Tuesday 19 July
Jenny and I got a taxi to Kutacane and then a minibus (bemo) to here, Berastagi. It took 6 hours but wasn't too bad; sometimes its good to be short. Berastagi is a nice enough town in the cool mountains of Sumatra, a bit noisy and dusty but friendly and easy to get around. Had dinner with Ben and Jenny at the night food market.
Wednesday 20 July
Today's mission was to head out of Berastagi and visit some traditional villages which are inhabited by the Batak people. We caught a bemo (minivan) to Kabanjahe and from there, with a bit of negotiation and banter with the bemo drivers got a bemo to Lingga. As we got off the bus in the town square we saw about 200 people gathered under a wooden building with a roof but no sides, obviously for some kind of meeting. A guy quickly whisked us off to register our presence and to tell us a bit about Lingga. The village is a mix of Muslim, Christian and Animist. He showed us some of their traditional crafts such as a flute and a garlic pot, the garlic being used to ward off evil spirits. He was a bit pushy trying to sell us things so we just made a small donation towards the upkeep of the village and then went for a look around.
The main feature of the village is the old houses built in traditional Karo Batak style, which the locals claim are upto 400 years old, though my LP says its more like 60-100. Either way they are picturesque and looked good against the morning blue skies, with volcanoes in the background.
Back in the square, the locals invited us into the building and explained that the meeting was for two families to discuss plans for their children's upcoming wedding. The families were sat on opposite sides of the building and the immediate family members sat in the middle discussing the plans. It was a bit like going back in time being in this rural village and we were the only tourists there.
We had early lunch then got back in a bemo and went back to Kabanjahe and got on an empty bemo towards another village, Dokan. Along the road, the bus filled up with school kids including about 10 sat on the roof, it was fun hanging out with the kids. We got dropped off at the turning for Dokan and a local soon came by and we got in the back of his ute.
At Dokan an old guy met us and took us to his traditional home. We took off our shoes and headed up the steep steps and into his wooden house. The old guy's grown-up Granddaughter talked to us about the house. It has no nails and is kept together with dowel joints. The house is shared by 8 families. There are 4 kitchen areas and they cook using wood, stored above the living area. The old guy claims to be 91 and he looked it, but he knew what was going. It is expected that you make a donation, which we did.
After, the Granddaughter showed us around the village and we met the kids and watched some guys making baskets from bamboo. Again we were the only tourists there, apparently they get 2 or 3 people each day.
Back in Berastagi I wandered around doing a bit of shopping and then read my book at the hostel. Early evening we followed the rubbish map and directions that the hostel gave us and eventually came to the viewpoint outside of town. We were in the countryside again and it was very pretty. We could see the sun going down over the volcanic hills and the Gunung Sinabung volcano in the distance. Had my photo taken with some excitable young ladies. Dinner at the nightmarkets again; talked to a teenage/early 20's muslim girl about her job and her family, after they had taken pictures with me.
Thursday 21 July
Jenny and I walked out of town toward Gunung Sibayak, a 2094m-high active volcano. You can see the volcano and the gases it emits from around town. We walked along the road for about 2 hours and then saw another tourist who pointed us to the rough steps up to the crater. The broken path and steps go up through the jungle and eventually we came out on a ridge and then we could see the crater, it was a pretty awesome sight with a steady stream of smoke rising above the rim. And in the crater we walked in there were many holes in the rock with smoke hissing as it blew out like steam from a pressure cooker. I was very impressed and kept saying 'wow!'.
The gas was sulphur and it leaves a yellow stain on the rocks around the exit. It was a gradual incline across the crater, across volcanic rock. We reached the far side and looked down on one part of the crater where previous visitors had written their names using rocks. On the other side we looked down on the villages. The weather was looking a bit suspect and we figured we had seen enough so we walked back down the same way that we came. It seemed to take ages to walk back down the road but we made it back to town at 3pm, having walked about 15kms today.
Friday 22nd July
We caught the local bus to Kabanjahe and then straight on to another to Pematangsiantar, packed in like sardines. Some of the locals there were a bit annoying and some guys told us it was 7000 rupiah each in their minivan to the our next stop and then when we got in the minivan they asked for 20000 each before we could leave, which wasted our time. If they had been honest and told us from the start that it was 20000 each, we might have gone with them; instead we got out. Eventually we found another cramped local bus and after a bit of a wait we left for Parapat. It rained alot on the way and our stuff was on the roof so got a bit wet.
At Parapat we got a small ferry 40 minutes across to Samosir Island, which sits in the middle of Lake Toba, which is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. The island is quite well developed, tourists were in the hotel restaurant watching a Hollywood movie when we arrived, and there is 'chips and gravy' on the menu (not really what I had expected). I had Gado Gado for dinner, which is vegetables in peanut sauce, with tofu and tempe and prawn crackers; delicious.
Saturday 23rd July
I rented a decent mountain bike and headed out to see some of the island. A quick spin around Tuk-Tuk and then 5kms to Ambarita and the Stone Chairs which are 300 years old; this is where Batak meetings and trials were held and nearby is the beheading spot. I carried on along the road, with the lake in view. I passed many traditional Batak houses and many churches. Before the missionaries, the people here were Animist. The churches look mainly like ours but have a Batak-style roof.
The road had its ups and downs and it was a good work out. After another 10kms I came to the small village of Simanindo. After a quick look at the lake from the jetty I headed back up to the village. I was the only tourist there and it was good to mix with the locals going about their daily business. There was a food market on so I left my bike outside a shop and had a wander around. I managed to use my fledgling Indonesian to buy some fruit, and deep-fried tofu with vegetables inside. The locals were friendly, except one older woman who raised her voice at me and slapped me on the arm and shoulder.
I cycled back, stopping along the way to enjoy the views, the green hills on one side, the lake on the other with traditional houses and water buffalo dotted around. At Tomok I got some water and chatted to some nice guys at the shop. Then I walked up to King Sidabutar's grave. He was the first King to accept Christianity here. Next to his tombstone are some stone human statues and the tombstone of the main missionary man.
Back at the hostel I tucked into the pineapple and bananas I had bought. I cycled about 45kms today.
Jenny and I got a taxi to Kutacane and then a minibus (bemo) to here, Berastagi. It took 6 hours but wasn't too bad; sometimes its good to be short. Berastagi is a nice enough town in the cool mountains of Sumatra, a bit noisy and dusty but friendly and easy to get around. Had dinner with Ben and Jenny at the night food market.
Wednesday 20 July
Today's mission was to head out of Berastagi and visit some traditional villages which are inhabited by the Batak people. We caught a bemo (minivan) to Kabanjahe and from there, with a bit of negotiation and banter with the bemo drivers got a bemo to Lingga. As we got off the bus in the town square we saw about 200 people gathered under a wooden building with a roof but no sides, obviously for some kind of meeting. A guy quickly whisked us off to register our presence and to tell us a bit about Lingga. The village is a mix of Muslim, Christian and Animist. He showed us some of their traditional crafts such as a flute and a garlic pot, the garlic being used to ward off evil spirits. He was a bit pushy trying to sell us things so we just made a small donation towards the upkeep of the village and then went for a look around.
The main feature of the village is the old houses built in traditional Karo Batak style, which the locals claim are upto 400 years old, though my LP says its more like 60-100. Either way they are picturesque and looked good against the morning blue skies, with volcanoes in the background.
Back in the square, the locals invited us into the building and explained that the meeting was for two families to discuss plans for their children's upcoming wedding. The families were sat on opposite sides of the building and the immediate family members sat in the middle discussing the plans. It was a bit like going back in time being in this rural village and we were the only tourists there.
We had early lunch then got back in a bemo and went back to Kabanjahe and got on an empty bemo towards another village, Dokan. Along the road, the bus filled up with school kids including about 10 sat on the roof, it was fun hanging out with the kids. We got dropped off at the turning for Dokan and a local soon came by and we got in the back of his ute.
At Dokan an old guy met us and took us to his traditional home. We took off our shoes and headed up the steep steps and into his wooden house. The old guy's grown-up Granddaughter talked to us about the house. It has no nails and is kept together with dowel joints. The house is shared by 8 families. There are 4 kitchen areas and they cook using wood, stored above the living area. The old guy claims to be 91 and he looked it, but he knew what was going. It is expected that you make a donation, which we did.
After, the Granddaughter showed us around the village and we met the kids and watched some guys making baskets from bamboo. Again we were the only tourists there, apparently they get 2 or 3 people each day.
Back in Berastagi I wandered around doing a bit of shopping and then read my book at the hostel. Early evening we followed the rubbish map and directions that the hostel gave us and eventually came to the viewpoint outside of town. We were in the countryside again and it was very pretty. We could see the sun going down over the volcanic hills and the Gunung Sinabung volcano in the distance. Had my photo taken with some excitable young ladies. Dinner at the nightmarkets again; talked to a teenage/early 20's muslim girl about her job and her family, after they had taken pictures with me.
Thursday 21 July
Jenny and I walked out of town toward Gunung Sibayak, a 2094m-high active volcano. You can see the volcano and the gases it emits from around town. We walked along the road for about 2 hours and then saw another tourist who pointed us to the rough steps up to the crater. The broken path and steps go up through the jungle and eventually we came out on a ridge and then we could see the crater, it was a pretty awesome sight with a steady stream of smoke rising above the rim. And in the crater we walked in there were many holes in the rock with smoke hissing as it blew out like steam from a pressure cooker. I was very impressed and kept saying 'wow!'.
The gas was sulphur and it leaves a yellow stain on the rocks around the exit. It was a gradual incline across the crater, across volcanic rock. We reached the far side and looked down on one part of the crater where previous visitors had written their names using rocks. On the other side we looked down on the villages. The weather was looking a bit suspect and we figured we had seen enough so we walked back down the same way that we came. It seemed to take ages to walk back down the road but we made it back to town at 3pm, having walked about 15kms today.
Friday 22nd July
We caught the local bus to Kabanjahe and then straight on to another to Pematangsiantar, packed in like sardines. Some of the locals there were a bit annoying and some guys told us it was 7000 rupiah each in their minivan to the our next stop and then when we got in the minivan they asked for 20000 each before we could leave, which wasted our time. If they had been honest and told us from the start that it was 20000 each, we might have gone with them; instead we got out. Eventually we found another cramped local bus and after a bit of a wait we left for Parapat. It rained alot on the way and our stuff was on the roof so got a bit wet.
At Parapat we got a small ferry 40 minutes across to Samosir Island, which sits in the middle of Lake Toba, which is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. The island is quite well developed, tourists were in the hotel restaurant watching a Hollywood movie when we arrived, and there is 'chips and gravy' on the menu (not really what I had expected). I had Gado Gado for dinner, which is vegetables in peanut sauce, with tofu and tempe and prawn crackers; delicious.
Saturday 23rd July
I rented a decent mountain bike and headed out to see some of the island. A quick spin around Tuk-Tuk and then 5kms to Ambarita and the Stone Chairs which are 300 years old; this is where Batak meetings and trials were held and nearby is the beheading spot. I carried on along the road, with the lake in view. I passed many traditional Batak houses and many churches. Before the missionaries, the people here were Animist. The churches look mainly like ours but have a Batak-style roof.
The road had its ups and downs and it was a good work out. After another 10kms I came to the small village of Simanindo. After a quick look at the lake from the jetty I headed back up to the village. I was the only tourist there and it was good to mix with the locals going about their daily business. There was a food market on so I left my bike outside a shop and had a wander around. I managed to use my fledgling Indonesian to buy some fruit, and deep-fried tofu with vegetables inside. The locals were friendly, except one older woman who raised her voice at me and slapped me on the arm and shoulder.
I cycled back, stopping along the way to enjoy the views, the green hills on one side, the lake on the other with traditional houses and water buffalo dotted around. At Tomok I got some water and chatted to some nice guys at the shop. Then I walked up to King Sidabutar's grave. He was the first King to accept Christianity here. Next to his tombstone are some stone human statues and the tombstone of the main missionary man.
Back at the hostel I tucked into the pineapple and bananas I had bought. I cycled about 45kms today.
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