I spent one night at Hotel Renggali, which is in the Gayo Highlands of Nothern Sumatra, next to Lake Laut Tawar. After a 10-hour drive from Medan, the first thing I wanted to do was use the bathroom. There was no toilet paper. The staff rolled their eyes when I asked for some, like I was being high maintenance or something. After that, the toilet wouldn't flush, so I had to get one of the staff to come to my room. He treated me like I was stupid for not realizing that their malfunctioning toilet has to be flushed not only by the handle, but also by turning the water supply on and off from underneath.

It was cold in the mountains, probably in the 50s at night, but there was no heating, and the bed only had two thin sheets on it, no blanket or comforter. Once again, the hotel staff treated me like I was asking way too much from them when I asked for a blanket. The hotel looks like it was built in the 1970s and hasn't ever been renovated or cleaned. Everything was... more