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 dusty, the TV didn't work, and worst of all, the bed was covered in dead mosquitoes. I tried brushing them off, but most of them just smeared all over the sheets. The blanket was really thin, so I shivered the whole night on a bed of smeared mosquitoes.

In the morning, I was amazed. The back of the room has windows that open up to a veranda with a gorgeous view of the lake. It was absolutely breathtaking to watch the sun rise over the lake and mountains. With that having been said, I'm told that this is the nicest hotel in the area, so I don't recommend that anyone ever go out of their way for this trip. There are other lakes in mountains in Sumatra that are near better hotels and are warm enough for swimming. Avoid this hotel if possible.