Sungai Penuh — The Great Sojourn

53 - Liwa to Sungai Penuh (Sumatra, Indonesia)

I’m not famous and likely will never be so. I’m okay with that. Besides, I’ve had enough of a taste to get the flavor of fame and stardom. In Sungai Penuh, I entered a restaurant for lunch and thought I heard a record scratch. Not five minutes after sitting down, three Indonesian teenage males surrounded me. One politely asked (in English) if he and his friends could join me. I hardly got to the “y” in “yes” before they sat.

A teenage female sitting nearby saw this as the green light, pulling up a chair next to me. She was very sweet with kind eyes and a soft smile… and hellbent on a photo. She handed her cell phone to one gent, and the session began. One photo was taken with her standing and me sitting but this didn’t cut it…

Indonesia 2, Batch 10by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacMarch 1, 2020Sumatra, Liwa, Bengkulu, Sungai Penuh, Indonesia

54 - Orang Pendek & Motivation Frustration (Kersik Tuo, Sumatra)

I also visited the national park office for information on Mt. Kerinci, receiving another wet blanket in return. The mountain was closed due to frequent eruptions. This confirmed what Yan had told me, but I needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth. The horse beat me down like a panda in a Chinese zoo. I remember thinking, How do you close down an entire volcano?

I was mildly optimistic about park exploration, and far too excited to take the rational step of waiting another day for lickin’ chicken to work its way through my system. The morning of my departure north was something of a poopfest…

Indonesia 2, Batch 10by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacMarch 1, 2020Indonesia, Sumatra, Sungai Penuh, Kersik Tuo, orang pendek