RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Dearest Friends,

There had been lots of opportunities for travel since we had arrived in Indonesia. Groups of women were always going somewhere -- especially those who were there without children and didn't have much to do. Mostly I had declined their invitations, thinking my kids were too young to be left, we needed to save our money, there'd be plenty of time for that later, etc. However, as I slowly came to realize that this might well be our last year in Sumatra, a sense of panic set in. There was so much I still hadn't seen or done! What if I never got the chance to visit this part of the world again? It was right around then that one of my friends (I think it was Carol) announced that she was organizing a ladies' trip to West Sumatra. Traveling to such remote places without my hubby involved stepping waaaaay outside my comfort zone, but hey, it was now, or never. I took the leap. Oh my, my, am I ever so glad I did.

The Rumah Gadang, or big house, wit pointed roof tips resembling water buffalo horns.

West Sumatra is home to the Minangkabau people, a matrilineal culture where property and land passes down from mother to daughter. Men don't have much say in village activities, concerning themselves mostly with religious and political affairs. Padang, the capital and largest city of W. Sumatra province, was to be our first destination. It is a common transit point for surfers traveling to nearby islands, and for tourists, such as ourselves, headed for the W. Sumatran Highlands, including Bukittinggi (High Hill) and Lake Maninjau. I knew next to nothing about any of the places we were headed, but one thing I knew for sure -- I was headed for a grand adventure!