,  but yet they smiled so politely piercing your soul and warming your heart, that you don’t mind the smoke, the discomfort of the tight vans and minibuses, the crazy drunk drivers who are popping in tablets to keep themselves high.

The torrential rains and heavy winds made you feel as though they would blow the roof of your head and sooner than later the water would come gushing in your hut which they fondly call bungalows following the command equatorial climes but minutes later the sun would shine just as bright as the smiles of the people and dry your back like there was never a drop on it anyways. We could relax all day by the lake with no pressure of things to do and activities to be accomplished. Sumatra is one of those places where you just are rather than trying to be. It is for us the ultimate place to relax, a highly recommended “cool spot” by our definition.

For more information on Sumatra and what not to miss on the island…Read here

About Empty Ruck Sack

Empty Rucksack travelers is an attempt to bring together many wonderful stories of career breaks, long term vacations and great travel destinations together at one place. The posts authored by Empty Rucksack Travelers are put together by Vikram and Ishwinder, an Indian couple out on a long term travel to find that perfect place in the world where they may want to stay forever.

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2 comments

  1. I enjoyed this post, i travelled through south east asia and did not visit Sumatra.. i would love to visit, as well as return to many other countries i visited.. south east asia is magical 🙂

    • Jasmine,

      Sumatra is undoubtedly our favourite place in south east asia, we firmly believe if one comes all the way to SEA, then they should definitely head to india. Next time ur in Indonesia, spend a month or two in india as well

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