Tomok, Samosir Island

Tomok, Samosir Island (29 April 2006)


Tomok (GPS: 2.65277, 98.86265) is one of the main towns on Samosir Island, in Lake Toba. It has a jetty for ferries coming in from Parapat, which is 30 minutes away on the eastern bank of the lake.

Hugging the Tomok jetty are souvenir shops, again every store selling almost the same items. Tourists thinking of buying cheap t-shirts should try them out before purchasing. What I discovered was that the Indonesian sizes are much smaller than back home, so the same size might not fit.

The main draw of Tomok must surely be the King Sidabutar's tomb. Apart from that, there are also traditional Batak houses with the curved roor ridges to be found here. Further inland is a Batak Museum that was being made ready. When I visited, the workmen were putting on the finishing touches to the museum.

A short distance from the jetty, and within sight of it, is a church. While waiting for the ladies in our group to be done with their shopping, I went over to the church to explore it.

Tomok is on the Map of Samosir Island, Indonesia

Welcome sign in the Batak signature colours of white, red and black. (29 April 2006)


Another welcome sign in Tomok. Horas is the usual form of greeting in Batak. Note the greeting in Indonesian is Selamat Datang di Tomok, and not Selamat Datang ke Tomok - a grammar influence from the Dutch. (29 April 2006)


The Protestant church of Tomok. (29 April 2006)


Another ancient Batak tomb, this one located near the lakeside in Tomok. (29 April 2006)


Traditional Batak houses in Tomok. (29 April 2006)


Side view of a traditional Batak house in Tomok. (29 April 2006)

Tomok on Google Street View

Jl. Horas in Tomok, Samosir Island (Sep 2019)

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