We took a cab through Medan (the largest city in Sumatra) because we couldn't figure out how to catch a local minibus to Pinang Baris, the long-distance bus terminal. The cab ride cost $2. At the end of the ride I wanted to kick myself for having wasted $80 skydiving in New Zealand. For 1/40th of the price, I got twice the thrill, and it lasted about 20 times as long.

The driver simply would not stop. There was absolutely nothing that would make him stop. We went around, over, and under things that in any other context would be considered insurmountable obstacles. The high point of the trip for me was a particularly special passing maneuver: He'd pulled out across the median to pass three cars that were driving side-by-side in the two lanes on our side of the road. But then we were facing a giant truck barreling toward us. Your ordinary cab driver, in a case like this, would have put his tail between his legs and returned to the proper side of the road. But not this man. He pulled across another lane of oncoming traffic, at full speed, and passed the three cars, the truck, and another oncoming bus, by using the unpaved shoulder of the wrong side of the road. And then he wove his way back to the correct side without even pausing his conversation. Now that's driving.

On the way back, we figured out the minibus.