Less than two hours from the busy city of Medan in North Sumatra, you'll find a tranquil volcanic lake and fascinating tribal culture
Indonesia's third largest city, North Sumatra's biggest seaport and a bustling commercial centre, Medan has long been a destination for businessmen and traders. Recently, however, the city's fathers have changed their marketing tactics with the result that the town and its environs are increasingly gaining popularity with curious adventurers and backpackers, most of them after a holiday that combines history with nature and the chance to learn about diverse cultures.
You don't really need more than one day in the city itself to soak up the traditional architecture at the 122yearold Maimoon Palace, home to the current Sultan of Deli, 11yearold Tuanicu Mahmud Arya Lamanciji, and learn more about Indonesia at the State Museum of North Sumatra.
Most tourists then head for the hills - to the small town of Brastagi, a mere 66 kilometres away, which is famous for its fresh fruit and colourful flower market. We too make Brastagi our base for the night and the next morning set off for nearby Dokan village, home to more than 40 families of the Batak Karo tribe.
The Batak - the name in the Malaysian dialect translates as "far away" - were originally cannibals with strong beliefs in the supernatural, but were converted to Christianity in the early 1900s by Dutch missionaries. Today, they live in wooden houses with a shape that resembles a boat, a curiosity for a non-seafaring people. We stop at a house owned by a 70yearold war veteran Rehan Ginting. It has two floors and is made from rare hardwood and bamboo. The door and walls are decorated with buffalo horns symbolising protection and a lizard, which refers to relationships.
Inside, the house is spacious enough for 30 people and is zoned to accommodate eight families. Each block has a bed and small cooking corner with simple kitchenware. There's no electricity or running water, so the residents use oil lamps and bathe in a near river.
Our next stop is Sipisopiso waterfall, on the northwestern tip of Lake Toba. This magnificent cascade emerges from an underground river then plunges 120 metres down the sheer cliff into the ravine below. The name means "like knives" in Malay.
A little further along the road, in the village of Pematang Purba, we come to the restored Simalungun Batak tribal longhouses. Now a museum complex, these longhouses, some of which date back some 200 years, include the Rumah Bolon, a teak dwelling built by the twelfth chief of the Bataks that stands on 20 pillars These are painted red, white and black denoting the way of life, heaven and hell, respectively.
The entrance is adorned with buffalo horns, all of them are cut after the death of the chief. The interiors are furnished simply with beds, utensils and kitchenware. Alongside is the jamrur, a twostorey wooden throne hall, used by the chiefs for meetings with elders as well as for stocking equipment.
Late in the afternoon, we reach the town of Parapat and board a ferry for the onehour ride across Lake Toba to the island of Samosir, both formed by the eruption of a super volcano some 75,000 years ago. The voyage is peaceful with plenty of photographic opportunities as we sail leisurely past towering mountains and small Batak Toba villages.
Our first stop on the island is Ambarita village, once governed by the Siallagan family but today ruled, it seems, by local vendors offering everything from wooden decorative items to colourful clothes.
The highlight is an openair museum, lined with wooden traditional houses, stone furniture, remnants of the Batak Toba megalithic culture, and the old prison. The guide points out the "killing lawn" where prisoners were reportedly tortured and killed.
We next head to Tamok or "Fat Man" village, established by the Sidabutar family around 500 years ago. The centre of the village is home to a tranquil cemetery, where we discover the stone coffins of three chiefs, Ompu Soribuntu Sidabutar, Oppu Naibatu Sidabutar and his fiancee Anting Malela Bi Sinaga, and Oppu Solompuan Sidabutar.
Tamok, our guide tells us, is also a great place for shopping, with cheap sarongs, souvenirs and crafts.
Tourism, it seems, has come to Lake Toba, big time.
IF YOU GO
Air Asia flies between Phuket and Medan every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. The round trip costs around Bt3,400. Visit www.AirAsia.com
The writer travels to Medan as a guest of AirAsia.
