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Published: April 20th 2007
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From Aceh, I decided that my next stop in Sumatra would be Danau Toba (lake Toba). It took a solid night and day to finally get there, but when I arrived it was calm and welcoming. Toba sits at a high elevation, so the days and nights are not humid or have the oven-like temperatures of the Sumatran coastline.
My first thought of Toba was ghost town. 99% of the accommodations in the Toba area are in Tutuk. It's a tourist town with a hotel or inn every five feet. But where were the tourists? It was completely empty. I was literally the only one staying at my place and none other was crowded. Just rooms, rooms, and more rooms, but no one to fill them. When going around, another surprise was who the tourists were that occasionally filled a room. Most were Indonesian, not many foreigners. What happened was that before the Indonesian economy crash, Toba was a major tourist site. New hotels were always being built to take in travelers, but all of a sudden all the tourists stopped coming and only the hotels remained. Sad to see, but that's the gamble of overdeveloping. It did make
for some incredible deals. My place was built in traditional Batak style. I had my own cabin with two beds, two lofts, modern hot water bath for 35,000 Rp ($4 US) a night. great deal even by Indonesian standards.
When first arriving, one of the hotel tourist seekers asked me if I would like to go spearfishing with him and his buddies. For those of you that do not know me, this is one of my favorite hobbies back in Hawaii. I, of course, said yes with a big smile on my face. The spears they used were much heavier than the Hawaiian style. They had a fused, trident tip and used old motorcycle inner tubes for the elastic sling (Hawaii uses latex). They shot much slower than the spears I've been used to, but after a few shots I able to pick it up. We fished in a pair in the water right next to where they had a fire going to grill up the fish. Talk about fresh, the grill was already set up while we were still fishing. We just poked, handed it to a buddy for cleaning, then slapped it on the grill. So tasty.
Within two hours we managed it pick up about 25 fish. Not bad. I only contributed a third of that, while my partner doubled my catch. We ate that night till the point of our bellies almost bursting and talked and talked. Sleeping that night was extra easy.
When in Toba I rented a motorbike. The scenery around made for a very enjoyable ride. Most of the road was in good shape, but at some points it turned into dirt paths. Just make sure you're comfortable riding before attempting this ride. At one moment you're on a smooth road and then another you're in the mud hopping over rocks. Fun ride, but exhausting sometimes. From the road I was able to take in some nice views, see some waterfalls and check out the numerous Batak memorial plots. They have such extravagant housings for the dead. Many look like miniature versions of Batak homes and have a lot of detail. They're usually near the surviving family's homes and are all over the place. From the road almost everyone smiled as a zipped by and several school children would put out their hands for a quick high five. Nice people.
On my last night in Toba I saw a vendor selling durian. It's quickly become one of my new favorite desserts. Sumatra is famous within Indonesia for having excellent and cheap durian. The vendor was only selling them for 4000rp (45 US cents) each, so I picked up more than a few. I strapped eight to my bag and bike and was on my way back to the hotel looking like a crazy Bulei. When getting back, the staff came out. They were almost in a trance from the scent. It was like bees to honey. I bought so many to share, so quick smiles appeared after I said I wanted to have a durian chow down and they were invited. Never seen Indonesians so happy. We stuffed ourselves with the stinky fruit and I could still smell it the next day. Durian is one of those things that sticks with you for awhile.
After resting up in Toba I headed to Bukittinggi. It's a cool, slow pace town up in the hills. It had an attractive layout and some little sites to see. The first day I motorbiked to the nearby Rafflesia sanctuary. Rafflesia is the world's largest
flower and since I was in the area I figured it was worth a quick stop to see if any were in bloom. I thought it was going to be like a garden with some examples lying around. Wrong. I showed up wearing slippers and went along the well manicured path with my guide figuring it would only be a couple hundred meters away. The path got bumpier, then the bricks stopped. Only dirt from this point. Then the mud started and a hike was born. I don't mind a hike, but I do like to be prepared for one. My slippers became useless, so I ditched them. It was barefoot from this point on. Better traction, but ouch, so many thorns. After two hours we finally arrived. I took photos of the blooms, did my oooo's and ahhhh's, then went back to town for a good bath at my hotel.
I just walked around Bukittinggi for a couple of days for the rest of my time there. They have a good lookout point called Panorama. It has a great view of a canyon and there's several monkey troops hanging out just waiting for the opportunity to take a
tourist's bag when their guard is down. The people in the town were very friendly. Many students. It was hard to walk around for longer than five minutes without being stopped by english students for a quick conversation. There's very few native english speakers in Bukittinggi, so they always jump on the chance for a talk. It becomes a routine after awhile. Walk around, stop, talk five minutes, pose with each student for a picture on their camera phone, say bye, walk ten feet, then see the next group walking towards you. Repeat cycle.
After Bukittinggi I bused to Dumai to hop on a ferry to Malaysia, so this section of Indonesia is done for now. Sumatra was fun and unique, like most places within Indonesia. Makes for a good destination if you want to see a place that is less touristy.
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anonymous
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no photo of your battered feet?