Besides the potholes and the beautiful countryside, here are some of the scenes that we encountered along the way in Sumatra.
We came across this bride heading to the house of the groom early in the morning for their big day.

We usually came across all types of venders at fueling station. These seems to be skipping school for some reason. Fuel in Sumatra and in most of Indonesia is just terrible! You almost only get what is called Premium(4500 RP or $.50), which is around 85-87 octane, and that is if you are lucky! In Java you can find what is called Pertamax Plus, which should be 95 (6500-7000 Rp). But this is not widely available even in Java. And the wide variation in price between the two grades means plenty to be gained at mixing things at the pump! But the bike is still running with the aide of octane additives.

We met Fred, German biker on his way to Australia, in Penang, Malaysia and again in central Sumatra and rode together to Southern tip of Sumatra. And we always got a huge local reception where ever we went with the bikes. Always friendly but absolutely terrible at giving directions.

Rice fields cover great extent of Sumatran landscape.

Central Sumatra is mainly Catholic and churches come in all size an shape and nothing less than the best dress will do for the Sunday mass.