Holiday in Medan, Indonesia

Penang - Medan - Lake Toba

That was the main route for my journey on December last year.. Hehehe.. Just manage to find time to update it in here.. Sorry guys, hope it's not too late to share.. :-)

Overall, the holiday was SUPERB..!Although i had to finish the journey within 1 week time, but seriously the experience that i had in every second were such an ENJOYABLE moment and it's GREAT..

Actually i booked the air ticket quite late, so the fare that i paid was a little more expensive than it should. This is the 2nd time i fly with Air Asia and so far the airlines was always punctual.. I have no comment about the food, cos the journey there only took about 40 to 45 minutes and sometimes it can be early than that depending  on the weather..

I reached Polonia Airport at night time and here i would like to give you some advice, when you arrived at the airport, you will find a few people who want to offer lifting services, but DO NOT allow them to do so, just say "Thank You", get your luggage and hurry walk out from there. The same goes when you are outside, don't bother about people who offer you a Taxi service, because the cost will be double and sometimes 3 times higher than the actual price.. Just take 'angkut' (it's similar to a van or mini bus), cheap and safe.. Hehehe..

Ok, enough with that.. Lets go to the main story..  =))

I went to Lake Toba with my foster sister and she's Indonesian, so i do not have to worry about anything.. Heheh.. The distance from Medan to Lake Toba is about 4 hours plus, i bet your exhaustion in the course will disappear once you see the beauty of Lake Toba.. Really!!

Ok, for your information.. Lake Toba is a lake and super volcano. The lake is 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide, and 505 meters at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world.

Arrived in Parapat - Tigaraja, we took a boat to TukTuk at Samosir Island, Samosir Island is a large volcanic island in Lake Toba, its like an island within an island.. (Do you understand to what i'm trying to say?)

Tiga Raja Jetty in Parapat

On the boat.. Can you see the Indonesia flag behind there..?

My sis was busy chatting with the stewed peanuts seller on the boat.. Yummy!

Beautiful scenery

Boat ride from Parapat to TukTuk is less than 30 minutes.. I think so... Heheh.. Because i'm so fascinated by the views of the islands there, i can feel that the time passed too fast! Sorry guys.. :-)

One of the island in Lake Toba

I think they came here for honeymoon.. Hehehe..

One of the chalet in TukTuk

Another chalet in TukTuk, look at that stairs.. It's nice right?

Most of the chalets here adopt the characteristics of Batak house 

Same as this one..

In TukTuk, we stayed at Carolina Hotel for 3 nights.. Guess what, we only paid around RM60 per night!! It's damn cheap..! They have 49 rooms set in a beautiful tropical garden, a restaurant with a veranda overlooking the lake. Their staff are very helpful and friendly. They have a lake area for swimming (fresh water of course, so you do not have to worry about fear of ingesting salt water, hehehe..) with a diving board and pontoon to relax.. Last but not least, they also offer motorbike rental and free wifi in the restaurant area (the speed might be quite slow, but still ok..) Heheh.. Overall, it is worth! I like it and i will definitely choose to stay there again..

Carolina front desk

Our room is on the right hand side

Carolina's beautiful garden (this view was taken from our balcony)

Carolina's Restaurant

One shot before climbed up the stairs

Luxury suite at Carolina

What a nice building....

Took a nap before going out for dinner

My last meal in Carolina.. By the way, i like their sambal (not in the picture).. It's super hot..! :-)

First day at TukTuk, we just walked around the hotel while enjoying the beauty of the garden. The fresh air will make you feel very natural and comfortable.. Every corner of this place is very stunning.. Waaaaa.. I just miss this place so much! :-(

Swimming area (picture taken from our balcony)..

If you want to know, the management of this hotel has set a rule which every each of the resident here are not allowed to make noise after 9pm.. That's why the atmosphere here is very quite at night.. =)

Second day at TukTuk, we woke up early morning and start our journey around the island and for this reason, we rent a motor for a full day (9am - 6pm) which cost us around RM25.. Once again, i would like to emphasize here that it is very cheap!!

As i said, on that day we went around the island, we just stop at interesting places with beautiful scenery to take photographs. You guys imagine, from 9am - 6pm, we only managed to visit a quarter of the island!! Haihhh... Soooo tired, my back and hip all pain, i'm very sure my sister's condition must be more severe.. Hahah.. What a bad luck to have a BIG sister like me.. =))) Pity her...

Spectacular view of Lake Toba

Fascinated.....

I'm so amazed, speechless....!

Impressive sight

Incredibly relieving

Soothing....

This picture was taken when we stopped for a quick rest, this is the only stall at the top of the hill..

Hill paddy planting area

This motorcycle was soooo worthy to us! Without it, we cant go much further.. Thanks bike! :-)

Along the way you may see there a lot of big statue which is actually their cemeteries for Batak people ancestors..

You can see a buffalo anywhere and everywhere you go..  The best thing is, they will not chase after you.. ;-)

We stopped by at Tomok to had our lunch there, most of the Batak people is Christian, so.. we have to be more careful on the food, but dont worry, it is not that hard to find 'halal' food here.. After filling the hungry stomach, we walked through the row of shops and bought a lots of souvenirs.. Seriously our backpack was full of t-shirs, key chains, batik cloth, etc... Luckily my sister know the local language, so it's very easy for us to deal with the traders.. My sister was good at bargaining thingy.. Heheheh..

We also spend some time to visit Batak Museum at Simanindo, i found that Batak house is very unique because we can only see the stairs to the house but we cannot see the door because the door was blocked by a wall. I managed to climbed the stairs and take a look inside the Batak house and i can feel the spirit of the traditional culture which is still well protected..

Batak Museum

Third day at TukTuk, we went over to Parapat by boat.. Just walked aimlessly, looking for delicious food.. Nothing much to do, went back to the hotel, changed our cloth and 'dushhhhhhhh...', hehehe.. jumped into the lake.. Waaaaa.. The water is sooooo cold, my sister cant even step into it, she was shivering.. And i... Cant stop laughing at her.. Hahaha..

Road conditions in Parapat

Chevrolet.. Common brand in Indonesia...

After all... Every moment that i captured in this place is very valuable, the serenity that i get here might be very difficult to find elsewhere.. Hopefully Lake Toba natural beauty will remain protected.. :-)

Note:
CAROLINA HOTEL
Email: carolina@indosat.net.id 
☎ +62 625 451210