I always dream to have a house by the lake with huge windows looking out to the mountains. The other side of the house, as I imagine, is surrounded by the carpet-looking paddy field or grassland. I just recently found the perfect place for that dream house. And it isn’t that far … not in New Zealand or Switzerland or South Africa which I consider among the most beautiful places on earth but it’s there in my homeland from which my ancestors come from.
How ironic that it has got to take someone else from a different land to show me how absolutely beautiful Tano Batak.
How ironic that it has got to take someone else from a different land to show me how absolutely beautiful Tano Batak.
Tano Batak is in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The highlight of it is off course Lake Toba. All this time I had been aware of its beauty (or so I thought) but I didn’t realize that the beauty is so stunning until my recent visit. This time I have a chance to see it from the side which I didn’t know ever existed before. Despite the cold feet that I got when we drove down from Tele to Sianjur Mula-mula, the picturesque view really took my breath away. The scene in Tongging where the waterfall Si Piso-piso is situated is also amazingly exquisite. Rm Lili jokingly said that God must have kissed the earth once when God created it in whatever year. And that part of the earth is of course Lake Toba.
However, the view is so far enjoyed by only a few people. There are only a few tourists go visiting the place. Many would rightly say that tourism in North Sumatra is not well or properly managed. The government has not been really exploring the potentials of that region. Or perhaps they simply don’t know what and how “to sell” the potentials? Apart from the panoramic scenery, the Batak culture is actually very interesting to observe. Nice landscape would eventually bore you but interesting people would always be fascinating to explore.
But ... ah, isn’t a blessing in disguise for me? Keep it that way, the place for my dream house would neither be so expensive nor overly commercialized like other touristy places. It will remain quiet, fresh and clean. Hopefully I could still feel the kiss of God over there …
However, the view is so far enjoyed by only a few people. There are only a few tourists go visiting the place. Many would rightly say that tourism in North Sumatra is not well or properly managed. The government has not been really exploring the potentials of that region. Or perhaps they simply don’t know what and how “to sell” the potentials? Apart from the panoramic scenery, the Batak culture is actually very interesting to observe. Nice landscape would eventually bore you but interesting people would always be fascinating to explore.
But ... ah, isn’t a blessing in disguise for me? Keep it that way, the place for my dream house would neither be so expensive nor overly commercialized like other touristy places. It will remain quiet, fresh and clean. Hopefully I could still feel the kiss of God over there …
No comments:
Post a Comment