Lake Toba

Horas - Sama sama!


It's been awhile. I'll try to go through what has happened.

Last Saturday at Kuala Lumpur I woke up early, hopped on a train, bus, plain, bejak, bus and a boat. It took me about 14 hours to reach Lake Toba from Kuala Lumpur. I got on the boat from Parapat to Tuk Tuk at around six o'clock, and apparently it was the last boat to sail here that day (lucky me). On the boat I was greeted by bule-hunters, who - after hearing me being Finnish - sang me such everlasting hits as "Todella Kaunis" and "Nousee". I was also informed that all the guesthouses in Lake Toba are 1) full 2) former residences of Riku and Tunna from Madventures.

I met three rather silent french girls on the boat who had heard of a guest house called Marylane, Marlin or Mar-something. After walking half an hour in the rain we found a place called Merlin and decided that it was close enough. I took a two person room for myself and spent approximately 6,60 euros per night.

After competing for the dominance of the room with palm-sized cockroachest I started considering for finding a better accommodation. I walked around the breathtakingly beautiful town of Tuk Tuk for an hour or so, and ended up in a place called Reggae for a cup of coffee.

View from Reggae, with John in the front and Lake Toba in the back

I was first greeted by John, a rasta haired batak, who started chatting about the local history (after I convinced him that I was not particularly interested in hash nor magic mushrooms). Later I was accompanied by Olli, a fellow Finn who was also looking for a upgrade from his current residence. We decided to join forces and managed to rent possibly the best accommodation in the whole island, a Batak house with a killer view and the possibility to jump straight to the lake from our terrace. Price: 3,30e per night each.

View from our cabin

Me after a nap on our balcony

Ollis dip to the lake

So thats where I've been the rest of the week, and its been just amazing. The people here are really kind and honest, everybody greets you on the streets and all the people smile. Food is all local, meaning fish from the lake, chicken from the yard, fruits from the trees and rice from the nearby fields. A portion of food costs about 1,50 euros. The water is about 29 degrees and sky blue. Life is good. Very good :)

Next stop is Bukit Tinggi on Sunday - a town in the middle of the jungle. I'm really interested on learning how to surf, so from there I'll head to the SW-coast next to the Indian Ocean and try to find small waves and a sand beach.

BR.,
Me


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