We set off on our journey south to Lake Toba at 6am, expecting slow travelling conditions. However, I dont think either of us could ever have prepared for the journey that awaited us. The first (and definately the most comfortable) stage involved getting a batak motorcycle from our accommodation to the bus station. We then boarded our first bus to Medan which was very rickety but attractively decorated with all kinds of jungle themed accessories in the front window! Half an hour into our journey, the bus was crowded with kids on their way to school, all eager to have a look at us! The bus stopped at every place imaginable on its route, taking us 4 hours to travel the 80km distance to Medan...an average of 20km/hour on bumpy, unsurfaced roads without much ventilation!

Our relief to reach Medan was short-lived, as we entered into possibly one of the most smelly, dirty cities in the world. We quickly clambered into a small mini-bus which would take us to the other bus terminal on the opposite side of town. Luckily it wasnt too full, but I still had to cover my mouth and nose with my shawl to avoid choking on the thick, dust filled air. Another hour later, we pulled into the southern bus terminal only to be hounded by touts looking for business on their private mini-buses. After battling our way through them, we found what seemed to be the only bus company going to Parapat, bought our tickets and climbed on board with all of our bags. As we had arrived only a few minutes before departure, the bus was already packed full of local people with the only seats remaining at the very back located right over the engine. As we slowly made our way south, the bus was packed full of more and more people, until the aisle became saturated. We thought they'd stop taking in people then, but no, children were made to sit on top of their parents laps as more people were piled in to every available bit of airspace. As well as this, every few stops women carrying boxes of food would board trying to sell their goods, and then jump off at the next stop. Having had crisps for breakfast at 7 am (yes mum i know, but there was no other option!) we bought something wrapped in newspaper with little idea of what it was. We unwrapped it only to discover it was a swiss roll filled with chocolate cream and sprinkles!! THANK GOODNESS, it tasted sooooo good and I still think it was the only thing that got us through the journey. As we neared Parapat and started seeing the light at the end of the hot, sweaty, smoky tunnel a rather large woman boarded the bus. And yes, people were pushed aside so that she could sit next to little old me. She sat practically on top of me, and every time I inched further from her to avoid being suffocated by the smell from her armpits, her huge body seemed to expand to fill the space! By the end, I was left with half a seat while she sat comfortably with one and a half seats to herself! After 4 hours of travelling, we finally entered Parapat only to be bundled off the bus with the other westerners and transferred to a trailor attached to a truck which was to take us to the ferry terminal. By this stage, this seemed like a fairly normal suggestion so we climbed in and trundled down the hill to the ferry.

Luckily we were just in time for one of the hourly ferries and it was only a short 20 minute journey across Lake Toba to the central island of Samosir. The weather was quite cloudy and cool so the Lake, surrounded by hills, reminded us a lot of a Scottish loch and we began to unwind after our journey. We found a really nice hostel by the lake in the small town of Tuk-Tuk run by a German lady, which had traditional batak style houses and a restaurant selling tasty german bakery goods. By far the best thing was that our room had a BATH! Amazing! I think I must have had about 5 baths during our stay :) On our first evening in Tuk-Tuk we went to the hostel beside ours and saw a local band playing traditional batak music. They were accompanied by young girls dancing, who seemed very embarrassed! The music was very good, involving much yodelling, and the men were so funny dancing and smiling we couldnt help but get in the swing of things. One man in particular was very funny, he looked like an asian Cliff Richard and danced much the same!

The next day we took a stroll around Tuk-Tuk, admiring the views over the lake. Towards the end of our walk we paused to take some photos, and heard people shouting 'hello' and 'come talky'. We walked into the garden and met 3 local disabled people around the same age as us, Sardo, Amando and Herna. We ended up spending most of the afternoon there, sharing stories and listening to them playing the guitar and singing. They told us that they lived in a house together and tried to make a living as tailors, without very much support from the Government. The local people don't really make much of an effort to get to know them, which seemed such a shame to us as they were very interesting people. Herna's english in particular was excellent and she had picked it up solely from chatting with tourists, having never been to school. It was refreshing to meet some local people who were genuinely interesting in getting to know us and learn about our lives.

The next day we hired a scooter and took a tour up the east coast of Samosir. Unlike the rest of Sumatra, the roads were very quiet on the island so we felt safe enough on the bike. We passed through a few small towns on the way filled with batak-style houses, but most of the island was beautiful fields surrounded by the lake on one side and hill peaks on the other. In the afternoon we stopped in Tomok to visit the Tomb of King Sidabutar, but the site was a little disappointing and was hidden behind rows of tourist-trap stalls. Later we drove further up into the hills for some amazing views down over Tuk-Tuk and the lake. By now we were so relaxed and well rested that the madness of mainland Sumatra was a distant memory.

-S