Nov 10 … Actually I am not Indonesian! Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia!
I am Batak! And being Batak is special! We are different and we live all around Lake Toba. We eat pork, drink alcohol, smoke weed and enjoy 'shrooms. And yes, we run Guesthouses and make everything Batik. Batik Shirts, postcards and everything else. We like to sing, dance and meet everyone that makes it to our wonderful peace of land.
That's about the description you get. So
don't mix up the Batak with the Indonesians. They are too friendly to
be angry but they would still prefer to be referred to as Batak.
Since I've been corrected twice I try my hardest not to make that
mistake again. So I am in Toba, geographically it's Sumatra,
Indonesia, but here it's simply Batak country.
I wake up early my first morning on Lake Toba. There's happy squeaks of kids that just won't stop. If you can't beat them, join them, someone very smart once said, so I do join them. At the lake that is. 7 in the morning and there I am, jumping in the volcanic lake. It's not cold, but refreshing. Nice to wake up in the morning. The kids keep their screaming going, none of them actually is fully in the water, they are more just near the water, I guess mostly unfortunate non-swimmers. I enjoy having the gigantic lake to myself as far as the eye can see and splash around and then set out to discover the nearby roads. Wow, I am actually mostly voluntarily up before the shops are open. I did not expect that to happen on vacation. I am quite the opposite of an early riser. But it's nice to see everyone set up their shops and walk through the streets as the sun grows stronger and stronger. Aaaaaaah!
9.30 I am meeting my personal tour guide Bes. He shows me around and I pay fuel and food. Good deal it is.
I urge all Vegetarians, Vegans etc. to skip the next part. And everyone else, don't judge, curiosity won over me....
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What intrigued me yesterday was Bes and
Alex talking about a special that serves something you don't get very
often on the island. Dogmeat. And if you wanna have it it's important
to come early morning since they start selling at 10 am and are sold
out shortly thereafter. I do love dogs and always wish I had one. But
for now curiosity won over me. Back in China I wanted to try one,
just to know and to see why it's considered such a delicacy and
whether that status is warranted. Over the years I have tried many
meats from all kinds of animals and since it is readily available
here I'll take the plunge and try it. If you ever have the urge of
going there. Set out from Tuk Tuk, drive through Tomok and continue
straight on. When the right goes up right through the mountains just
continue straight until you arrive here, just as we did today. Tomok
is a town that stretches out from the main road in small unpaved
alleys. Souvenir stalls and restaurants advertising European Foods
all over. The roads after Tomok get bumpy, I am glad I don't have to
drive myself. The place is a scenic restaurant right by the lake.
With some pedal-boats and a panoramic view. We have to wait a bit
till it is read and I am getting a bit nervous. What to expect here?
After taking a few good pictures there it is. A bowl of dog meat
right in front of me. Since I am a 'guest of honor' they ask me if I
would like to have the head. I politely refuse, that would be way too
much. Looks like beef, dark meat in a brown sauce. With some rice.
And there's some soup too. I guess made from bones and other stuff.
So it's to dig in. Mix sauce, soup and meat with the rice, eat with
our right hand. I watch first. But hey if Alex' two year old Felix
can eat it, so can I. And I do try. It's tasty but not extra
delicious. I am glad somehow. This means I'll never try again, since
it's not so great that I'll have to have it again. They go for a 2nd
helping why I am working hard on my first one, unable to finish it
all. If anyone wants to know I feel it tasted a bit like a mixture
between deer, pig's liver and beef heart, guess that describes it
best. They also get some extra parts which looks like innards and the
toddler is totally indulging. It's supposed to give kids strength
keep them healthy and fight off disease and allergies so Daddy is
very happy that he is eating. Enough of the adventures. It cost just
over 1€ each which is insanely cheap. And now I can also see why
you have to come early. Most of it is already gone, gobbled up by the
man in the restaurant, additionally they take a lot of doggy bags (no
pun intended) and by 11 there's barely anything left in her bowl. I
ask and that's all they cook here, once a day. Be on time and get it
or don't. Interesting way of doing business it seems to be working
perfectly here. On the way back I spot a few gorgeous dogs by the
side of the road and I feel guilty. Sorry, I think in my head, I
won't do it again.
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There's also plenty of schoolchildren.
They are very cute in their red skirts and shorts and white blouses,
with colorful backpacks that's almost the size of them. Walking along
the road (I wonder how far they travel to/from school) they make for
cute picture along the way. We stop in Ambarita so I can get some
cash on the one working ATM on the island – seems to be a common
theme in Indonesia. No ATM's around in the countryside, although it's
touristy. Few more scenic roads along rice paddies and the mountains
and waterfalls in the distance we are back in TukTuk and I need to
chillax. I hear some more stories about the island and the Batak.
It's evident that Toba's best days are over. There are Hotels,
Guesthouses and Restaurants that could fit I guess ten times the
people than are regularly here now. That's why the prices are so low
for lodging and partly for food. There is just too much supply. I
hear that in the 90s Toba was all the rage. People came here for the
legal drugs and parties. The famous full moon parties that are now
held in Thailand's Koh Phangan were held in Toba for over a decade
before mass tourism came to Thailand. Tour groups, especially Dutch,
came in drones and business was good for the Pataks. And then
Indonesian politics got complicated, war and it wasn't safe to travel
anymore. That was the end to the high life in Lake Toba. Now there
are no more tour groups. Mostly backpackers stopping a few days on
their way through Sumatra, though some stay for weeks. And some older
people looking for peace and quiet and to relax. There's also cycling
and hiking here so it offers everything to stay longer if you feel
like it. The Batak's speak a bit of every language. I am surprised
that they speak English, many quite well, and now to say the
important things in German, Finnish, Dutch, French and quite a few
other languages. All picked up from tourists on the streets. Not
through schooling. Fascinating. Some, who hung out with one
nationality the most speak that language fluently. I am impressed. I
have been hanging out with Finnish for weeks but all I've picked up
is a sentence and a few words here and there. Batak men and woman
cannot marry unless they know the traditional songs and dance, hence
everyone can sing and dance at least a bit. Most also know how to
play an instrument which always comes in handy. A guitar or mandolin
is never far away and a song on their lips. Bataks are not allowed to
marry anyone that carries their last name as they belong to the same
tribe, so it's apparently not so easy to find a suitable match close
by, you'd need to go a bit farther to find someone. And although they
are Batak and not Indonesian they compliment the Indonesian women’s
beauty (which I totally agree with), especially the Balinese (which I
am soon to find out). Sad story that it's not the same for the men.
Yes, some of them may be easy on the eyes with the tanned skin and
youthful looks but I just see young boys (they all look like boys)
that are a head shorter than me. So whatever you may have thought, I
won't be the heroine in a continuation of Eat, Pray, Love.
It's nice to have a guide to take you
around and tell you stories but it's also nice just to do nothing for
a bit. Nice walk and some research for my onward travel. I meet some
more people have some long and interesting talks and another loooong
swim in Lake Toba. By now the sun is hidden behind the clouds and
strong waves are in the lake, which makes splashing around and
swimming so much more exciting. It's a nice change not to be getting
salt water all over.
A chilled evening with chitchat and
travel tips all around, that's life in Tuk Tuk.
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