Without incident I cross the notorious (pirate) road from Melakka to Medan on Sumatra by ferry. I’m really looking forward to Indonesia’s many volcanoes, but first I watch semi-wild orangutans (they were released near Medan) in the jungle, climbing up to us through the trees and begging for bananas.
For general reassurance: my route does not lead through regions destroyed by the tsunami, nor through notorious trouble spots.