Samosir Island Stories

        When I received the assignment from Ravelino Tours Travel to take care of six Belgian guests during their journey in North Sumatra, I knew this would not be an ordinary tour. They were three married couples who had been close friends for many years. They decided to travel together in Indonesia, and I was assigned to be their Sumatra Tour Guide during their six-day journey through North Sumatra. From the beginning, I tried not to make our journey only about visiting places and taking pictures. I wanted to create conversations with them. I wanted them to feel that travelling with a local guide was also an opportunity to understand how people live in Sumatra. The six of them had different professional backgrounds. Among the husbands, one worked as a banker , another was an entrepreneur , and another was a police officer . The banker was interested in many things, especially when we talked about the economy and the palm oil industry in Sumatra. The entrepreneur...

        Medan – Bukit Lawang – Berastagi – Mount Sibayak – Lake Toba – Samosir 2–11 August 2026 When I welcomed a family from the Netherlands at Kualanamu International Airport, I knew I had a ten-day journey ahead of me. There were four of them: Edwin, Marloes, their daughter Milou, and their son Sep. My job was simple: take care of them, guide them, and show them the best of North Sumatra. But as the days went by, something more meaningful happened. I stopped feeling like just their tour guide. I felt like part of their family. Starting the Journey in Medan Our journey began in Medan. After picking them up at the airport, we explored the city before continuing towards Bukit Lawang. As a Sumatra tour guide, I enjoy introducing visitors not only to famous attractions but also to the small experiences along the way — local food, traditional transportation, villages, markets and everyday life. For me, travelling is not simply about taking guests from one destination to...