I set up shop in Tuk-Tuk, which is a little town on the island of Samosir in Lake Toba. Tuk Tuk is the main tourist area of Samosir, reached by ferries from Parapat. Tuk Tuk is on a small peninsula on the island and it’s not over developed. If you have been in the cities of Indonesia you will notice the relative peace with very few cars and motorbikes in the town.
Lake Toba and the world’s largest island within an island
Lake Toba in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia is the world’s largest and deepest crater lake. The lake has a surface area of 1,130 square kilometres and is up to 500 metres deep at its deepest points.
In the lake is the island of Samosir (Pulau Samosir), which has the distinction of being the worlds largest island within an island. The island is nearly the same size as Singapore.
[Lake Toba]
Lake Toba used to be on the backpacker trail but it has fallen on quiet times of late. Tuk Tuk has a great selection of guesthouses available so the prices are good value. There are lots of vacant rooms here and you can rent a cottage by the lake for $6 USD a night. There are restaurants, bars, internet cafes as well as book stores and travel service shops.
[Lake front cottages]
There is no wireless on this island, only internet cafes, so my work day requires some planning. I go to the net cafe in the morning, plug in my laptop and save what I need for the day. I then do all of my work offline, return to the net cafe in the evening and save my work.
I always thought that I would need wireless to live somewhere, but I have found that my productivity has actually increased without it. I don’t have the distractions of news sites, facebook and random surfing. I just have to get on with the job of writing and making websites.
Of course it is not all work. When I need a break I can step outside and jump into the swimming pool that is Lake Toba.
[My front yard swimming pool]
There is no bridge to this island so there isn’t as much traffic as you find on “mainland” Sumatra. This makes it a great place for me to stay for a while.
[Sunset on Lake Toba]
There are mango trees everywhere in Tuk Tuk. It is not uncommon to see mangoes on the road that have fallen from over hanging trees.
I had never stopped to consider where a mango grows. If you had of asked me I might have said that they grow on a tree about the size of an orange tree. In fact mango trees grow up to 35–40 metres in height. In Tuk-Tuk I have seen mango trees this high, with mangos in the top branches unable to be reached by even the biggest ladder.
If you want to explore the rest of the island there are plenty of places that rent out motorbikes for the day.
Batak Cutlure
This region of Sumatra is the home of the Batak people, and Samosir is the centre of Batak culture. The Batak population in Northern Sumatra is around 5 million and they are mostly Christian.
A feature of Batak culture is the Batak house. These houses are all over the region and have a distinct roof that curves up at each end. The house consists of three levels and range from simple farm houses to grand and ornate homes covered in intricate carvings.
[Batak Houses]
Also dominant in the Batak landscape is the family tomb. These mausoleums can be seen next to the family house, by the roadside or in the rice fields.
[Batak Family Tomb]
Cost Of Living: Lake Toba on $15 a day
Indonesia is one of the best value countries for travel in Asia. To give you an idea of the cost of living I kept track of a days expenditure in Tuk Tuk.
The following expenses are food, accommodation and other sundries. Travel expenses to and from the lake are not included.
Daily Expenses
The Indonesian Rupiah is highly denominated but it’s easy enough to keep track of as 10,000 INR = $1 USD.
Accommodation 60,000 INR ($6.00 USD)
Internet (2 hours) 30,000 INR ($3.00 USD)
Bottled Water 5,000 INR (50 cents USD)
[Lakeside accommodation: Tuk-Tuk – Sumatra]
Breakfast
Banana Pancake 9,000 INR (90 cents USD)
Coffee with milk 5,000 INR (50 cents USD)
[Sumatran Coffee]
Lunch
Nasi Goreng 12,000 INR (1.20 USD)
Banana Shake 10,000 INR (1.00 USD)
[Nasi Goreng]
This lunch of Noodles and fresh orange juice was 16,000 INR (about $1.50 US) The view of Lake Toba is an added bonus.
Dinner
Veg Rendang 15,000 INR (1.50 USD)
Rice 4,000 INR (40 cents USD)
Sprite 6,000 (60 cents USD)
[Vegetable Rendang]
So tallied altogether my expenses are:
Accommodation 60,000 ($6.00 USD)
Internet 30,000 ($3.00 USD)
Water 5,000 (50 cents USD)
Breakfast 14,000 INR ($1.40 USD)
Lunch 22,000 ($2.20 USD)
Dinner 25,000 ($2.50 USD)
Total: 156,000 ($15.60 USD)
This total is kept down as I have no daily travel expenses here. I also only eat meat a couple of times a week so a vegetarian diet tends to be less expensive.
My $6 accommodation consists of a cottage room with a king size bed, a bathroom with hot water and a view of the lake. Rooms without hot water and a view can be found for $3.
If you are a meat eater and like to snack more during the day you will still come in under $20 USD a day. If you really wanted to you could get the expenditure down to $10 a day, making it one of the best value countries in Asia.
Accommodation
Lake Toba hotels – Search for discount hotels in Samosir/Lake Toba.
Getting to Lake Toba
Tuk-Tuk on Samosir Island is accessed via passenger ferry from Parapat. Bus services from north and south Sumatra stop at Parapat.
[Lake Toba Ferries]
The easiest way to Parapat is via Medan, which is five hours via bus, or four hours via private van.
Medan has domestic and international air services.
