Thursday, May 17, 2012

lake toba, indonesia:

After a day in Jakarta with our men, we said farewell, and Sarah and I flew to the northern Sumatran city of Medan (the guys flew to southern Sumatra for some waves). From there it was a four hour drive through small villages, palm oil plantations and forests up to Lake Toba, where we then took an hour long ferry ride to the island of Samosir.

Lake Toba is the largest freshwater lake in South-East Asia, being created by a ginormous volcano explosion thousands of years ago. The lake is the size of Singapore and right in the middle is the island of Samosir, with the idyllic town of Tuk Tuk being our destination.

As Lake Toba is little higher up (approximately 900m), amongst volcanoes and rolling hills, it is refreshingly cooler then the heat and humidity of Medan. 
Tuk Tuk is a small town placed on a little peninsula and the perfect place to relax and take in the serene surroundings. Sarah and I hired some mountain bikes and went riding on the quiet roads. It was a great way to see this beautiful area, with super friendly locals and lots of amazing landscape to take in. We barely saw any tourists, which at times felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. 

Next: more from gorgeous Lake Toba including some textile goodness!



waiting at parapat for our ferry




on the ferry



super moon!


Batak architecture


mie goreng


more Batak details

 


that there on the left is my dream house



10 comments:

  1. Being a native Indonesian - I just love how your collection of photos framed the beauty of this place with such authenticity. Mum born and grew up in North Sumatra and we had a chance to stay in Medan as a family when Dad got outposted there.
    I look forward to see more photos! -Pruni

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    1. thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. i love indonesia and cannot wait to return soon!

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  2. I just went there last month and absolutely love it!

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  3. Love, love, love your pictures. So beautiful. You´re on my blog lovin list. See here: http://planethibbel.blogspot.de/
    Hope that´s ok with you. XOXO from germany, Frau Hibbel

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  4. Wow, your photos make me want to go to Indonesia! That's never been on my list before. Mainly, I just really want to eat whatever that mie goreng is.

    I found your blog through the Chronicled Blog, and I'm loving it. I'm looking for other like-minded travel blogs, as my husband and I are traveling around the USA this summer in an Airstream trailer doing film and design. I've been trying to document it all here: www.milesofroad.com. It's a lot of work to keep up a travel blog! Haha.

    -Becca

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    1. hi Becca! thanks for popping by :) mie goreng is like 2min noodles stir fried with egg and vegies - simple, but SO delish! your trip sounds incredible! i'll be following along, that's for sure!

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  5. Seriously fantastic photos! You really captured the spirit of the place!

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