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Okay, since you managed to get here, I believe you've already known what I am going to write in this page. It's about guide for traveling to Lake Toba and Samosir. I am sure you know where it is. It lies in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Yes, yes, I know, most of you only know Bali. For sure it's a wonderful place to spend your holiday, but Indonesia isn't just about Bali. There are so many interesting places to visit, and one of those places is North Sumatra, and in this article, I will write one of many interesting places in North Sumatra, which is Samosir. There are many ways to reach that place, but I will only write about my method from recent trip to Samosir.
Medan
It's easy to get to this tourist destination. Whether you come by airplane or ship, the first place you'll find is the capital of North Sumatra, Medan. Many tourist destination can be found in Medan, like Maimun Palace and Mesjid Raya. Maimun Palace is where Sultan Deli family lives. It's a pretty big house with Malay architecture, while Mesjid Raya is one unique mosque, that doesn't look like most mosques in Indonesia. I believe, the architecture used for this mosque is from Turkey. If you have time or spending a day or two in Medan, don't forget to visit these two places.
Fig 01. Maimun Palace
Fig 02. Mesjid Raya
Old building from Dutch colonial era can still be found in Medan. They mostly lie around the place called Kesawan. If you are into architecture, this place might be worth visit as well. Not far away from Kesawan, you can find Post Office, City Hall, train station, and other building with old architecture. Around this place, you can get many great food, like local ice cream and Chinese food. Don't forget, Medan is rich with oriental and traditional food, make sure to ask local people where to get good Chinese and local cuisine.
After spending some time in Medan, it's time to move on. The next hop to Lake Toba, is by taking bus or train. I myself prefer train to bus, since it's right on time, and gives you room to breathe. Bus direct to Lake Toba is available as well. Remember, bus terminal is far away from city center, and getting there can cause some pain in the butt (careful with taxi, no meter, and for sure they'll try to rip you off). Unlike bus terminal, train station is at city center (near Kesawan), and it's pretty easy to get there. Take a train to Pematang Siantar, the ticket costs for fifteen thousands rupiahs. Available daily, first train at around 10 am, and the second one at 5 pm. It will take about 3 hours to get to Siantar. After you get there, take "becak" and ask them to bring you to bus terminal Parluasan. Usually they will ask for 5000 rupiahs to bring you there. That's okay, and tell them that you want to take bus to Parapat (so they will bring you to right terminal exit). In the terminal, there'll be many small bus waiting for passengers. If I memorized it correctly, the bus called Wisata, and the ticket is 5000 rupiahs per person. Trip to Parapat will take about one hour. Make sure you don't fall asleep or otherwise you'll miss great view of Lake Toba. Don't forget to pay extra attention to your belonging while in bus terminal. You don't want to get to your destination with missing luggage, do you?