In the morning we discovered a great breakfast we wish we had discovered a long time ago. It's so simple: a pineapple. We went to the same warung with the English-speaking owner. She made us fried rice and tea with sugar. Joan wanted some fruit juice and eventually the woman suggested a pineapple. She went next door and bought us one then brought it back and cut it up for us. This cost 10 cents. It was delicious. Super sweet and amazingly juicy. We left Kotanopan after one of the most filling, tasty breakfasts we've had in Indonesia.

It was a good thing. Soon after we left we started climbing a huge hill we had not expected. The sun burned down on us and we climbed in the same direction as a light breeze so the affect was no breeze whatsoever. We knew it was going to be a long hill when the motorcycles coming down the hill had their engines off. Everyday in Indonesia I have sweated like a faucet but that morning I sweated like a knocked over fire hydrant.

Eventually the climb turned into a dramatic descent. For the first time we rode through a couple "shanty towns." In the narrow valley we saw about a three-acre area covered with hundreds of small one room wooden shacks with small doors. Each shack stood on heavy stilts of couple feet off the ground. At the first shanty town we saw almost no people. Maybe it was abandoned, maybe they were all out working. The shacks were so small we did not think they were homes. We thought they were for some agricultural purpose.

However, the next shanty town had lots of people and we realized they were indeed sleeping quarters. Mostly the people seemed to be hanging out at a larger wooden building that had a TV playing MTV. We stopped and immediately a swarm of men surrounded us. Some even spoke some English. They seemed just like the people from other villages. Mostly they dressed neatly and were interested but polite to us. Their apparent poverty made me a little nervous but they did nothing to make me feel that way.

The rest of the day was not too hard as we rode up a wider valley. We passed a nice looking hotel near Panyabungan. Around Panyabungan we also started seeing bicycle rickshaws again. This is a good sign. It means the road will be flat for a while. In the hill towns you don't see many bicycles - they use these cool looking motorcycles with sidecars instead. (The sidecars have two side-by-side seats but few western-sized people could fit that way. Sometimes six, seven, or more kids will cram in and on the sidecar.)

Here's a typical drink break. We stopped at large restaurant with tables enough for a Kennedy wedding but almost no one inside. Outside was a big rough gravel parking lot. Of the five people we saw inside, I think three worked for the restaurant. Maybe they were waiting for a tour bus. Everyone was watching a broadcast from the Indonesian parliament - something like C-Span. Everyone stared at us but no one spoke to us except the waiter. It's odd to be the center of attention yet ignored. Although after a while we liked being left alone like that.

Here's another drink break. We stopped at a clean little shop shortly after crossing the river. We stopped because we could see a refrigerator. The owner treated us very well and pulled out colorful little plastic stools, the kind we see all over Indonesia. A crowd of children quickly formed around us and on a table under a nearby tree but they were silent. In the valley all day we had heard loud choruses of "Hallo Meestir!" and just general out-of-control screaming from kids just like these. But as we sat outside the shop, they wouldn't say a word to us, even if we asked a question. We bought two packages of delicious Marie cookies. The young store owner said they were a product of Medan. We bought one package for us and one to share with the kids but the children refused even a single cookie.

The road continues to be flat and easy until about five or 10km from Padangsidempuan (sometimes Padang Sidempuan or just PSP) at which point we started rollercoastering in and out of steep ravines.

PSP is a pretty big city but not very interesting or scenic for tourists. We ate two portions of a very spicy chicken satay. We almost always get soft drinks in 295ml (10oz) bottles. I usually need at least three of these which makes me appear totally gluttonous to Indonesians. They can spend 20 minutes sipping 10oz while I only need about 20 seconds. One of the most useful phrases I have learned is "Tolong, satu lagi" or "Please, one more." Still I try to pace myself and save most of my drink for after the spicy foods.

We walked around town just a little. We saw lots of christmas lights and even a statue of a reindeer. We were getting into to Christian country. I especially remember a view from the bridge. The river gushed through a deep steep sided ravine. Far above at the top of the ravine the houses are somewhat cantilevered over the edge. At the edge of one of these a women stirred a big pot-bellied bright silver pot over a fire spewing lots of white smoke.

As usual we seemed to be the only guests at the hotel. At these places people want to be helpful and are very friendly but really there's not much they can do for us.

We had not noticed the night before but the hotel, and in particular our room, was right next to a mosque. Apparently PSP is not entirely Christian. At 5 a.m. we got the usually blast of morning moaning from the mosque's Rolling Stones-concert-sized speakers. Is there a verse in the Koran, "Blessed is the A/V crew?" I could not imagine say, the Baptists deciding that they were going to start broadcasting "Onward Christian Soldiers" loudly from every single church five times a day, including just before dawn. Even the Methodists would not put up with that. But I guess they do here.

Next: The hardest ride on the Trans-Sumatra highway.

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