I think I'll pay the extra money for the train

To be blunt, I’ve seen some crazy shit while driving in developing countries. Be it manning a motor vehicle myself, hitching a ride from truckers in Morocco, or hopping on a tourist bus in Thailand (where I’m decently sure the drivers are all drinking on the job), developing world roads can be quite dangerous. While this is a risk all budget travelers take, I found myself opting to fly or take buses more than ever while traveling in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Having not been to any other islands in Indonesia, I can’t make a blanket statement on the country’s overall driving. With that being said though, I can give my honest opinion that Sumatra is the most hectic and dangerous driving I’ve seen in all of Southeast Asia I’ve visited (including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar).

While typical local or tourist buses aren’t necessarily delightful, taking the small-shared cars known as, “travels,” is the absolute worst means of travel. Drivers blindly try to pass on hairpin turns, nearly taking out motorcycles and will honk, speed, swerve and slam brakes for the duration of the ride.

On my third trip in one, on a two-hour ride, I already saw an accident. A motorcyclist tried to run a gauntlet, and with the aggressive driving of our “travel,” and the large bus occupying the same lane, the motorcyclist was squished between the two. Though the driver ended up being OK, the money saved by “travel,” transportation, in my mind, is not worth the risk.

While statistics on accidents are showing huge numbers, I know by firsthand experience that public transportation, especially driving in “travels,” in Sumatra can’t be safe. Sure, bus travel is better for ecological footprints, as well as the budget, but at some point one has to look after their own life. I advice travelers in Sumatra to be very careful with land travel, and at all costs, try and avoid taking “travels.” 

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