INDONESIA: Medan & Lake Toba (Sumatera Island)

Medan, Sumatera

March 2013

I could have never imagined I'll be travelling to Sumatera. I heard a lot of nice thing about Sumatera especially Lake Toba (In Indonesian - Danau Toba). My ancestors are originally from Sumatera but in Bukit Tinggi, Padang which is a little bit far from Medan. 

There's few routes or ways to get to  Lake Toba from Malaysia.

1. By direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Medan. Then from Medan, you need to take the mini bus or van to Parapat, that is a small town where you can take the boat to Tuktuk in Samosir Island, Lake Toba.
2. By boat crossing from Malacca to Dumai. This is the longest route and will take you a lot of time.

Lake Toba

According to Wikipedia, Lake Toba is a lake and a supervolcano. The lake is 100 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide and up to 505 meters (1666ft.) deep. Lake Toba is the site of a massive supervolcanic eruption that occurred 69,000 to 77,000 years ago. This is how massive Lake Toba is!

My new adventure

This time I am not travelling alone. I have a travel partner and his name is Johannes. I met him when he was in Kuala Lumpur attending one of my friend's event. Back then, I hardly spoke to him. We become close friends ever since these one incident. I met Joseph too through Johannes. The three of us hang out a lot in the city until one day, Johannes and I have to say goodbye to Joseph. It was hard a little bit as we wouldn't be seeing him again in Kuala Lumpur once we are back in town. He will be in Thailand by the time we comes back. As a token of friendship,I gave both of them a 'friendship wrist band'. 

Couchsurfing and Medan
I was so lucky that my host, Diah and her husband Yudi agreed to host me and Johannes even for a night. They have waited for us at the airport. The airport in Medan is call Polonia International Airport. Although it is an international airport, this airport has only one departure and arrival hall. This is how small the airport was!.

There's one funny moment I had at the immigration counter in Polonia. He asked me in Indonesian and was amazed that I replied back in Indonesian language with Jakarta slang!

IG: Ngapain masih belum menikah?? (Why you are not married yet?)
ME:Ngak mau lagi pak...tapi udah punya pacarnya. (Not at the moment but I have my 
     boyfriend with me)
IG: Yang mana?? (Which one?)
ME: Yang bule itu pak...rambutnya kerinting.(The white guy with curly hair-> Johannes)
IG: OK...! 

Gosh!I was surprised.Is it a sin I travel alone and I am still single? Thank god, Johannes is with me at least I feel safe. We walked out from the airport walking towards the petrol station as instructed earlier by my host, Diah as our meet up point. 

She was super nice and so does her husband. They brought us to one of the restaurant in the city to meet up  few CS from Medan. I was a little bit tired and exhausted from the long journey. After a while, we left and went back home.

The next morning, Diah left us at the bus station and negotiate price for our journey to Lake Toba.

Lake Toba,Parapat,Samosir,Tuktuk
We left Medan and get the minibus for Rp50,000 per person. We passed some small city on our way towards Parapat, where we were supposed to take the ferry to cross and go to Tuktuk, Samosir Island.

Once we were in Parapat, we head to some local restaurant. There's a lot of Halal restaurant in Parapat especially Padang Restaurant. The local was a bit surprised that I communicate with them in Indonesian and disbelief when I told them that I am from Malaysia!

After we had our food, we walk a little bit to get tuk tuk to the jetty in Parapat. The ride cost us around Rp1000 per person. The jetty is really small surrounded by some big hotels which seems to be unoccupied.We hop on the boat and get the best view of the lake.
It was breathtaking view!.The ride to cross from one side to the other is Rp10,000 per person.

After an hour ride, we got off the boat and go to the guesthouse call The Reggae Guesthouse. We are lucky enough to get the last room which is 5 meters away from where the boat left us. I was there for 3 night before I head back to Medan and left Johannes at Samosir. No words can describe the beautiful and tranquil of Lake Toba.

The last night in Medan
I reached Medan from Lake Toba at 10pm and was hoping that I could just stay at the airport and wait for my early flight in the airport. But my plan failed. The airport closed at 9pm and the only place I could go was to my previous host place. Diah was kind enough to host me for that night and send me off early in the morning. I am lucky to have her and her husband as my friend together with the rest of CS from Medan that I've met earlier that night. Thank you very much! I really appreciate your kindness.

I left Medan with the thought that I would be going  there someday to visit Medan city which I didn't do during my trip.I had a lot of good memories in Medan. Thanks to you too Johannes for being there for me and the adventure we had. I am looking forward with you.

Sampai ketemu lagi Medan!(Until we meet up again, Medan!)

In the memory of Taufik, Thank you for being a good friend when we were in Medan. Your cheerful smile,your funny jokes and your kindness would be in our heart for ever. Rest in Peace my dear friend. May ALLAH bless your soul.