58) The centre of the Batak culture at Lake Toba: Photos 21 to 36

Our sightseeing trip from Bukit Lawang to Lake Toba was undertaken in a minibus, which by itself was not really uncomfortable but we felt the bad road conditions (potholes etc.) much more strongly. The first part of the trip led us back to Medan, crossing wide plantations of oil palms whose fruits were just being picked and transported to oil mills, and huge plantations of gum trees. The crossing of Medan did not consume too much time, there were relatively few congestions. Our next stop on the way to Lake Toba was Brastagi, a hill resort town established by the Dutch in the early 20th century as a retreat from the heat and humidity of the lowlands. Although the town does not have many specific points of interest, its position, surrounded by active volcanoes, is memorable and the place does not only cater for Western tourists but also attracts the Indonesian middle class, whose presence we saw here for the first time and which should accompany us for some more time. Around Brastagi we encountered a lot of buses which were so packed that regularly people had to sit on the roof, we even saw one guy playing the guitar up

Full Text Entry: 58) The centre of the Batak culture at Lake Toba

Part of the