I saw plenty of cats, maybe two dogs, and a large number of monkeys while traveling through the jungle-filled mountains this week! Housecats and stray cats are very common in Indonesia. One can often find them in local shops, called warungs, inside restaurants, or even around Masjids (mosques). Since Indonesia is predominantly Islamic, affection for cats is high, as they are widely considered the Prophet Muhammad's favorite animal. In addition to pets, I also saw plenty of geckos inside my home, and kids feeding peanuts to macaque monkeys. What a unique sight!
Early this week, I visited what was basically a large island within an island, inside of a lake formed out of what was once a volcano! Since teachers were on holiday this week, a co-teacher and I visited Samosir Island, which sits inside of Lake Toba and is about the size of Singapore. It was quite the experience getting on a boat to visit a place that feels like it should exist out in the ocean. Looking out from the island into the port town of Prabat feels just like you're looking out into the shore of the mainland.
A very popular route to and from Padang (the nearest port city) experienced flooding this week, which caused the only bridge on the route to collapse. When one follows the roads and highways leading out of the port city, you travel up hills, pass by waterfalls, and are able to see plenty of valleys just outside your window. A temporary bridge and the use of other roads are allowing people to continue on with their commute.
