Indonesia (Lake Toba)

We flew straight from the luxurious and ultra developed, almost ageless city of Singapore into Medan. Our next destination is Lake Toba. The lake was formed 80,000 years through volcanic activity, 50,000 years later further volcanic activity formed an island in the middle if the lake the size of Singapore. The lake is the largest freshwater lake in Asia and the deepest in the world at nearly 500m.

We had spent a good amount of time trying to work out how to get from Medan to Parapat then how to get a boat over to Samosir island, although we had a plan it was all a very unknown trip and for every piece of advise you find online there also seems to be a horror story detailing some problem or bad experience people had making the voyage.

We landed in Medan's brand new airport which opened less than a month ago, I would still call it a building site to be honest. Toilets half built, things missing from everywhere, no finish on anything and I'm sure one of the terminals didn't have a roof but hey its all brand new :-). First challenge was immigration, we expected them to ask us about our travels and check our onward tickets but no, once we had paid our $25 (US) each we got our passports stamped and a 30 day visa. Next we were supposed to find a bus to Amplas bus station (60-90 drive from the airport), then negotiate a ticket to Parapat (5-7hr away) then a boat to the island, we both expected a long and stressful day with the possibility of being ripped of or scammed after reading various other travel blogs.

In reality once we had got through immigration we saw a taxi rank inside which looked legit and they had a sign for Parapat, boomtown baby! It cost us 75,000 (£5) pp and we had to wait for the taxi to fill up for 90mins but then were off in an a/c taxi with four other locals to Parapat. The journey is hair raising as the taxi driver seemed to like racing and taking over other cars and since all the roads are single lane, travelling at 120km/ph round a blind bend isn't what I'd call great driving but I did feel safe(ish), izzi slept most of the way :-)

We arrived at Parrapat and arranged our transport back with the same taxi firm for 6 days time. We headed to the jetty and jumped on a boat heading for Tuk Tuk, the place we wanted to stay. After paying our 10,000RP (1 US$) we were off, it took about 30-40 mins as we got our first glance of how big and beautiful Lake Toba was. Surrounding the lake are steep cliffs peppered with trees and grasses, the temperature is much cooler at 28°c as it is above sea level. The lake is heated by volcanic springs which means it's pleasant for swimming unlike most of the lakes I've swam in England which are always freezing.

We arrived and headed for a place called Bagus Bay Homestay and looked at the rooms available. For 75,000 (£5) a night we got a huge room, bathroom and cold shower, we took it. After spending nearly an hour squashing and clearing out the mosquitoes from the room we made the room mossy proof and closed all windows and got the mossy net up over the bed. Bagus Bay backs straight on the lake and is made up of several Batak style (local Lake Toba culture) house surrounded by gardens with swings, mini golf, badminton court and vegetable patch. The views over the bay are superb and to the right all the locals carry on there daily activities of fishing, laying Cray fish traps washing and cooking. After midday school finishes and all the children come to swim and play in the lake, this place has a very nice and homely feel to it. The people are so friendly, they talk to you as you walk round and try to help if needed. We ate at several small restaurant/cafes which comprise of usually a women with a few small plastic chairs and table and a simple menu. The food was always delicious and always freshly made, we ate several Rendang curries and local Sak Sang dishes, the good thing as they are a home made they all tasted different and you never get bored of them. One day I had some goat curry which was v v spicy which in my mind means it was probably a right old scabby decrepit goat and spice is to cover that up, it however tasted amazing also.

We needed some cash one day and the nearest ATM was in the next town so we rented some push bikes and took a trip, passing paddy fields, buffalo and numerous chickens and dogs as we cycled up and down the hills. The children aways shout 'hello', 'mister' and stick their hands up for a high five as we cycle by which was fun. Quickly on the island we soon began to feel very comfortable and at peace, the pace of life slow - the people and surroundings were welcoming and pretty, the food and lake were divine. This is without doubt one of our favourite places we have been and 6 days doesn't seem long enough now.

One thing we didn't know before arriving was locals seemed to grow magic mushrooms, we saw about 10 different places all advertising them with the preferred choice of consumption seem to be a magic mushroom omelette, bonus I love omelettes :-), shakes were also available for those who don't like eggs. All the houses seemed basic and reasonably traditional. At most house entrances where two huge Batak wood carvings, always two funky looking character representing the man and women of the house, we got a few small versions for souvenirs.

On the 2nd day we got talking to a Argentine man who was about our age and had been working in australia for a year and is now travelling for another year before going home. We spoke about the world, our travels and each others country spending the best part of two days together before he left. One afternoon whilst relaxing around the lake I dived in bit and forgot to take off my glasses, a total disaster but luckily our friend had a snorkeling mask with him so after about 30mins looking I eventually found them a few meters down which was extremely lucky.

On the final full day we planned to take a scooter and explorer further around the island but the heavens opened the day before and didn't really stop until the morning we left which put a dampener on that idea.

We headed back to Parapet the final morning and spent nearly 2hr waiting for the taxi to fill up before heading back to Medan airport. All in all a great few days and a great introduction to Indonesia, we hope its all like this but not sure it will.