Sumatran Buses...

...They only have two speeds: stopped on the side of a winding road so massive trucks can get by or hurtling themselves at top speed along those same winding roads. This observation comes after my first overnight bus ride in Sumatra (the second one in Asia).

In India, I was accustomed to the overnight travel and had actually started looking forward to it. Although I would wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of snores, whistles, and loud crackling announcements at stations, it was all somewhat soothing to think of waking up in a new place. Here in Sumatra things are a bit different -- the looking forward to new place in morning feeling still exists -- but snoring is the least of your issues in the middle of the night.

The bus itself was quite pleasant as the seats reclined almost to a horizontal position and there was even a toilet on it just in case. However, waking up in the middle of the night to the bus swinging like a pendulum as the driver attempts a muddy path (note my lack of the use of the word road) up a steep grade, was semi-terrifying. I am pretty happy I consider myself an optimist because at that point, I think it was necessary to chuckle at the situation and attempt to close my eyes again. (note again, it took a while to fall back asleep as I couldn't seem to stop swaying and rolling)

As the bus rolled into an early morning rest stop and I went to find the ladies room (I don't think this is too much information?), the positive attitude continued as I realized the ladies room did not include individual stalls but actually a couple of different pit/squat toilets with nothing dividing one from the other. I had a moment of thinking maybe the bathroom on the bus would be a better option but decided to go for the communal toilet in the spirit of adventure.

After all, how many people can say they went to the bathroom standing next to a Sumatran woman washing her clothes (yes, literally next to it)?

Sometimes I attempt to compare these travels to something I have experienced before but I consistently cannot come up with anything. Then, yesterday, I had a thought. Maybe all of these crazy bus rides, lack of rules and regulations... can it be compared to what my parents generation did when they were my age? Traveling either across the US or Europe? My mom said she used to hitchhike... Anyways. These are all thoughts of an Asian traveler. Who is currently in Java. and staying very safe.