Danau Toba

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The journey from Bukit Lawang to our next destination was long, bumpy and hot. After two long bus rides, a minibus, and a ferry, we hoped that there would be a decent pay-off at the end. We were not disappointed.

Danau Toba, the largest lake in South-East Asia, was perfect. The island (not technically an island, but very nearly) of Samosir sits in the middle of this lake, and the main village of Tuk-Tuk has stunning views over the water. This part of Indonesia used to be an extremely popular location for young tourists, but with the tragic decline in numbers after the Bali bombings, and various other catastrophes, the potential hoardes were flocking to nearby Thailand instead.

After a small amount of fuss, we found some gorgeous accomodation in a traditional Batak house (Bataks are the local people of this area; very welcoming, and very musical souls). This house was not only a contender for our best place to stay so far, it was also the cheapest yet. A truly unbelievable deal. The house had an upper and a lower balcony, where we could sit and eat our breakfast while watching the mesmerising lake below and beyond. Inside was a spacious living area decked out in wooden panels and fittings. It even had a bathroom with hot water (a luxury for Indonesia). From the outside, the little cottage looked like something from a fairytale, and the setting matched it perfectly.

We had been travelling hard in Indonesia for over five weeks now, and this was the ideal reward. Accordingly, we did very little here at all, other than follow the pursuit of total relaxation. We spent a good deal of time in the house, and on the balcony, watching the lake, and feeling totally serene. We played plenty of scrabble and cards, and, of course, read our books. We did venture out at least once a day. As well as lunching at the Bamboo restaurant, next door to our guestshouse (which also served magnificent coconut milkshakes), we regularly trotted down to the main village parade where we made frequent use of the many internet stops, cafes, and souvenir shops dotted along the way. One night we even went to see a traditional performance of Batak dancing and singing. This was rather low-key, but pleasant, especially when the male folk singers performed an exhilarating 'barber-shop' style medley of local songs.

The bataks love a song or two, and you can hear the sound of guitars wherever you go. On one occasion, we happened upon a restaurant claiming to have 'a live singer every night'. This sounded romantic, we thought. On entering the otherwise deserted restaurant, we enquired about the advertised entertainment, and discovered that the singer/guitarist was in fact the restaurateur. Moments later, while waiting for our drinks to arrive, we had the awkward pleasure of being sung to, in broken English, from the opposite chair at our table!

We stayed eight gloriously romantic nights in this incredible paradise. We knew, however, that time was running out, and we hadn't even seen Java yet! So off we went, back to Medan once more, for the final leg of our tour of this huge and diverse nation.

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Comments

[Nina Ana]

Hello! Me and my boyfriend are planing a trip to Indonesia in August. I was wondering if you could tell me the name or the adress of a place that you stayed in Lake Toba. It looked realy nice. What is the price for one day? Didi you go on a 2 day trek? How was it? Where did you find your guide? I hope I will hear from you. Please write me to my e-mail: [e-mail]

[Penny]

I'd also love to know!

[Karen]

Books
What are you reading???

[World Tour 2006 2007]

Hello everyone!
We stayed at the Reggae Bar in Tuk Tuk. Its next door to the Bamboo Bar which does some nice food and drinks. The boat from Parapet will drop you at the reggae bar directly if you ask. Ask the staff at the reggae bar for a traditional batak house overlooking the lake. There were one or two cockroaches, but they don't hurt! (and some birds living in the roof!)

[World Tour 2006 2007]

Here are a few of our favourite reads;
David: I am currently reading 'Down Under' by Bill Bryson; I also enjoyed 'Freakonomics' by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner; 'The best possible taste' by Sam O'Reilly; 'The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time' by Mark Haddon and 'Second from last in the sack race' by David Nobbs. Louise: 'The no 1 ladies detective agency' series by alexander McCall Smith; 'Lucky' and 'the lovely bones' by Alice Seabold; 'The kite runner' by Khaled Hosseini and 'Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom.