After a lack-luster breakfast at the EcoLodge, we were off for our next destination, Lake Toba. Lake Toba is famous for its geological past and also for the people who live in the area, known as the Bataks. First, the geology.

Lake Toba is the largest lake in Southeast Asia, and in the middle of this massive lake is the island of Samosir, which is about the same size as the island of Singapore. The island was formed during a "super volcanic" eruption about 50,000 years ago. Essentially the huge lake fills the caldera of the volcano, and the island is what emerges above. A quick googling of the Lake Toba eruption suggests it was one of the largest in recent history, and that it killed off most of the life on the planet at the time (including humans), and may have even played a role in human evolution. Interesting stuff, and makes you wonder what would happen if Yellowstone, another super volcano, decides to blow its top.

The drive to the lake was an arduous one. Another 3-4 hours of potholes to get back to Medan, followed by another 3-4 hours to Parapat, the small town on the shore of the lake. On the way we stopped for a local sticky rice specialty before having lunch at a traditional Nasi Padang restaurant. We must diverge for a second to discuss the food.

The food across the region is heavily based on chilis – in other words, it is HOT! Even Efren, who loves spicy food, has found the cuisine to be fiery. Fiery, but incredibly delicious ("enak" is the Indonesian word for delicious food). Many dishes are curry based and are very flavorful. Due to the tropical climate, many interesting fruits are available (durian, passion fruit, rambutan, mangosteen, papaya, etc) and the most delicious drinks are the fresh squeezed juices. The coffee is also amazing (we are in Sumatra, after all) and the local beer, Bintang, is absolutely marvelous. We learned from our friend Stephani that the brewery is owned by Heineken, another vestige of the Dutch colonial legacy left behind.

Now on to the Batak people. The Bataks are descended from tribes who used to inhabit Thailand and Myanmar. They came to Sumatra thousands of years ago and settled in the mountain interior region by Lake Toba. They lived in virtual isolation in this jungle paradise for centuries until missionaries came and converted the population to Christianity (Protestant). This has served as an interesting change from the Muslim dominated places we have visited in Indonesia so far. One of the easiest ways to tell whether you are in a Muslim or Christian area is by the colors of the houses and signs. In this region, the Muslim colors are lime green and yellow. The colors of the Bataks are red, white and black.

The Bataks are renowned for music, wood carving and singing, and they revere the majestic banyan tree. Probably the most distinguishing characteristic apparent to us is their genuine friendliness. People are always striking up conversation to practice their English, and everywhere you go you hear “Horas!” which means hello in the Batak language. Oh yes, by the way, the local language is different here. Just when we were starting learn Indonesian, we now also need to remember some of the Batak phrases! Good thing Indonesian is the main language, so either is readily understood.

OK, back to Parapat. To get from Parapat to Samosir requires a 40 minute ferry ride, and we arrived a bit too early. So we found a Chinese restaurant and sipped on some Sumatran cappuccinos until departure time. There was another tour group (from China) in the restaurant, and their tour guide was quite a friendly character and chatted with us for quite some time.

The ferry took us directly to our hotel, the lovely Tabo Cottages. The property overlooks the lake and has the look and feel of a resort. We checked into our bungalow and were delighted with the spiffy accommodations! Lake Toba is located at about 900m, so the air is deliciously cool and there is always a constant breeze blowing. Mosquitos are not a concern here, so it will be nice to be able to put the DEET away for a few days!

At the comfortable open-air lobby we ordered a beer and watched the sun set over the lake. We had another great dinner – the restaurant served an excellent chicken and potato curry and the traditional Indonesian salad, gado-gado. Think an array of boiled vegetables and tofu with a pad thai-like peanut sauce dressing. Not our favorite, but we're glad we tried it.

Off to bed now – tomorrow we get a tour of Samosir Island and will learn more about Batak culture.

August 19 -- Lake Toba/Samosir Island continued...

Today was a relatively low-keyed day. The day started with a magnificent buffet breakfast at Tabo Cottages. Homemade pancakes and eggs, delicious fruit and very tasty fried bananas. The coffee was excellent. We wish we could bring some home, but everywhere we looked they only sell the beans loose (not vacuum packaged), so we're concerned we’d have problems with customs.

Our first visit was to the small town of Ambarita where we visited a Batak house and purchased a few overpriced “handmade” garmets. Outside the house are the famous stone chairs which are 300 years old and are where the villagers used to meet and discuss important matters. Nearby is where executions were performed (the Bataks were fairly violent!). Hanum used Rozi as a “volunteer” to how the brutal process was performed. Before decapitation, the poor victim was cut up and a mixture of lime and chilis was rubbed in the wounds. Remember how hot those chilis are!

Speaking of Rozi, here we had our first vehicle mishap. While backing up Rozi went over a bit of a small cliff and the back of the car was dangling (we weren’t in the car at the time). No big deal, within a few minutes a group of local men came by to help us push the car back on the road. Did we mention yet how hospitable and friendly the Indonesian people are?

After Ambartia we headed to the north end of the island to the town of Simanindo. Here we saw a traditional Batak dance. A bit kitchy, but overall it was enjoyable to see the dancing and to hear some of the traditional music. We then stopped at Jenny’s restaurant for some amazing fish from the lake. The curry fish was incredible – served as a whole fish with lemongrass and curry. We were told this was traditional Batak food at its finest. After lunch we made one more stop at Tomok where we visited the King Sidabutar Grave and checked out some of the souvenir stalls.

We then headed back to the hotel to rest up, drink another Bintang beer and just chill for a bit. Many of the guests here simply spent the day hanging out in the open air lobby drinking, chatting and relaxing. Definitely a very chill and enjoyable place to be! Later on we headed to Caroline’s for dinner and had a LOT of fairly unimpressive Chinese food. Efren loaded up on the chilis, and unfortunately paid the price the next day with a touch of “Sumatra Stomach”.

We headed back and got ready for bed. We had an early start the next day to catch the ferry back to the mainland so we could head to our next destination – Berastagi (“delicious rice” in the local language). We’re going to Berastagi to one of the other things that must be done when visiting Sumatra – climbing a volcano!