Tranquility
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2004
1
43
50
Trip End
Nov 27, 2004
Samosir,
Sumatra,
Indonesia
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Sunday 7th November
As I rock lightly in my hammock I can hear the voices of people singing sweetly in church. From my second story balcony, I have a magnificent view over the lake and I brew up some tea while scanning the inner wall of the caldera with my binoculars. There are temples as well as waterfalls and rock faces. A velvet green bedecked with flowers. In the foreground, fisherman use kayaks to reach the deeper parts of the lake and then plunge buckets into the icy depths on long ropes. I am keen to investigate this place some more and can think of only one way to do it - I need a mountain bike.
Helga and her sister wash a pile clothes by hand at the lakes edge
The village church
. Most of the clothes they scrub are mine. When they finish, they slip into the water and bath themselves. I have noticed others doing it while wearing a simple sarong. I let Helga borrow my radio for the afternoon as I venture out to explore the area. Whilst walking about the place I am accosted many times by roaming gangs of schoolchildren - who pursue me as if they were pursuing a movie star. They ask lots of questions in English then ask me to sign their little book. In evidence of the fact they have sought out an English person and done their homework. I write things like ' Speaks English very well and is very polite ' which it seems their teacher will require as part of their course of study. They are very enthusiastic and given time, I reckon a bloody nuisance. Another bunch of them will be lurking round the corner.
With rented mountain bike, I take off from Tuk Tuk in a clockwise direction towards a village I like the name of - Ambarita. It's a picture of calmness. There are very few vehicles and the road is smooth. I have some fresh apples with me and search out a quiet place to enjoy them. Selecting a position fairly close to the lake in a small area of farmland. It's taken me about an hour to get here and I am nowhere near cycling round the whole island ( remember - the size of Singapore ) They estimate an entire day in the saddle is necessary to make a full circuit. Here, there are low grassy hills - with cows and miniature temples and ancient stone steps where Batak gods would sit . As I begin enjoying my apples, I see an old lady approaching me with a pole between her shoulders that holds a large bucket of water on each end. Ouch ! She has the most furious expression of contempt on her face as she passes me. Her back must be breaking in agony at the weight of all that water. Here's your rich tourist laying in the sun with his bag of fruit and a bicycle, you get the picture.
There is nothing I can say to reduce the void between our lives, so I move on before she loses it completely. I stop for a slow baked chicken and chips at a well recommended place ( Jenny's ) that does not disappoint. The owner appears to be the Batak incarnation of Elvis. I then visit a girl that Duncan has mentioned, Rina. She runs the island's one massage and beauty salon. I go there on the premise of a beard trim, though it's mischief I have in mind. I can soon tell ( with some prior information ) that Rina is in the category of those Indonesian girls who will by now take any foreign husband just to get out. It doesn't matter where to, just out. Out of their current lives in this country. She invites me back for dinner tomorrow, a massage and a movie. How can I resist...
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