Quality Hotel Siantar Parapat

... top of the volcano where I write a little message for my mum and sit near the sulphur and steam which is smoking out the volcano...not everyday you get to do such a thing and it's pretty damn special!!

The descent down the hill takes us to the hot spring where I take off my shoes and socks to find a huge 'hickie' on my foot...from a LEECH!! A brief glance at the floor and there is the biggest leech I have ever seen!! Yuck yuck yuck!! Ah well a relax in ...

... and Medan. What we didn’t realise, however, was that our visit coincided with a public holiday in Indonesia, Independence Day, which is probably the busiest weekend in Lake Toba for visitors. On our second day, the tranquility was somewhat ruined by the arrival of hordes of Indonesian and Chinese families (there is a large Chinese community in Indonesia). The lake was suddenly full of screaming children on rubber rings and people zooming around on ...

... of Samosir where the village of Tuk Tuk sits with many hotels and restaurants are situated. 10 years ago this was the party capital of Indonesia with thousands of travellers visiting to enjoy the full moon party, then they all stopped coming and decided that Thailand was a better venue. What is left behind is a small village with more hotels than tourists and a nice, quiet place to spend a few days.

With our hostel overlooking the lake ...

... buses are small and hot, packed with smokers, boxes, sacks of rice, chickens and if you're lucky pigs or goats that can easily be turned into seats in the bus passageway so you don't have to stand or sit on the roof!!
It's going to be very tiring moving around this massive country!

For now I'm happy in Tuk Tuk, where I can relax for a few days...


Versione Italiana

Sono tornata in ...

Dzisiejszy dzien poswiecamy na zapoznanie sie z wyspa Samosir. Po sniadaniu wyruszamy na polnoc zobaczyc wioske Batakow Simanindo oraz specjalnie dla turystow przygotowany Batak dance. W tancu uczestnicza przebrani Batakowie oraz bawol. Tancza przy oryginalnej muzyce wykonywanej na zywo. Taniec nas nie porusza, jest prymitywny i monotonny, chociaz poznana Angielka dzielnie wtoruje tanczacym. Postanawiamy przyjrzec sie blizej pobliskim grobowcom i wiosce.

Wyspa Samosir ...

Dzien 6 Lake Toba 16.06.2009
Wstajemy przed siodma. Pakujemy rzeczy. Spotykamy Antka na sniadaniu. Jem smazony makaron, w bahasa indonesia nazywa sie mia goreng. Spicy. Zakonczylem sniadanie niezlym kawalkiem chili i sie poplakalem :) Antek zdradzil mi swoj sposob na pikantne, trzeba przeplukac usta lyzeczka cukru. Dziala :) Nie zapytalem o sposob na za pare godzin bo cukier pewnie nie pomoze :)
Wyjezdzamy chwile po osmej. Odwiedzamy targ ...

... exists on the island today. I caught a cold whilst trekking in Bukit Lawang and Lake Toba was the perfect place ...

Happy New Year! Heute ist naemlich Chinesisches Neujahr und auch hier auf Tuk Tuk wird das gefeiert. Womit ich zum 3. Mal innerhalb von 12 Monaten Neujahr mitbekomme. Und gestern gabs noch irgendwas anderes zu feiern, aber das hab ich - ebenso wie Weihnachten und Sylvester eher unspektakulaer vorueberziehen lassen. "Horas! Horas! Horas!" - noch vor 200 Jahren bruellte man das als braver Angehoeriger des Batak Stammes ...

Paasimmepa vihdoin pois sielta Cameron Highlandsin kylmyydesta. Oltiinkin siella hurjat viis paivaa. Ihan kiva paikka kai se oli, mut kun joka yo heras palelemiseen, niin ei oikein napannu. Mentiin sielta Georgetowniin dosalla ja ostettiin liput lautalle Indonesiaan Sumatran saarelle. Kaks yota jouduttiin oottelemaan lauttaa, kun se ei viikonloppuna kulkenu. Tia sit meneeko pelkastaan maanantaisin. Maanantai-aamuna lahettiin kohti uusia maisemia. Lautta oli vaan vartin ...

... room and jumping into the refreshing water for a morning swim and messing around! The peninsula of Tuk-tuk which is essentially where we stayed on the island is a great place to really unwind and chill out and you can easily settle here for days. Sipping on our sweet milk coffees we really got the feeling that we are living a charmed life at the moment!