We stayed at a local Muslim guesthouse complete with a prayer room and a place to clean your feet before you enter. We needed a day to settle in and get information on buses to Lake Toba. We found a nice bar to sit down and have a beer and just as we took the first sip, the prayers started over the loud speaker.
We were directly across from the largest Mosque in Sumatra. Patrons were flocking and goats and children played in the yard. 
We heard mixed stories about Sumatra. There has been some unrest in the past and our guidebook warned us of things to watch out for. However we always got a different perspective after talking to travelers who had actually been there. And I believe they were right, Sumatrans were some of the friendliest people that we encountered.
From Medan we took the local bus to Lake Toba. It think it was $2 each. It was about a 6 hour ride on a beat-up school bus with no A/C. There was no limit on how many passengers, eggs, chickens, livestock and produce could be piled in. We were lucky to get a seat but many people stood in the isles for most of the trip. Sumatrans are known as being heavy smokers and say that they are paying tribute to the volcanoes. Chain smokers were abundant on that journey, so I guess it's good that we had the windows down! The bus was decorated in a groovy 70's theme with florescent seat coverings, tassels on the curtains and ornaments hanging from the ceiling near the driver. At one point, we pulled over at a little tire repair stand on the side of the road to fill up the back tires with air. I really hoped that it would get us where we were going! Then, 3 teenage boys boarded and squished their way towards the middle of the bus. They started singing and playing musical instruments. It was great entertainment and turned out to be a nice way for them to make some income. We were the only Western travelers headed to Lake Toba and were fully immersed in local Sumatran hospitality and culture.
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