"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe."
Like the Earth itself, traveling has many facets. With it's peaks and valleys, during a journey, one can experience moments of pure enjoyment and excitement juxtaposed with ones of distress and humility. They can manifest in many forms, I've learned. Embark with the expectations of freedom from the realities of the human condition and you will surely be humbled for naivety and ignorance. A lesson of which I am constantly being reminded...
The 8 hour mini bus to coach from Bukit Lawang to Lake Toba was pretty uneventful, until we arrived just outside Parapat, the port town nearest our destination. The road became increasingly more twisted and the topography surrounding the lake was incredibly scenic. Danau Toba, it's Indonesian name, is a lake and super volcano located in the center of northern Sumatra. It is the largest volcanic lake in the world and the greatest known explosion on Earth within the last 25 million years and damn is it beautiful. If you haven't by now, look it up. It's interesting how something so destructive at one point in time can become so magnificent in another. I was unaware of the sheer size of it until I saw it with my own eyes. In the middle of the volcano is Samosir Island, which takes about 1 hour to reach by ferry. Luckily for us it departed about half an hour before sunset. Watching the sky change colors and reflecting on the water below was simply spectacular. I was mesmerized by it. As we approached the island I remember admiring the distinct shape of the rooftops of the huts and houses and the way the sun shone on them. They were colorful and had a resemblance to boat hulls curving upwards on both ends. Sometimes, when you really stop to think about it, there are moments when you find yourself observing something you never have before and perhaps never will again. This was one of those times. The ferry's last stop was at a dock outside our cottages, near the small town known as Tuk Tuk. A tourist destination but not without good reason. The locals had set up guest houses, resorts and restaurants, bars and souvenir shops mainly in this area. After signing in we decided it was time to refuel. We ordered some local dishes and beers and watched a live band that had set up to play in the restaurant part of our guesthouse. The band played what sounded strangely similar to most hispanic music that is pretty common back home in Texas, sans the spanish lyrics and with some flute thrown in. Some of the local children also performed a traditional dance which wasn't exactly well coordinated but charming nonetheless. Tired from a long day of traveling and little sleep we decided to call it a night and count some sheep. That was my plan at least.
Apparently, at some point in the middle of the night my stomach disagreed with what I ate, the idea of me resting and decided I needed to purge. Now, there are few things that I really dislike doing. Throwing up is one of them. I was aware from previous experiences and from reading about travel illnesses in the area that my body might reject certain foods. As such, I was prepared and bought anti nausea medication, antacids, and antidiarrheal. A concoction that I took and proceeded to force myself to sleep, holding my stomach in the fetal position. The next morning I felt completely miserable but I treated it like you would a hangover. I kept drinking water and tried to fight through it but it proved to be futile. As much as I cringed at the thought, I knew it had to be done. I knelt in front the toilet and proceeded to puke myself into fatigue. I felt much better but felt so weak and my stomach still ached. "The show must go on." I thought. We rented a scooter to drive around the island that day and were going to visit a few places while sightseeing. This worked for maybe an hour and when I couldn't even force feed myself some rice I had to head back and lay down. I slept uncomfortably for maybe a few hours until I found myself hugging the porcelain throne once again. This time, after when felt like an eternity, I expelled every ounce of fluid I had. I immediately felt rejuvenated. And hungry! Sweet, sweet relief, albeit, at the expense of our plans.
The point of all this, by the way, isn't to disgust you. Or I'd've gone into more detail, trust me. More so to explain that as much as I'd like to sugar coat everything or paint this beautiful picture of a fairy tale life, it isn't all rainbows and butterflies. This is something that can happen wherever you are and you have be prepared to accept that life doesn't care about your plans. It's something of which I have to constantly remember. Compared to the 2 motorcycle accidents I had yet to be in at this point, (Relax family, I'm obviously still fine cause you're reading this.) which I'll get to later, food poisoning in a lesser more tolerable obstacle. Nonetheless, these bumps in the road are part of it all. Part of the bigger picture. Details in a story. The story of Life. These are lessons to be learned, later to be life experiences to share. Be it a breathtaking view of a scenic landscape, or multiple gut wrenching vomit spells. Attitude and perspective during occurring events, no matter what they may be, ultimately has a tangible impact on your experience. It may seem impossible at the time but you just have to learn to take the good with the bad and embrace them.
After finally being able to stomach some food, we headed out to explore the island. It was supposed to be possible to drive around the island in a day but since the first half of it was spent with me being incapacitated Marta and I had to settle with what little time we had. So we just drove. Samosir island has only one main road. It's two lanes with no shoulders but paved and decently maintained. Then there are some that connect the inner parts that aren't really roads. They're more like paths with occasional asphalt patches. Heavy rains turned what were once streets into pothole minefields. Parts of them just look like rocks were thrown over holes and they called it a day. Others we found were connected with sketchy dilapidating wooden planks and logs as bridges. Slowly but surely we drove upwards and onwards regardless of the conditions. Until we made it to a clearing on the side of the road at what looked like one of the highest points. The view here was, by every meaning of the word, awesome. It's a place that you just can't seem to believe exists or that you're actually there. Picturesque is how I would describe it but neither words or pictures would suffice. This was the highlight of my day. After a terrible start, Indonesia would redeem itself ten-fold with it's gorgeous landscapes. We headed back to Tuk Tuk for dinner at Bamboo Bar, which over looked the lake, just in time for sunset. An enjoyable ending to an arduous day.
Driving a scooter, or motorbike as most people refer to them, around islands is the certainly the only way I'll be exploring them from now on. The few days we spent there wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable had we used other means of transportation. Gasoline is ludicrously cheap and the time you save going around obstacles you would have to creep over in a car alone is worth the sunburn you get in exchange. Not to mention the feeling of the wind on your skin and really feeling the curves of the road. Sure, you might come around said curve, slip over a few large rocks, lose your balance and unexpectedly drive into a ditch with your helpless passenger in tow, but you'll be fine! Trust me, it's worth it.
We would spend the following and final day driving around the island, admiring everything about it. The Batak houses were especially fascinating. Built traditionally the same way as the original Batak people, the roofs of their distinct homes are deeply engrained in the culture and are used for restaurants and businesses as well as souvenirs. There are plenty of original Batak houses still in use but many of them have been abandoned for more preferable modern houses. The wildlife is also equally interesting. It's not uncommon throughout the island to see water buffalo, chickens, cats and dogs all on someone's front yard. It's quite enchanting to see a mixture of these animals living alongside people. Oh, and did I mention it's a lake? You're surrounded by water here so you pretty much swim anywhere and everywhere. Couple this with it's delicious seafood and authentic Indonesian dishes and it's easy to see why Lake Toba is the third most visited place in all of Indonesia.
As we ferried back to the mainland the following morning, I watched as the island grew smaller and smaller until it was out of sight. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and would undoubtedly recommend visiting Lake Toba to anyone. (Although I might suggest you be wary of the grilled mackerel with "malanguenian" sauce.) Nonetheless, it would wholeheartedly be missed. However, as regrettable as it seemed at the time to leave without spending more time there, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult to leave as the unspoiled gem that was our next destination. Pulau Weh.