A week on the road already and we have seen Orang Utans, some white-handed monkeys, bats, lots of insects, a snake (actually, our guide stepped on it – luckily it was busy devouring a rather big gecco), rafted down a river in the Jungle, endured a rather long car trip from Bukit Lawang to Parapat and are now enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of Samosir Island, on Lake Toba.

It seems a bit lost and lonely here, an area that has probably seen busier times during its traveller hangout heydays but it is indeed a very beautiful scenery around. And it’s off season, after all, so who knows how busy it gets during the summer months. The lake is peaceful and calm for swimming in the mornings, a bit choppy in the afternoons, but very refreshing at all times.

We walked around Tuk Tuk, the main tourist spot and found no children books but lovely cafe’s and restaurants along the way. We explored the northern part of the island by car, including some interesting Batak houses (but who the hell started covering the roofs with corrugated iron – horrible), stone chairs used by the elders for meetings and decisions (maybe they were kept short as it must have been rather uncomfortable) as well as many wooden figures of the King and his Queen. Tomorrow, we will head off to discover the southern part of the island as well.

So far, it’s going great, the boys are having a great time and so are we. We even managed to squeeze in some cartoons in Chinese, so they don’t forget everything they learned. Maths is enhanced by playing Sushi Go!, where points need to be added correctly. And reading is no issue anyway – how lucky there is the Kindle, else we would be constantly on the lookout for new books for the boys (so we now only have to find some with pictures for Dylan)

Next destination – Flores and Komodo!