we get ready to start only to be treated to a bout of heavy showers. After chit chatting with the rental owner lady for a few minutes , I decided to head back to our guesthouse to bring our jackets. The guesthouse owner generously offered two raincoats on seeing me running back in the rain. Armed with our rain protection , we embarked on our sight-seeing for the day.
Our first destination was the village of Tomok to visit the "Kings Tomb" which had the sarcophagi of the Sidabutar kings , the ancient ruling clan of the Batak village . The tombs displayed were those of King Ompu Soribuntu , King Ompu Ni Ujung Barita and King Ompu Solompoan Sidabutar and those of their families and soldiers. King Ompu Solompoan Sidabutar was the first Tomok ruler to embrace Christianity and hence his grave alone spotted a cross.
Next stop in Tomok was the Batak museum which had varies Batik artefacts and household items. A stunning structure to look at from outside but not much of interest to us inside. We then headed to Simanindo, a village 20 km from Tuk Tuk, . On the way we drove through the lush green fields of Ambarita bordered by towering mountains through which the Simagandhe waterfalls trickled. The drive to Simanindo was a heavenly one with every turn offering a different yet refreshing view of Lake Toba , the views of which we never seemed to tire.
At Siimanindo , we went to the Huta Bolon Simanindo Batak Museum and then headed to eat some snacks and heavily sweetened tea (we termed it tea-payasam) at the ferry point. Had fun watching motorbikes driving onto the ferries to be ferried across to Tomok or Tigaras. Having whiled away time till 4pm , we decided to head back to Tuk Tuk. After some unplanned stops to drink in some more breathtaking views , we reached Tuk Tuk at 5pm. We then drove around Tuk Tuk for another hour.
While we stopped for a respite we spotted a charming cafe hanging over the lake whose owner turned out to be a person with whom we had shared the ferry ride to Samosir. He invited us in for some tea which we gladly embraced. We had tea with the sound of squealing kids trying to ride banana boats for company. After this quick break we returned our bike and headed to the sunset point at Bukit Beta.
Dinner at Alisan's was full filling with a very cheesy pizza and banana pancake. Ended the night on a musical note by enjoying dessert along with some funky batak live band music at Tabo Cottage.
A well spent day.
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