I've had my first perfect day on Samsosir, the idyllic island in Lake Toba. After a night of almost ten hours of sleep, I woke up at a quarter to nine in the morning. I probably slept properly for the first time after this sixth night. It is certainly due to my hike I did yesterday. It's no secret to me that I only sleep well if I've moved a bit during the day.
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It is hard to believe that the day before yesterday I wanted to break up my tent and flee from the island of Samosir in Lake Toba to find my peace in the jungle around Ketambe in North Sumatra. Today, after the fourth night in Tuktuk, the small town on the east side of the island, I walk around for two hours and inwardly praise myself for the harmony of the place and the joie de vivre and the loving interaction of the Batak residents with each other. At the same time, I calculate in my head the maximum number of days I can stay here before I have to continue to the north of Sumatra to start my journey home in several stages.
Strange how fickle I am.
The fourth day on the island in Lake Toba after the third night. Routine is slowly setting in. Solid night's sleep, only to be woken up at 6:15 am by a banging and thumping like someone rearranging furniture. Because nobody does that even in Indonesia, I went out onto the balcony to have a look. It must be the boats on the shore wall, the waves lapping against their hulls.
The way is the goal and sometimes also the detour. I want to go from the old mining town of Ipoh to the Taman Negara, the oldest national park in Malaysia and also the oldest jungle in the world. It's not far away, but there's no direct connection to it.
This morning at nine Roni picks me up on his motorbike. I want to see a few things around Bukittingi with him today. I have my own helmet with me and am well equipped for a motorcycle tour. Roni suggests that we don't do a cultural program today, but look at the largest flowers in the world, some varieties of which grow in the area.