9th April - Tuktuk (Lake Toba) to Medan - on to KL

Wednesday 9^th April

More Batak houses

Yes – THE most clichéd travelphoto…but I couldn’t resist.  How often do I get the chance to photograph spider orchids between my toes, with a calm lake beyond?

 We have left Samosir, Lake Toba, and all of the peace and quiet behind us.  Dominic, the owner of Hariara, hopes we will come back.  So do Jenny and Rinto at Jenny’s Restaurant, Tom and Ita, at Maruba Restaurant, and Orari at Orari’s Restaurant.  We have been very good for the local economy!

Dominic,our calm and kindly Hariara host

From our point of view it has all been very cheap…

Sometimes it is awkward getting everything onto one's motorbike

$11.25 per night for our lovely little room with blissful HOT shower.

$3.60 each for our beautiful breakfast

$4.70 for Jenny’s fabulous grilled fish, fresh from the lake

Hani, who makes the coffee at Lekjon (WiFi cafe)

So we haven’t held back!  When we were having our last breakfast at Maruba we met people from Vancouver Island, who have been here for a month.  This is not their first visit here…. We asked them what they have been doing – they are very fit, active people – and they said…Nothing!  (You can see part of a Canadian leg in the photo of our lovely friend Brown, on yesterday’s blog.)

A green raft, in front of Hariara

We left Tuktuk very early, with Dominic’s son driving us to Tomuk, about five kilometres away, to catch the first (6.30) ferry.  

Our early morning ferry

Stephanie came with us as far as Parapat.  Last seen she was climbing into a minivan, anti-nausea drugs at the ready… On her way up from Medan, she sat in the front seat.  Behind her were six betel-nut chewing passengers, who began vomiting copiously as soon as they hit the more winding parts of the road.  They hurled bags of sick out the windows and had a most cleansing time, while she sat and shuddered in the front.  She is going to hand out pills BEFORE the journey begins!

Bon Voyage Stephi!

She has been told (there are always people ready to impart BadNews) that she may not get to her trekking departure point today... It is election day in Indonesia and there might be Trouble in Aceh.  We saw LOTS of big, fortified polisi vans on our way from Parapat to the airport, but all of the polling booths looked remarkably peaceful,with people sitting patiently under shady awnings, chatting.

It is not only the children who want to be photographed...We will miss Tuktuk!