surfing, indonesia:

I'm very excited to be having my amazing man, Andrew, doing a bit of  guest post for you all! He's going to share all about his surf adventure in Sumatra, with photos* of perfect waves, palm trees, sunsets and all that nice stuff!


Take it away Andy!


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Well after so much travel without surf, I decided to take a quick break to the islands of Indonesia with a friend, leaving Gemma and her sister to explore northern Sumatra, while we explored the isolated southern Sumatra for uncrowded waves.
A quick flight from Jakarta was contrasted by a windy six hour drive to a surf camp, started  seven years ago by two guys from Australia. Our arrival was met with a perfect sunset over what looked to be some pretty fun waves.
It had been ten years since I first visited Indonesia for a surf adventure, and it was much the same as I had remembered it. The locals were very friendly and welcoming, the food was great and the waves did not disappoint.
The waves around this area are more suited for bodyboarding, so I left my longboard and other boards at home. 
The area that we stayed in was really uncrowded, with no airport or any real infrastructure for travellers apart from the surf camps and a few home stays. The beaches were beautiful and quiet, with the locals coming out at low tide to collect seaweed off the reef and to fish. Apart from that, the beaches were desolate, and the views from the water were so serene with dense jungle, volcanoes and beautiful sunrises.
There are many reasons to go to the islands of Indonesia, especially if you surf or enjoy the ocean, it's a great place to be. Gemma and I look forward to exploring some more of it's wild tropical beauty in years to come.


AM
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*a little apology for the quality of some of these images. some are film grabs from a gopro.

more lake toba, indonesia

Lake Toba is home to the Batak people, a minority group who inhabit the island of Samosir and surrounding areas. Their iconic 'pointy' dwellings dot the area, with intricate carvings and stunning details. Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim nation (in fact, the largest in the world), however the Batak are Christians, having been converted by missionaries many moons ago. They are incredibly warm and welcoming, and it was interesting see the gradual change from Mosque to church as we drove through the country-side up to Toba.

Being a textile designer, one of my passions when travelling is collecting and learning about the local textile traditions. I asked around if we could perhaps meet a local weaver and was soon pointed in the right direction. Off Sarah and I cycled, hoping to find what we were looking for. We were very fortunate to meet the most gorgeous woman, who sits outside under a lush tree with her loom, weaving ulos'. An ulos is a traditional Batak textile that is woven especially for wedding ceremonies, where they are placed around the necks of the bride and groom. They are beautiful, filled with many colours and incredibly detailed geometric shapes. I found out from our new weaving friend that they take her a week to make.
It was so inspiring to just sit and watch her weave, line by line, creating a stunning piece with her own hands. It's a tradition and artform that I really have a lot of respect for and that always blows me away.
Sarah and I both bought a couple of her pieces - which now hold extra significance having witnessed her weaving.

Unfortunately, we had to wrap our trip up here and sadly head home. In my next post I'll share some of Andrew's photos from his time in Sumatra and a very brief wrap up on our short and very sweet stay in Indonesia.

 

an ulos in production

beautiful

 

Batak carvings

 

can you spot the cat?

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