Danau Maninjau- another day, another crater lake in Northern Sumatra

Surrounded by soaring, steep and densely forested cliffs, Danau Maninjau is even more beautiful than Danau Toba, and since it is also much smaller (just 70km around the lake) it's also much easier to visualise the former explosive life of this extinct volcanic peak. 

The approach to the shore of the lake involves a descent through a whopping 44 hairpin bends (they're numbered- I didn't count them), which according to the tourist information require "very special skills" to navigate safely. This translates to being able to wrench the car around tight curves with one hand, whilst juggling a cellphone and cigarette in the other. Luckily, most Indonesians start driving at the tender age of seven, and start smoking around a year later...so they have ample practice in multitasking behind the wheel. 

The scenery around the lake is stunning; impossibly green rice paddies, groves of cacao and coffee, water buffalo ploughing the fields and decaying mosques in every village.

We hired a moped to cruise around the lake on Sunday- which also happens to be the day of the week for getting married. On our 70km drive we saw seven weddings- and were lucky enough to score an invite to one!

We had stopped to check out the bridal couple and before we knew it, were being invited in to sample the wedding feast (delicious) and listen to traditional music (much, much better than anything I have heard on overnight Indonesian buses). 

Most of the guests were more interested in us than they were in the bride, which pretty much accounts for her grumpy face. Sorry bridey : (