Blogs from Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 5

After a long blog-absence I have returned! I am now in Probolinngo,Java Indonesia after having had a fantastic trip in Sumatra. The people of Sumatra and Indonesia in general are so friendly and welcoming! Not to mention there is an attraction or two to see! The adventure began interestingly right off the bat. At the ferry terminal there sat a ragged-looking old mountain bike set-up for touring and VERY loaded! It definitely looked like it had seen a few miles. It's owner was a fantastic character named Julian who has been cycling around the world since 1989!! That is not a typo! Julian was born in Africa and grew up mostly there to parents of mixed heritage and then then ended up in the UK. He holds a UK passport and has an English accent but ... read more

On New Year's day I set out to the largest lake in Southeast Asia, Lake Toba. It was listed as a 'must-do' in my Southeast Asia guide book, I booked the flight 3 weeks earlier and went there on a whim. Wikipedia intro to Lake Toba: A former supervolcano, Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. It is 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres (1,666 ft) at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft). In addition, it is the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occurred about 74,000 years ago, a massive climate-changing event. The eruption is believed to have had a VEI intensity of 8. This eruption is ... read more

September 14 2009 - September 22 2009 Exchange rate as of September 14 2009 1GBP = Rp15,724 TRANSPORT: Hotel to Amplas Bus Terminal by motorized becak--Rp30,000 Medan to Parapat by bus--Rp20,000 (5 hours) Parapat to Tuk Tuk by ferry--Rp7,000 (1 hour) HOTELS: Samosir Cottages Dbl, cold water--Rp119,000 inc. breakfast One of the nicest places on Samosir, with very decently priced rooms with a good view of the lake. Swimming area on the lake, deck chairs, restaurant and internet available. Some very noises cats around though! Abadi Guesthouse Twin, mandi, squat toilet--Rp150,000 (not the normal price at it was Idul Fitri) Very rustic place, with semi-traditional Batak houses next to the Lake. Rooms were clean though and it was quieter than the bigger places. We got an early start from Medan and caught another motorized becak to ... read more

So from Bukit Lawang, it was time to head to Lake Toba. Unfortunately this meant going back through Medan. Which meant being a celebrity again. You see, what I didn't mention last time is that because hardly any tourists stop in Medan, those that are around are a great attraction to locals, and everyone gets taught the phrase "Hello Mister" and isn't afraid to use it. It's quite a nice feeling for a short while, and it does seem like everyone is happy to see you there. I think I gave out more high fives in 10 minutes than I would in a regular week back at home. Then again, 1 high five would probably do that. Anyway, I decided to leave the celebrity lifestyle and carry on to Lake Toba, just about arriving in the ... read more

Efter nogle dage i Bukittinggi, var tiden kommet til at vi ville videre til Danau Toba. Vi undersoegte de forskellige muligheder for at komme derop og priser. Vi ville gerne rejse saa nemt og bekvemt, da det var en bustur paa 15 timer. Valgmulighederne stod mellem minibus (max 6 personer) eller executive bus (et saede til hver, med AC og som ikke stoppede for at samle lokale op undervejs). Vi snakkede meget om det, netop fordi det var en meget lang rejse. Vi besluttede os for minibussen, da det tiltalte os mest, men da vi ville booke, blev vi raadet til at tage den excetutive bus istedet pga at det snart var nationaldag og derfor en del rejsende til og fra byen som ville bruge minibusserne. Efter vi havde sikret os at bussen var med air-con ... read more