Medan - Day 2

The morning sun was the perfect weather to go on a boat ride over to Samosir Island. You definitely don't get blue unpolluted skies like these in the city.

The boat in itself is not the greatest. The smell of diesel at the lower deck was really strong. Indonesian songs was blasting on the radio, making conversations rather difficult. Many locals are smoking cheap cigarettes. Some grandmas were selling some unknown vege in baskets while chewing beetle nuts turning their teeth to an unsightly shade of red. Others just slept all the way through.

There are some resorts located on Samosir Island itself

I could not remember how many villages or tribes there are on Samosir Island but the one we were brought to is called Tomok (coincidentally this is the stage name of a local Malaysian artiste whom I have signed on for my upcoming project - coincidence?). Right at the jetty are local women selling fresh fish in plastic baskets. I have to admit that hygiene is obviously not a critical factor in this place for I would never buy fish here looking at how a lot of the fishes are simply placed on the ground, next to a pile of rubbish.

There we were met by a local guide who took us to see some traditional houses. I have some recall of these houses from my previous trip 17 years ago. I need to mentally remind myself to search for those old photos. These houses has similarities to the Negeri Sembilan Minangkabau houses due to its high pointed roof. What is probably different is that these houses has VERY small doors, which would mean that obesity is not tolerated in this village. Heh heh heh.

Oh my, what tall ceilings you must have in your home

After that we were brought to a burial ground and were told a story about the King who lived on this land. The guide also mentioned that the bodies who are buried with the lava stone does not decompose and rot over time, and that once when the tomb was opened, they found the dearly departed still in fairly pristine condition. Surrounding the tomb were carvings of lizards and female breasts. When prompted he explained that the lizards represents the versatility of the people from this village; that they can survive wherever they go and make a good living for themselves. As for the boobies, it represents nurture and to remind its people of their homeland (or something like that).

The only portion of the story that got my mother excited is one of the tomb has some special powers that will help singles to find love and their soul mate. Of course my Mom immediately pushed me there and ask me to rub the tomb as instructed by the guide. Oh well, no harm done, right? So as long as I do not have to sell fish by the jetty.

After some more shopping for local handicrafts, we got on the 30-minute boat ride back to Parapat. From there we headed to lunch before continuing our journey to Brastagi.

Along the way we stopped at Sipiso-piso waterfall. Even before this trip, I have deep memories of this place because the waterfall was really tall and majestic. However, when we got here, I am not sure whether it has dried up over the years or is this another case of  "When I was young, and Christmas trees are tall. Now we are tall, and Christmas trees are small ... " for the waterfall was a bit of a let down.

When I was small, and Sipiso-piso waterfall was tall
Now I am still not that tall, and Sipiso-piso waterfall is small

What made up for this minor disappointment is the breathtaking view from this scenie spot of Lake Toba. The clouds, the clear sea, the different hues of green of the volcanic mountains, the contrast of texture from the tall trees ... it was indescribable. Such a postcard perfect scene. I just stood there taking it all in. I really need to find more time to smell the roses once in awhile. All these endless meetings and working late is not gonna do me any good.

Postcard perfect scenery

It took us another 2 hours of country driving to reach Brastagi. I was surprised to see many churches along the way, houses in all shapes and sizes, little shacks selling gasoline in mineral water bottles, endless cigarette and telecommunications posters plastered on every provision store, children playing in the fields and oh yes, fruit stalls to replenish our supply of fruits for our fruit party tonight. On the menu today is strawberries, mandarin oranges and a purple and black zebra-like fruit the shape of a mango that tastes like cucumber with the texture of a honeydew.

Again, after checking into the hotel, we freshened up and went for a walk around the pool and the garden surrounding the hotel. We had a pretty clear view of Mount Merapi that spewed ashes 6 months ago. Even today we could see some smoke from the volcano but it looked pretty harmless so we continued on our jolly way. 

As the sun started to set, Mother Nature took her paintbrush and her wonderful set of water colours and painted the sky. Beautiful does not even begin to describe this wonder.

10/11/2011 08:30:00 PM | Labels: |

 

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