Blogs from Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

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Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba August 2nd 2014

Medan ist eine heiße, laute und schmutzige Stadt und ich hatte es eilig, zu meinem nächsten Ziel, dem Tobasee zu kommen. Der Tobasee ist der größte Kratersee der Welt und mehr als dreimal so groß wie der Bodensee. Er liegt in einem gewaltigen ehemaligen Vulkankrater und ist vor etwa 70.000 Jahren bei einer gewaltigen Eruption entstanden. Heutzutage bietet der Krater keine Gefahr mehr, sondern eine idyllische Landschaft inmitten von Bergketten, freundliche Menschen, gute Luft und Ruhe (weitgehend). Die Anreise gestaltete sich jedoch als eine recht langwierige Angelegenheit. Zwar waren die Straßen nicht nur für südostasiatische Verhältnisse in einem guten Zustand, jedoch war durch den islamischen Feiertag Idulfitri (in Deutschland nach dem türkischen Begriff als "Zuckerfest" bekannt) die Straßen derart verstopft, dass schon in der ersten halben Stunde klar war,... read more
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Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba May 11th 2014

Sunday, 11th May 2014 The 3 of us spent the earlier part of our day taking in the beauty of the morning skies as the sun rose over the horizon of Lake Toba. The lake presented itself as the perfect antidote of peace and quiet - a travel wishlist for city dwellers like us. Our idyllic breakfast consisted of both Indonesian and Western favourites. These were served at 7.30am at the balcony of our room. Every breakfast set we ordered came with a nice serving of fruit platter to start our day on a healthy footing. While waiting for the rest of the folks to join us in the afternoon, 3 of us went through a long trek around Tuk Tuk Town. The full circuit took a good 3 hours to complete under the hot sun. ... read more
Healthy breakfast for the day
Holiday chalets, Batak styles
From the top

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba May 10th 2014

Saturday, 10th May 2014 We were missing out on 1 passenger as our Valuair Flight, VF281 made her final descend at the modern Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan. WX had unfortunately missed her flight this morning and it was decided that she would be travelling together with CC & HQ on the following day. So it was left with the 3 of us on day 1 of our programme as we started our long journey from Singapore to Lake Loba. After what must have been more than 40 minutes delay at the Medan customs, we hopped onto the car which would bring us to our destination in about 5 hours. An hour on the road later, our driver dropped us at Restoran Bahagia for our delicious Nasi Padang lunch. The various dishes were neatly laid ... read more
Lunch at Restoran Bahagia
The Kwan Im Temple at Siantar
Our lovely homestay, the Horas Indah

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba July 19th 2013

Horas ! The chaos in the baggage claim area of Medan airport gave us a taste of things to come in Sumatra. We exited to a barrage of locals, taxi drivers and tour operators offering to 'help'; and for once we were really glad to have arranged for a driver to meet us to take us directly down south towards Danau Toba. We were escorted through the crowds and spent the next hour and a half in grid locked traffic on the outskirts of Medan. Eventually we reached countryside but were still caught in a stream of traffic of cars, lorries, motorcycles and becaks all the way down to the shores of Danau Toba. Our driver seemed to enjoy weaving in and out of the motorbikes and overtaking on sharp bends, blasting away at his horn ... read more
Dokan Village, near Berastagi
Gunung Leuser National Park
Reef off Gapang, Pulau Weh

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba June 21st 2013

"You might find it difficult to leave." So said LP, about Lake Toba, my next destination. Having already travelled my fair share and compared notes against LP and Wikitravel's sometimes overly-generous hyperboles, you couldn't blame me for initially being somewhat skeptical. In any case, there was first the small matter of a 20h bus-ride-from-hell to deal with, crossing from Bukittingi in West Sumatra to Parapat in the North. I normally try to break up such crazy bus rides, but it seemed there weren't any particular places of note that would have been natural stopping points in between, while a domestic flight would have entailed much back-trekking, and ultimately maybe even more time (and of course, money). And this trans-Sumatran journey seemed to be part of the whole backpackers' experience, so I gritted my teeth and just ... read more
Traditional Batak Song & Dance
Wow, wow, wow...
Brutal Bus Ride from Bukittingi to Parapat

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba October 21st 2012

After weeks of frantic preparation, my World Tour Number 3 was underway. Leaving friends and family behind once again to explore far flung countries, climb mountains, discover exotic foods and hack through jungles with my trusty machete. And not forgetting the less glamorous side of squat toilets, sunburn and mosquito bites. In the week prior to my departure, my preparation had mainly consisted of eating all the food and drink I would be missing on my travels. My last Roast Dinner. My last Bacon Sandwich. My last pint of English Ale (actually, i had quite a few "last ones" of those). Each meal was eaten with great ceremony and reverence, although it was actually just an excuse for a week of gluttony. By the end I was like a fat little seal with an extra layer ... read more
The biggest Mosque in Medan
Zena and The Pavement of Doom
Room with a view

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba October 16th 2012

Location: Inner Sumatra. Date: Millions of years ago. Event: A catastrophic volcanic blast created basically the largest crater on Earth, which over time with the help of rivers and rain became Lake Toba! A large island rests in the middle of the lake, laced with jungle, and home to the friendly Batak people who possess a mysterious past... And that's exactly where I'm headed. So, hop on the back on my motorbike as I zip around this rock and unveil its secrets. A Brief Batak History The ancestors of the Batak people are known to be from Yunan province in China. Legend has it, they arrived in Indonesia by canoe around a thousand years ago or so, and based the style of their houses on the canoe-like shape. Stone Chairs: Just like it sounds. A bunch ... read more
Stone chairs
Batak style
Lake

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba September 4th 2012

Danau Toba Part II This blog is being written on a train to Beijing so bear with us while we figure out where we left off. Pretty sure we told you about our motorcycle trip to the north end of the island so we can pick up after that... After seeing the north end of the island, we had yet another “nothing” day. That means we sat on our porch reading, taking regular swim breaks and not going much farther than our guesthouse or Joe's (a nearby restaurant with killer Chicken ala Batak) for food. With so much time left, we decided we wanted to see more of the island so we rented a motorbike the following day and headed south. Our map had a barely legible written arrow that said “views” so we wanted to ... read more
Tuak Shack
Cleaning Fish
Tyler Riding South

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba August 27th 2012

Our trip from Berastagi to Toba wasn't too bad. We decided to get here by taking public bus which meant 3 cramped vans/buses and a ferry - cramped meaning 15 seaters with 24 people in them leaving standing room only and two people literally hanging out the door! Luckily, all of our bus connection points went extremely smoothly. Whenever we got off one bus, another was waiting to take us to our next destination. In Parapat, the ferry boarding town for Tuk-Tuk, we met a local named Roman who asked where we were headed. We had been recommended a guesthouse by a friend in Berastagi, so we told him MAS Cottages. A huge smile came across his face and he exclaimed “That's where I work!”. When we got to the island he got us some free ... read more
Lake Toba
Stone Chairs
Riding North

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Lake Toba May 9th 2012

Tuk Tuk is the first village you embark on Samosir Island. Samosir Actually isn't an Island because there is a very little connection with the mainland on the other side. Lake Toba is the biggest lake in Indonesia, formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption around 30.000 to 75.000 years ago. The island Samosir is nearly as big as Singapore, and the lake is up to 450meters deep! This is a part of Batak Kingdom, a people that kept all other tribes and religions out until missionaries started popping up all over the world. They are proud of their history and folklore. Always a guitar within reach. After Skyes and Papas early morning dip in the lake, breakfast with probably the strongest coffee so far. We got ready for the day, until very late none of our ... read more




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