Liang Merdeka July 2023 Part A. The journey there. We missed our bus, had to take two others.

We took a grueling trip into the Aceh forest three to four hours away from Kabanjahe, North Sumatra. We asked our friends to arrange for the bus to wait for us and reserve two front seats, but things fell through. In the end, we ended up staying the night in Bintang Meriah, three hours away from our final destination. You'll see our journey from Bintang Meriah to Liang Merdeka. We climbed steep mountain roads that were mostly very rough and jarring. The views were amazing...if only the busses or Land Cruisers were a little more comfortable, it would have been an even more amazing trip. What makes this trip so special, is of course the people. We love Tanah Karo (The Land of the Karonese).
This land is host to many farms of corn, candle nut, cloves, tapioca, bananas, papaya, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, and so many others. The high mountains are so beautiful. I wish we had a helicopter to explore them easier. I saw some limestone cliffs that made me curious about caves (goa) and other things to explore.
I hope to visit this place for a week each month and provide basic education for the village.