Translations:
ghostriders : those without lights (either one of front or rear will be enough to qualified for this category)
red crosses: no, of course not those angels from the red cross, but the a-holes that cruise pass through a red light without even blinking.
disoriented: they are so knocked out they can't figure out which way is the right way anymore so they just cruising at the wrong lane cutting through traffic that heading their way
circus men: those who has a dream of one day joining the Chinese national circus team, but before those day comes they rehearsed it by riding along a bike with 3 or more men.
And everytime i see one of them i literally pray that they die from some horrific traffic accident, am i evil?? well you see, these people continue to drive carelessly without a single care (of course, they are careless, D'oh!) about other's and their own safety but all the while its the other driver's safety that is on the chopping board here, they are much more likely to hurt somebody else badly than themself, so i thought the sooner they all die and gone to hell's traffic school its the better for the rest of us, rite??
oh well look where i ended......this is not about those idiots....
ok, so i run away from this mad city.....to where you ask? due to not a very healthy financial state im in so not too far away, but then again why should i fly thousands miles away to have some fun while there is a heaven in my own backyard, yes you guessed it, its the one, the best, but the underated LAKE TOBA!!!!! i still got that little childish joy everytime i go there. To think about it, that 75.000 years ago a super volcano stood there, and then explode so furiously that it is said iy changes the course of human history, and leave behind a lil piece of heavenly beauty.
oh well, i shut up now and as usual let the pics do the talking.............
P.S Please click on the pics to see it in full size to fully appreciate it
around 7 in the morning, a beautiful foggy morning in desa Merek, few km outside of North Sumatera next hottest destination, Taman Simalem Resort
The ride
The in progressed buddhist temple at Simalem
Happy campers
Marquisa/passion fruit farm at Simalem
welcome...duta pariwisata sumatera utara menyambut hangat kedatangan anda di taman simalem
view of lake toba from one of the spot at Simalem, its a cloudy early morning
another view. This is at the highest and prob best spot (view wise) at the resort and is the location where all the hotel rooms will be situated, nothing is contruct yet though. 
Taruna, conquer all terrain!!
view from the car, a few meters in front of us is a cliff!!
snack time/narcist moment
errr...not all terrain afterall
helepppp!!!!! the tire all buried in the mud!! as no contruction work yet begin on this site there were no worker or security officers found anywhere near. so nobody is there to lend a helping hands. we tried scream from our small lungs, and pressing the horn for as long as i dare before it burns the battery (or our eardrums), but to no result, nobody can hear us. I guessed other than space, nobody can hear you scream high a above a hill too.oh and this hotel will be called the one tree hill resort. For a reason that you will finding out below.
in the middle of the area is this one tree, left there alone while all the other trees (i assume there were more than just this one tree) have been dug out when they excavated the area
since she wont be anywhere near strong enough to do the pushing so she must be the driver. And since she can't drive manual the plan failed and we still stucked (or prob because i wasn't strong enough either hehehe)
sad campers
stuck and ain't getting nowhere, but look at the viewwe then think hard about walking down to the security office, but it was something like 3km. and then came up with a better idea, the entrance ticket got the Medan's marketing office number on it, so we call it up, telling them that we are here and trapped and ask them to call their security and send somebody the hell up here and dig us out.
10 minutes later 2 guys drive up and free us. He then said that few month ago the car of the Medan's mayor get trapped in the exact same spot too. well then why the hell you didn't do something about it mister??? waiting for the president to get trapped first??
10 minutes later 2 guys drive up and free us. He then said that few month ago the car of the Medan's mayor get trapped in the exact same spot too. well then why the hell you didn't do something about it mister??? waiting for the president to get trapped first??
when even the view from the toilet is this good, you know you are at a great placewe start the journey from Medan at 4.40 early in the wee hour, as i always wanted to have a midnite roadtrip (you know, me hating medan's traffic so much its only natural that the only time i enjoy driving is at midnite when nobody is around).
the plan is we hit Simalem and tongging (sipiso2 waterfall) and just go nuts and have fun for the whole day and drive back to Berastagi (nearest town with proper/save accomodation from tongging) and drive to Lake toba early the next morning. But since we both were pretty keen on reaching Lake Toba as soon as possible and it was cloudy and raining and all that so we (or rather me) decide to scrap tongging from the list.
now for those of you not so knowledgeable about the route down this region, of course normally the route you take when you go Berastagi (or tongging/Simalem) is different from the one you took if you are to go to Perapat. But the normal route of reaching Perapat when you go trough all those town like Tebing Tinggi, Siantar and all is boriiiiiiing at best, and you have to navigate through traffics.
as you can see from the map above, the RED line is the normal route to Perapat,getting through to Lubuk Pakam, Tebing and all. The GREEN line runs as the route to Berastagi and Tongging/Simalem, and as you can see it runs all the way to Perapat too, and whats best from this route is that you drive all the way on the foothill over looking Lake Toba herself, all the way to Perapat, small rural street with almost no traffic and a breathtaking view, what more could you ask for from a road trip?!?
There actualy another route which is the BLUE one, it offer an all together different view of Lake Toba from the one most of us ever see, you go all the way "behind" samosir passing Sidikalang and get to a small town called Tele where the view is supposedly superb and then you can drive yourself into Samosir island through Paguruan. No need ferry as there is a little road connectong the island and the mainland. Next trip, we are surely gonna take this route.
A true eureka moment, out of nowhere, after an hour of drive on a road where no other commuters has been seen, this fish shaped building pop out!!!! yes...my dear friend, its a fish!!! we have no idea whats it for, and there is a man looking out from the window there on the fish belly. since its only me and my girlfriend it didn't looks like a good idea to stop and go down and have a chat with that man about what this building is all about. for all we know it could be a butcher house where they kidnapp innocent travellers and cut em up like in the movie Hostel.
you can already see tuk-tuk even when you are still 1 hour away from reaching perapat!!! YEAY!!! and it look like its having a local rain!! awesome!!!
Look!!! tuk-tuk!!
no, thats not the world's worst rapping move. we actually wanna get a pic with both of us is air borne. but out timing sucks and this is us a split second after making a safe landing back to Earth.
Oh this is after we reach Perapat and we got an hour to kill untill the ferry that carry cars to Samosir have to leave. and this is from the pool of Danau Toba Cottage (hey, i might be using your area for free, but you got free advertisement in return too)
and this is the successful shoot
the plan is we hit Simalem and tongging (sipiso2 waterfall) and just go nuts and have fun for the whole day and drive back to Berastagi (nearest town with proper/save accomodation from tongging) and drive to Lake toba early the next morning. But since we both were pretty keen on reaching Lake Toba as soon as possible and it was cloudy and raining and all that so we (or rather me) decide to scrap tongging from the list.
now for those of you not so knowledgeable about the route down this region, of course normally the route you take when you go Berastagi (or tongging/Simalem) is different from the one you took if you are to go to Perapat. But the normal route of reaching Perapat when you go trough all those town like Tebing Tinggi, Siantar and all is boriiiiiiing at best, and you have to navigate through traffics.
as you can see from the map above, the RED line is the normal route to Perapat,getting through to Lubuk Pakam, Tebing and all. The GREEN line runs as the route to Berastagi and Tongging/Simalem, and as you can see it runs all the way to Perapat too, and whats best from this route is that you drive all the way on the foothill over looking Lake Toba herself, all the way to Perapat, small rural street with almost no traffic and a breathtaking view, what more could you ask for from a road trip?!?
There actualy another route which is the BLUE one, it offer an all together different view of Lake Toba from the one most of us ever see, you go all the way "behind" samosir passing Sidikalang and get to a small town called Tele where the view is supposedly superb and then you can drive yourself into Samosir island through Paguruan. No need ferry as there is a little road connectong the island and the mainland. Next trip, we are surely gonna take this route.
A true eureka moment, out of nowhere, after an hour of drive on a road where no other commuters has been seen, this fish shaped building pop out!!!! yes...my dear friend, its a fish!!! we have no idea whats it for, and there is a man looking out from the window there on the fish belly. since its only me and my girlfriend it didn't looks like a good idea to stop and go down and have a chat with that man about what this building is all about. for all we know it could be a butcher house where they kidnapp innocent travellers and cut em up like in the movie Hostel.
you can already see tuk-tuk even when you are still 1 hour away from reaching perapat!!! YEAY!!! and it look like its having a local rain!! awesome!!!
Look!!! tuk-tuk!!
no, thats not the world's worst rapping move. we actually wanna get a pic with both of us is air borne. but out timing sucks and this is us a split second after making a safe landing back to Earth.Oh this is after we reach Perapat and we got an hour to kill untill the ferry that carry cars to Samosir have to leave. and this is from the pool of Danau Toba Cottage (hey, i might be using your area for free, but you got free advertisement in return too)
and this is the successful shootAnd may i suggest the next time you are going to Lake toba to not to stay at Perapat but Samosir instead. there are lots of local accomodation around the Island, from the very basic and cheap to the one acceptable for most city's princesses. The locals open cafe all around the island and they all offer a different atmosphere, renting bikes to paddle around and just enjoying the life of the locals there is the best way to appreciate the place. There are 2nd book store all over tuk-tuk too, internet cafe, movie renting and so on
a nice brekkie to start the day
a nice brekkie to start the day
Our adopted child, Loni and Lona
this is Lona, with a more black patch on her head (incase you wonder which is which)
The children of samosir. As i was across the field from their house photographing the bulls, this kids scream for me to take their photo. "FOTO!!!" she screams. Luckily for her i just couldn't say no to such enthusiasm
Ello there!
Look at them, so happy just because i point my camera at them. priceless laugh
this is the bull i was photographing before those kids "hijacked" me. I didn't dare to went in closer as he stop every now and then during his meal and look at me, as if making sure im not coming any closer. although he is tied to a stick that was stucked into the ground, im just not sure how small rope tie to a tiny stick can stop this giant bull from putting his horn into my backside if he wanted to. So i was cautious and ready to run the bejesus out of me at the first sign of hostility from this particular Mr.Moo. But the next day when i found another bull and another place...its a whole different story as i get as close as it gets!
the tomb of the first king to rule Samosir. You must wear ulos (which is provided) before you step in.there is another site of other king tombs which i visited a few month before with a groups of friends as their post wedding party. and at those site the local tale teller said that if you touched the chin on the tomb's head that has been sculpt into the shape of the late king's face you will have good luck in finding love. So as the only 2 single guys on the trip me and this other friend of mine touch it for fun (neither of us is supertitious, or isit mr.ali??) and guess what, few month later i found the lovely Miss Mira and we are now an item, and what about the other dude you ask? HE IS MARRIED!!! again, im not supertitious, but that is spooky!!
its this chin that i touched, and this is kinda like a "thank you visit" for the king for "letting" me meet my dear burp. you just have too excuse the blurry pic as it was taken by the old tale teller who take care of this place, he then complained that my cam is dead heavy after he took this, so as you can see i don't really have the option of asking him to retaking it.
another part of the tomb. A rain calling ceremony perform in the yard of the king's palace in the past. A group of young man standing in circle around a sacrificial cow. And the cow statue is not in this pic because it was stolen a few years ago. the bastards!!!
kicking back inside a cafe with a reggae atmosphere,and a killer view
dreaming about the promised "rich land"
Bob Marley posters and door decorative, very Reggae
a very nice range of exotic birds on offer right behind our hotel's room. too bad i don't have the kick ass wild life lense and the time to literally just sat there and wait for them to fly into my field of view so i could take a more close up pic of these winged beauties.
birdy
telecomunication is not a problem, telkom speedy even has their own office and transmitter antenna here, and i suspect their internet connection here is better than mine back in Medan
natural beauties :P
different bull than the one above, a more friendly one (or simply ignorant) he just munch the grass away and didn't really care for me being there so close. well he did give me "the eye" one or twice, probably just making sure that im on the right angle so he didn't look fat. And seeing how nonchalant he is with my present i move closer and closer.
you can't really appreciate the closeness as this is a wide angle lense, but believe me when i tell you that he can just swing his head my way and my heart will be pierced by his horn.
"Mooooooo......hey human!! this is a good pose, snap it!!! Mooooo...."
more bulls
rice field alongside the foothill of Samosir
do we look like a stranded hitchhikers??
This place serve the best pizza on Earth (ohkay, so i never really been to Italy and try their pizzas). I actually ate here 8 years ago on the new years eve of the Y2K. I fall in love with it back then and been wanting to put that little piece of melted cheese with bunch of meat trapped inside in my mouth again ever since. I finally did get the chance, i keep telling people of how good it was, but i actually forgotten about how it taste already, i just remember that i was so satisfied that i was thinking i should like gather all my life saving to open a pizza parlour back in Medan and ask this ibu to be the chef.
so after 8 years, i come back, tasted it again. And oh yeahhhhh.....its still as mouth watering as ever, its like a mini orgasm in your mouth with every bite you take. really!!! take a good look at the front of this resto, its called Franky and its right beside hotel Silintong (the first, not Silintong 2) and the next time you are there go in and prove me wrong.
Whoaaaaaaaa....im actually hungry just by looking at it!!!!
she was overwhelmed by how delicious the pizza taste too, well she might be affected by all the story of how great it was by me before tasting it :p
oh and the spaghetti is pretty mean too! look at that cheese
as you can see that magic mushroom is on the menu, and this is the mushroom that can make you a little high, laughing non stop and such. a mild, non addictive drugs you could say. we contemplating on having it but then if we both try then nobody is left to watch over us and god knows what silly things we might do when under influence.
taken on board the ferry
its this chin that i touched, and this is kinda like a "thank you visit" for the king for "letting" me meet my dear burp. you just have too excuse the blurry pic as it was taken by the old tale teller who take care of this place, he then complained that my cam is dead heavy after he took this, so as you can see i don't really have the option of asking him to retaking it.
another part of the tomb. A rain calling ceremony perform in the yard of the king's palace in the past. A group of young man standing in circle around a sacrificial cow. And the cow statue is not in this pic because it was stolen a few years ago. the bastards!!!
kicking back inside a cafe with a reggae atmosphere,and a killer view
dreaming about the promised "rich land"
Bob Marley posters and door decorative, very Reggae
a very nice range of exotic birds on offer right behind our hotel's room. too bad i don't have the kick ass wild life lense and the time to literally just sat there and wait for them to fly into my field of view so i could take a more close up pic of these winged beauties.
birdy
telecomunication is not a problem, telkom speedy even has their own office and transmitter antenna here, and i suspect their internet connection here is better than mine back in Medan
natural beauties :P
different bull than the one above, a more friendly one (or simply ignorant) he just munch the grass away and didn't really care for me being there so close. well he did give me "the eye" one or twice, probably just making sure that im on the right angle so he didn't look fat. And seeing how nonchalant he is with my present i move closer and closer.
you can't really appreciate the closeness as this is a wide angle lense, but believe me when i tell you that he can just swing his head my way and my heart will be pierced by his horn.
"Mooooooo......hey human!! this is a good pose, snap it!!! Mooooo...."
more bulls
rice field alongside the foothill of Samosir
do we look like a stranded hitchhikers??
This place serve the best pizza on Earth (ohkay, so i never really been to Italy and try their pizzas). I actually ate here 8 years ago on the new years eve of the Y2K. I fall in love with it back then and been wanting to put that little piece of melted cheese with bunch of meat trapped inside in my mouth again ever since. I finally did get the chance, i keep telling people of how good it was, but i actually forgotten about how it taste already, i just remember that i was so satisfied that i was thinking i should like gather all my life saving to open a pizza parlour back in Medan and ask this ibu to be the chef.so after 8 years, i come back, tasted it again. And oh yeahhhhh.....its still as mouth watering as ever, its like a mini orgasm in your mouth with every bite you take. really!!! take a good look at the front of this resto, its called Franky and its right beside hotel Silintong (the first, not Silintong 2) and the next time you are there go in and prove me wrong.
Whoaaaaaaaa....im actually hungry just by looking at it!!!!
she was overwhelmed by how delicious the pizza taste too, well she might be affected by all the story of how great it was by me before tasting it :p 
oh and the spaghetti is pretty mean too! look at that cheese
as you can see that magic mushroom is on the menu, and this is the mushroom that can make you a little high, laughing non stop and such. a mild, non addictive drugs you could say. we contemplating on having it but then if we both try then nobody is left to watch over us and god knows what silly things we might do when under influence.well thats it....one more last shot as we ride the ferry crossing the lake back to Perapat
taken on board the ferrypeople......go tell people how great Lake Toba is, show them we got a hidden paradise behind all this ugly facet.
untill next trip.............
untill next trip.............
