Summer 1980Lake Toba
Author: Ken Homer Issue: 2024-03-06
Summer 1980–Lake Toba
by Ken Homer (February 2024)
When I was a young man I spent ten months traveling In Southeast Asia and India and Nepal I jokingly refer to that trip as my Sex and drugs and rock and roll tour To be completely honest There was very little rock and roll
In those days Lake Toba On the island of Sumatra Was surrounded by rainforest I’m not sure that’s true today
My lodgings were simple A bamboo hut with thatched roof Openings for windows with no panes Mosquito netting over the bed A thin mattress and pillow A small table and a couple Of hooks for clothes At age 23 I could sleep In such digs with no problem The cost was about $5.00 a night Which included egg fried rice for breakfast I traveled light in those days My backpack was only half full
Just after sunrise one morning I set out for a long walk Taking a trail just wide enough For two people to pass each other so long As they turned sideways when they met The trail often dipped close To the shore of the lake Then wound inland a bit Before returning to shore again
The sun was still low in the sky And while warm and humid The air temperature was pleasant
As was my habit at the time I smoked a joint of some fine Sumatran reefer as I walked along It didn’t take long to feel its effects I was soon tuned into the jungle My footfalls nearly silent as I strode along
About an hour into my walk I turned a corner and came To a complete and sudden stop To my utter shock and horror No more six feet in front of me Was the biggest reptile I’d ever seen
It was maybe two meters from nose to tail Thick dark scales covered its back With lighter markings along its underside Its four heavily muscled legs were Strangely reminiscent of human arms Bent as they were at the “elbow” Each “hand” had five long fingerlike claws
I had caught it by surprise We gazed at each other Measuring the frightfully short distance That separated us As I met its eye a line from Yeats Flashed through my brain: “A gaze as blank and pitiless as the Sun” The pleasant buzz I’d been feeling Evaporated into the tropical air Replaced by instinctual fear As if looking at Medusa I found myself Completely unable to move
We stood and stared at each other For what seemed slightly short of eternity (It was probably less than five seconds) It hissed at me and a forked tongue issued Forth from its mouth that must’ve Been at least a foot long I think that tongue is what scared me most This reptile was a primordial being Utterly different from large land mammals I felt I was confronting a dinosaur
During that short time the sounds Of the rainforest faded from my ears Replaced by a rushing of blood The pounding of my heart was a roar I had never been so close to a creature That was so fearsome looking And I have been face-to-face With a bear in the Maine woods
While my brain was racing with all my Neurons frantically working on a way out Its brain had made a decision Probably the same one my own brain Would arrive at had I another Moment to think: Run!
It moved with startling rapidity I don’t know how it managed To turn its long body around In such a close space But suddenly its arms and legs Moved in graceful harmony with its Powerful tail and it disappeared From view in the blink of an eye
I was astounded at how fast it was I was prepared to run away I was in good shape having Completed two marathons In the previous year And I figured I could outrun it But no way would that have worked Had it decided to charge at me
Later I realized that my camera was Around my neck the entire time But the thought of taking a pic Never entered my mind
Fortunately with the help of Wikipedia I was able to find an image That will give you a sense Of what I beheld on The shores of Lake Toba that day
[Image not included in the current archive. Images may be included in the future.]
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