With a move to New York City looming, I wanted to spend my last few days in Indonesia somewhere serene and remote - where I could relax, reflect, and gain composure before jumping back into the hustle and bustle. I spotted a cluster of coastal islands on a map called Pulau Banyak, due west of Lake Toba. They seemed ideal, and we were thrilled when Adam and Michael decided to join us.
The trip to the coast took a while, and by the time we caught a boat out to the islands it was late afternoon. We stayed in a town called Balai that night, and the next day hired a boat to Pulau Palambak.
There are five bungalows on Palambak, owned and operated by a charming couple with a lively young daughter named Leila. The interior is marshy and covered with coconut palms - no roads, no paths, and only a handful of other shacks where fisherman or coconut farmers live. We pretty much had the whole island to ourselves. Adam and Michael brought fishing poles and fly fished every day. We did a lot of swimming, card playing, walking along the beaches, and snacking on coconuts. It was perfect.
After four flawless days we left the island. Adam, Michael, and Susan ventured further south into Sumatra, and after almost six months in Asia, I started my long journey back to the states. After a quick stop in San Francisco I made my way to New York City, my new home.
That was almost a year ago, and since then I’ve completed my first year of graduate school at NYU. These last four posts were long overdue, but it’s better late than never, and right now I’m already underway on my latest adventure... The Mongol Rally.
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