Motor bikes and Batak Dancing

Wed. Feb. 6, 08
Shannon and I strike out for the opposite side of the island on motor bikes-4 speed Honda. Sun block is applied, sunglasses, shirt sleeves rolled down (me), helmet in place. Watch out for the water buffalo with a braided rope through the nose. Some are tethered along the road or in a field, others roam free. Still others are tended by a young boy. Chickens, goats, pigs, and dogs ae all part of the traffic. Luckily, there are relatively few vehicles. Driving is on the left. Shannon takes the lead. Honking at her means stop. photo op. She is confused by the, "Wow, get a load of that blond babe" honks from vehicles passing both directions and she checks to see if I want to stop. No. It is 43 km to Pangurura. The road follows the coastline, we are headed around the island's north end and arrive after 2 hours looking for an ATM, cell phone shop and lunch. Food is found in a crowded market square where we park 3 deep near a police van. When someone needs to move a car the motor bikes will be shifted to the side by the vehicle's driver. No need bothering the owner/renter of the motor bike. Lunch is noodles with a fried egg. We find the ATM where Shannon only draws a small amount. With the crowds looking on, caution is exerted. We talk with a shop owner and find why my cell phone hasn't been working, and head back. Shannon's sense of direction is keen and we head back after several wrong ways on one ways. We arrive back at the hotel at 4:00, and go our separate ways. Meeting again at 7:30, we walk to Bagus Bay (restaurant) for some dinner and Batak dancing. The Batak people are extroverted feeling and yell their greetings,Horas. The dance movements are simple, the music happy. Few are present, which makes for a personal touch. 10:00 finds us back and sleep comes quickly.