Well well well… The end of the tour is here and time to relax and step away from work for a week. (Don’t worry I will still have some posts coming out)
The last day of flying for a tour is always a good one, not that I don’t enjoy the flying, because I do, but you start to get tired after many mornings of early wake ups and long days that I think it is important to have a break.
Peter with Telo in the background
Today started with Peter and I flying to Telo on the regular Perintis flight. Padang had beautiful weather, but midway to Telo lay a huge buildup that we could see from miles away. Popping the weather radar on we were able to dodge most of the turbulent part and made it to Telo unscathed. We unloaded all the pax and baggage, loaded the next and started engines for Sibolga, just before another storm hit the small island. A quick flight across with much better weather this time. A quick refuel in Sibolga and back to Telo.
Again we went through the same routine of off loading and the loading before flying back to Sibolga. This time we met another Susi crew there whom would be swapping with me to go back to Padang, while I went back to Medan.
Telo
The next 3 flights were going to be with David, another captain, with him sitting right and I just stayed in my left seat:) We did a quick flight over to Binaka and then on to Silangit. Silangit is right next to Lake Toba, which is one of the most beautiful lakes I have seen. Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia, about 100km long and 30 km wide, it has a depth of 505m and is also the largest volcanic lake in the world! I recommend a visit if you are in Indonesia!
It is also home to the best Babi Bakar (BBQ Pork) around!
Lake Toba
Lastly we had a quick 40 min flight to Medan to finish the day and start my holiday!
Route: WIEE to WIMO to WIMS to WIMO to WIMS to WIMB to WIMN to WIMM
Hours: 5.7 hrs
Wow interesting Mikes! Like to read a bit about the area too. It adds to the interest! Also fab pics as usual. Lovely memoir this!
Thanks:) Pretty cool place hey!
Where do you usually spend your week off?
Hi Jimmy,
It depends really, normally I go surfing, scuba diving or to Bali for a bit of a social time. In the end there are so many options, especially with SEA being so accessible.
What’s the scene like in Bali? I have always viewed Bali as being a tourist attraction rather than the authentic Indonesia. It was different years ago compared to now.
It is pretty much that, a tourist attraction. There are definitly spots that have less people though. But it is the reason we go there, often we don’t have a very good social life, so having a bit of Western interaction is needed. If you want to experience authentic indo there are better places for sure.