Some of the junior children at Lake Tekapo School, in the South Island of New Zealand, have sent their Flat Stanley’s on an adventure to Indonesia. Their class is learning about different cultures and their Stanleys are going to help out by sharing their experiences in Indonesia and maybe other destinations.
Medan is the largest city in Sumatra. From the airport the, Stanleys and I, took a train into the city.
It was not very far to my hotel from the train station. Google maps told me it was a 15 minute walk, so I decided to walk. It was a very interesting 15 minutes which felt much longer.. All of the locals were in cars, buses, becak (motorbike with a side cart) or on motorbikes. Have a look at the video below to see what the roads and footpaths are like in Medan.
There wasn't very much room left to walk on the footpath because they were crowded with motorbikes, food stands, building supplies, rubbish and so many other things.
The parking area beside a market.
The Stanleys and I only stayed Medan for two nights. It was too busy, loud and dirty for us and the locals weren't very friendly.
The boat trip from Gili Trawangan to Gili Air took about 30 to 40 minutes, as we stopped at Gili Meno to drop people off. The Stanleys and I traveled on a boat the same as the one above.
Hello Gili Air
When we got to Gili Air, all of the passengers had to step off the back of the boat. If you did not time it correctly with the waves, you got very wet. The Stanleys were safe in a plastic bag in my bag. I only got wet up to my knees.
Gili Air doesn't have any motorised vehicles, just like Gili T. These horses are waiting for some passengers. It costs 100,000IRD for a ride.
Some local children playing on a paddle board.
The Gili Air harbour is full of fishing, diving and passenger boats.
I hired a see-through plastic canoe. I left the Stanleys at home so they didn't get wet.
I could see fish swimming under the canoe. Most of the coral is dead so there isn't really any colour except for the fish. I have been told that fishermen used dynamite to catch fish and this is one of the reasons the coral has been destroyed. Maybe you can find out some more information about it. I wonder where the best place to look would be?
Locals unloading a boat of supplies.
The largest supermarket on Gili Air
There were piles of dried fish outside the door and they smelt like stinky old socks.
A local man heading out at sunrise to go fishing.
All sorts of things are carted in the horse carts. I saw rubbish, dirt and gravel, furniture and lots of people.
Children biking to school.
School in the Gili Islands starts at 8am and finishes at 12pm. All of the children wear uniforms.
