DanauTobaGuide

  Di lereng hijau Danau Toba, rempah tidak hanya tumbuh di kebun. Ia hidup dalam ingatan, makanan, pekerjaan, dan keseharian masyarakat. Di Kampung Girsang, kemiri, andaliman, jahe, kunyit, lengkuas, kopi hingga kakao menjadi bagian dari sebuah lanskap kehidupan yang perlahan menemukan identitasnya sebagai kampung rempah. Ada cara lain untuk mengenal Danau Toba selain berdiri di tepiannya. Bukan dengan menghitung luas permukaan airnya, bukan pula sekadar mengabadikan siluet pegunungan yang mengelilinginya. Cobalah berjalan sedikit lebih jauh. Masuk ke kampung-kampung yang berada di sekitarnya. Menyusuri jalan kecil di antara kebun. Memperhatikan tanaman yang tumbuh di halaman dan ladang. Mencium aroma tanah setelah hujan. Atau berhenti sejenak ketika seseorang menunjukkan buah, daun, biji, atau rempah yang selama ini menjadi bagian dari dapur mereka. Di Kampung Girsang , salah satu kampung di kawasan Danau Toba, perjalanan semacam itu menemukan ceritanya. Sebab di tempat ini, alam,...

    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 was even more...