An impromtu trip home

On Monday morning Chris' Dad died. He had had been ill with Alzheimer's for maybe 15 years. Had not known us for the last 5 years maybe and been in a home for the the last 4+ years. I knew it would happen eventually but it still came as a shock to get the phone call. Hard to know what to think or feel really. For Dad it must be a release. For his spirit to get out of that shell of a body and mind. For us here it is a sepration, at least for now. My Mum feels it mostly, of course.

Dad's funeral is tomorrow. No doubt there will be many people there. He was a popular guy. We are calling it a celebration of his life rather than a funeral. For me, I have many fond memories. These I will hold onto until I meet him again, which I will. I do believe my Dad is now in Heaven. Find it hard to imagine him 'being at peace' though. Bet he's running .. somewhere. Was always running. Out in whatever counts as hills up there.

So Cheryl and I are home in the UK for about a week to be with family. Like I said impromptu but not altogether unexpected. Dad has now gone home too..

Lake on an island on a lake!

We have just got back from a weeks holiday in Danau Toba which is the largest Lake in SE Asia. Its surrounded by big mountains so its like being in the Lake District but everythings bigger! Bataks have very distinct houses. They are built on stilts and have pointy roofs which are meant to look like buffalo horns. Bataks are vegetarian Christians, with skills in all things crafty – a great combination!

We stayed on an island in the middle of the lake which was a great place to relax. The temperature was much cooler here and you even needed a blanket at night! As well as relaxing we did more energetic stuff. One day we cycled to Ambarita where some Batak relics are found. There’s a group of 300-year-old stone chairs where the king used to put criminals on trial and if found guilty they were sentenced to a grisly death.

We also spent a day trekking from one side of the island to the other. Although this was meant to be a two day trek we did it in one but cheated at the end as we caught a local bus! There is a lake in the centre of the island and the idea is that when you get there you can say “I went to a lake on an island inside a lake on an island!”

Thought it would be fun to try and find some women weaving the traditional Batak blankets (more like thick sarongs). Now because of the total lack of tourists in the area it was down to us to track them down. We caught a local bus to a place we thought they did the weaving. It was a tiny village which was full of coffin makers, not quite what we were looking for! Went to a restaurant to try and narrow down our search. It was then we realised that it was Easter Monday and most places were closed - including the restaurant. The owner helpfully pointed out a hut which was the local café. In there were two ladies chopping potatoes a blind guy and another man who smiled the local greeting “Horas”. Had to spend the time of day with them, drink a coke and finally get to the point of our quest. Where can we find these blankets? The man helpfully agreed to take us to a house where there might be some weaving action! At last two smiling ladies, who were really surprised to see a couple of foreigners, showed us there art in action. It was great to finally see these tradtional hand made looms being used to make blankets in the same way they have been made for hundreds of years.