Medan Adventure: Lake Toba & Samosir Island 🏝️
🏡 Bobocabin Stay Room with a view: Woke up to panoramic sights of Samosir Island over Lake Toba! 🌅 Transport hack: Front desk arranged a shared van to Parapat (~150K IDR/pax). ⛴️ Samosir Island Logistics 5-star pick: Marianna Resort (the only one on the island!). Boat tip: From Ajibata Ferry Terminal, tell the captain to drop you at the hotel’s private pier (no fixed schedule—just wait for enough passengers 😅). "Scarface" alert: Look for a gruff-but-helpful guy at the dock to coordinate. 🚗 Tour Guide/Driver Price: 1.5M IDR (~RM390) for custom tours (negotiable!). Honest advice: He’ll steer you clear of overhyped/far-flung spots. 💰 Costs & Tips Attraction fees: Mostly ~20K IDR (except Father Statue @ 100K IDR). Cash is king (but no need to carry loads). 🦞 Food Recs Marianna’s neighbor resto: 6-min walk—order the jumbo lobsters! 🦞 (Meh seasoning, but the meat? Worth it.) Backstory: Sweet owner working in Malaysia to fund her daughter’s overseas studies. 💖 ✈️ Departure Drama Boat back to Parapat: Arranged by hotel (~150K IDR, reached Medan by 12:45PM). Airport gripes: AC weaker than my willpower 🥵 Food prices = daylight robbery 💸 Flight hack: Siborongborong Airport (near Lake Toba) has JB flights—but we chose cheaper KL transit. Next up: RM5000 overland challenge (JB → Thailand → Cambodia → Vietnam → Laos!). 🚗🌏 #TravelLessExplored #BackpackingAsia #VolcanoHike