Pantai Bungus, West Sumatra

We met an interesting couple while in Lake Maninjau, a frustratingly cheerful young tour guide from Bukittinggi named Tom showing around his latest Western girlfriend (Indo dudes + backpacker gals = common theme in Sumatra).  At this point our Indonesian visa was running low on days and with West Sumatra getting old quickly we sprung on Tom's idea of beach bliss. 

The punch-drunk youngsters organized us a place in their car so we could all split the cost.  We should have known by the name alone it was a dead end, but he seemed to think it was heaven on earth.  With a few days to spare and a flight out of Padang (only an hour away from Bungus) in a few days, we went ahead and joined them.

We had a fabulous Padang-style lunch just outside of Bukittinggi.  This one was complete with dozens of dishes including local specialties like boiled internal buffalo organs and crispy lakefish.  I stuck to the vegetables and curried fish.  Delish!

My favorite part was the dessert!   Sticky rice, coconut milk, condensed milk, sweet mystery sauces, syrups, fruit and ice all piled on top of one another.  I never got your name, but I will never forget thee.  It put Vietnamese Che to shame...

Once we arrived at Bungus, our jaws dropped.  It was possibly the worst beach we have ever been to in our lives.  No wonder, after all, it does rhyme with FUNGUS... and we did hitch a ride with lover boy and his quixotic romantic ideals. What did we expect?  What was once a beautiful tropical cove was now a toxic soup.  The shores lined with trash and the locals listless and menacing with fishing and tourism on a perpetual decline.

Below are the ONLY photos I took while we were there.  The first is of Gavin helping the local fisherman drag in their net during a monsoon rain storm.  It was a devastating sight to watch their reactions when the driftnets were finally dragged in after four physically straining hours of work.  The effort of ten men procured them only one crab and a couple mid-sized fish to sell at market.  Defeated they trudged into the twilight...

This is the monkey who lived at the rotting, malaria-infested bungalows we flopped in.  She was ecstatically neurotic, but you would be too living on a short chain in Bungus Beach for your entire life.  She thought this kitten was her baby and Gavin claimed to have briefly communicated with her one night.

  She groomed and loved her darling cat, but I'm afraid the love was unrequited.

This is the sunset from our final night in Bungus.  It was the best of the whole trip.  Unfortunately, we missed most of it as we were battling the thick layer of mosquitoes covering any piece of exposed flesh. 

There is one reason to visit this part of the world, the isolated isle of Pagang, an hour boat trip down the coast.  Think of the ideal tropical beach and your description should match up.. but we'll save that for another post. 

The Central Highlands of Vietnam: Lak Lake Resort

Lien Son is situated on the south-west side of Ho Lak, the largest body of water in central Vietnam depending on the season (it voluptuously swells when the rains fall).  Upon dragging our weathered souls into town, we followed prominent signage to one of the only hotels in the area, the government-run Lak Lake Resort.  We had read a few reviews on the place online, and weren't expecting much, so we were prepared for the rustic, austere rooms and aloof staff.

Feeling hollow and sweat-soaked after the drive, we retreated to our drab room for showers and a lay down.  Upon examination, we thought it might be best to put up a mosquito net before getting too comfortable!

Seeing as though there wasn't much to do in town during the evening, we retired to the cavernous lakeside dining hall for an early dinner and a hard-earned marathon beer session.

Needless to say, we were delighted by the array of simple, fulfilling meals offered (although the Marxian spirit is still burning here and many items on the menu are consistently missing-in-action).  We loaded up on inordinately large heaps of sauteed vegetables, noodles, fried rice, and succulent local catfish (Ca Loc) broiled in a sugary, rich caramel sauce.  The joy continued when we received our bill each night - under $15 for multi-hour feasts.

The next day, after getting lost in the surrounding countryside for most of the afternoon, we returned to the resort and wandered through its labyrinthine garden: complete with spiky jack-fruit trees, exotic insects, geckos galore, an embarrassingly dilapidated swimming pool, and picturesque views of the tepid lake.

Apeing the local architecture of the M'Nong villagers, the resort had a number of traditional, thatched long-houses where budget travellers could opt for an insect-thick, communal existence.

 

 Bad place for a honeymoon, superb place to crash for a few days after an intense motorbike journey.

Mosquitoes

We are all averse to infectious diseases. They can leave us unwell, bed-ridden, or dead.  In Vietnam, there is an active mosquito community.   I am sure they have a philanthropic side, but generally they are parasitic, insidious, and indefatigable.  Besides the scarlet hillocks of pain they leave behind on our epidermal landscape, they also disperse bountiful gifts such as dengue fever and malaria.  Malaria is more of a rural malady, but the urban model of con muỗi found here in Saigon doesn't disappoint - they are physically slight, quick on the wing, insatiable, and an unabashed dengue carrier.

Dengue Fever - "Sleepwalking Through the Mekong"


As the prevalence of mosquito-borne illnesses is relatively high in these parts, I have dedicated a small part of my domestic livelihood towards a very noble and humble cause - self-preservation. Excuse the trite war metaphor, but here is a sampling of the weaponry I've employed during this protracted conflict.

Electric racket - sadistic, instantly effective, and entertaining.  Fun for the whole family, but bad for karma.

Raid Plug-Ins - an American device that spews a noxious, perfumed scent.  Your house smells faintly like a French bordello and I'm convinced they do nothing. Classic placebo effect.

Mosfly coils - a recent addition to my arsenal. However, after some cursory research, I discovered that burning one coil over eight hours emits as much formaldehyde and carcinogens into the air as roughly 100 angry cigarettes would. Cough, sputter, cough, hack...

DEET-based repellents - good for everyday use, but you tend to feel as if you're on one, long, interminable camping trip.

Geckos - they supposedly find mosquitoes tasty, but does that mean they also find human blood tasty? Are our seemingly innocuous reptilian housemates secretly plotting to devour us in our sleep?

Antihistamine creams - we've discussed the prophylaxes, but how about post-bite treatment. This promethazine-based pharmaceutical is a wonder drug that we first purchased in Italy after a bedbugs episode. Our bottle is running low.  Consequently, our future looks bleak and itchy.

According to a fascinating and slightly misogynistic Vietnamese myth, we can thank the flighty social-climber Nhan Diep for making the Mekong Delta a haven for these winged beasts. READ THE TALE HERE