The dreams of a Batak lady

Indonesia, Sumatra, Lake Toba, Tuk Tuk,
21-02-2009.

According to Mama Ceska untill about twelve years ago the Dutch airline company KLM used to fly into Medan three times a week with big Boeings unloading up to 350 Dutch and German holidayers all making it to Lake Toba, the number one tourist destination on Sumatra. However the Muslim autorities in Medan realising that the Christian Batak people were making tons of money while the rest of Islam oriented Sumatra could only watch the big line of tour buses loaded to the max with hard currency packed Europeans fast tracking it to Lake Toba leaving huge clouds of dust behind but pas d'argent.

KlM's landing rights for Medan Airport were doubled and doubled again while the Batak people in Tuk Tuk were busy turning their houses into hostels and guesthouses, restaurants and souvenir shops borrowing money from the Muslim owned banks on the main land, they quite literally thought that the pine trees that cover their precious island would grow all the way to heaven and beyond as their dutch visitors would say.

Muslim jealousy also grew all the way to heaven and beyond with KLM landing rights doubled once again. Needless to say that KLM decided sorry Batak people but enough is enough and we'll continue flying on Jakarta and JogYakarta but Medan is a no-go area for us as of today!!!

In Tuk Tuk every second house is a hostel, restauarnts in between and souvenir shops where the junk spills out into the street but no clientêle, maybe 40/50 backpack travellers in all of Tuk Tuk where once a full 1000 Europeans were crowding the sandy streets of this tranquil village.

The locals have turned back to their former occupations, women tending the rice paddies and doing the household chores as is comon in the Northern Thai and Burmese societies the Batak originate from while their menfolk sit around and drink Bintang beer probably discussing their next visit to Parapat's br*thel.

Young local Batak ladies on scooters touring the main streets to nearby villages offering me rides during my hikes, trying to talk me into eating at their restaurant, my place cheaper than the Carolina Hotel where I stay for a meagre 20.00 Ruppies - 25.000 Rupies for a big bottle of Bintang beer, just to give you an idea of how absurt the prices for accomodation are on Lake Toba though Carolina Hotel is basically a three or four star hotel!!!

All these ladies would love to marry an European ferringi and live it up back in ancient Europe instead of withering away on Lake Toba, maybe a couple of half-caste children and an European toilet she can comfortably sit on instead of that hole in the flor somewhere in the back of the family house, a washing machine instead of doing the laundry by hand at the nearby lake, diapers fore her baby instead of freaking around witha all these dirty rags...well, I'm reasonably sure you get the general idea of the life of a Batak girl in Lake Toba and her dreams.....

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