Chris off to Sumatra (revisiting 10 years on)

Hmmm. There is a distinct correlation developing between snow in Zurich, and papa heading off to the tropics. Good planning perhaps! Some pics here, which are I think his stopover in Medan (the entry point to Sumatra, being just across the water from Peninsular Malaysia), and arriving at his final destination of Aceh, North Sumatra. Our first proper travelling trip to the tropics was also from Malaysia to Sumatra (after lazing on Tioman Island), except we took the slow, public boat from Melaka in Malaysia across to Dumai, Indonesia. I remember we had a rough plan in our head, but we were pretty much making our minds up from bus station to bus station, or boat terminal to boat terminal where our next destination was to be. Chris said Sumatra seems so much more developed now (first visit was over 10 years ago in 1999). We also went to Melan after Bukittingi, but no swimming pool or fancy hotel then (I would have run a marathon in the opposite direction!). Instead, we had a long distance bus trip, which literally took us over the Equator (I remember it was literally marked on the roadside!).