Road To Danau Toba! Shangri-La of SE Asia! + Hotels & More! Samosir Sumatra Indonesia

[@SideTripLife]

Buy me a coffee: bit.ly/3Le6Ex8 PART 1: Medan Surprise: kzbin.info/www/bejne/laPccmqwopWfe7M PART 2: Road To Toba: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5DTXoOChtRoea8 PART 3: Tuk Tuk Samosir: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5CrgGeIe9hmqdU PART 4: TOP Beach in Asia: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIaolnlrpq57adE PART 5: Kaldera Escape! kzbin.info/www/bejne/j52ai5qDoJlpgZo Flights: bit.ly/3STHLvf Hotels: www.agoda.com/hotels-near-lake-toba/attractions/pematangsiantar-id.html?cid=1898974 Happy SideTrips all Cheers, STL

[@roberth7894]

Very beautiful lake! Indonesia is full of places that the tourist masses never see, thx for showing it!

[@ctsmith580]

I watch a ton of videos of SE Asia, this place and your video stand out for the beauty so much I've watched it over and over.

[@SideTripLife]

Thank you Carl. For a bit more around Tuk Tuk pls see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5CrgGeIe9hmqdU And for more on the beauty of Lake Toba: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIaolnlrpq57adE Cheers, STL

[@mickambler3151]

Hey stl I've just done the same trip as you ,followed in your footsteps to the letter ,having a fantastic time, just arrived in bali staying at jjs I think I. Got your room lol thanks for the great you. Tube channel my friend ,keep em. Commin 😊

[@SideTripLife]

Cool! Kuta LOMBOK next. Plus gotta try nasi Padang (in Padang, of course;) and don't miss the Mentawais and Belitung and... Indonesia has endless amazing places, enjoy!

[@foodblogjunky]

Omg the view is amazing. Another to add to that bucket list

[@juleskayak]

Haven't seen any other well known vloggers in Sumatra - very interesting and inspirational, will be following your journey ! Sumatra looks fantastic

[@ExploringSumatra]

Hey! You stayed right next door to our house. 😊 aren’t the views just something else. The hotel you stayed at often has live music, and some nights, my husband and I hang out on our balcony and listen/dance to it. Looks like the weather was gorgeous while you were here too 😊

[@yanm764]

Tuk-tuk is very suitable if one prefer a quiet area. You can rent a scooter and drive around the island. The road is pretty nice now. Just keep in mind that the town can be a little chaotic since it's close to New year and we bataknese celebrate New year more thus lots of people gathering in their hometown this time of the year. There are some places to see around the island including another lake, waterfalls, the view, traditional village ect. But mostly hope you enjoy your stay at samosir

[@SideTripLife]

Lake Toba is simply spectacular and the Batak people are so lovely, kind and gracious, I'll be back again! STL

[@karltraveldude7817]

Thanks! Thank you for you effort and great work STL ! Wish you a great 2023 , enjoy ...

[@SideTripLife]

Thank you Karl! Hope it's great '23 all round! STL

[@karltraveldude7817]

@@SideTripLife Thanks !

[@karltraveldude7817]

@@SideTripLife Same to you STL !

[@ctfm938]

Loving this series. It's great that you're going to areas outside the usual KZbin vlogger fayre

[@aitaisakura4281]

I have been to Toba. It is beautiful and i did see some foreigners. I hope for the best for Toba.

[@adimardev1550]

even just by watching your video, felt like i'm exploring by your side. also a great experience! thank for an awesome video !

[@thatcrazyuncle9195]

Cannot express enough just how much I look forward to your videos!

[@SideTripLife]

Wow, thank you!

[@kaikivisto3244]

Yep, yep Finally I got to watch these best KZbin videos again. I was some different place before, but now back to normal, Cheers.....

[@versasys]

Having been to Indonesia many times, you have inspired me to check out Lake Toba. Thanks for doing the Indo series.

[@videosponder]

Wow, the place has changed enormously. Looks like the same place i stayed. Just next to yours. 25 years ago😅. I think the owner of your place is a french woman. Looks very crowded now.

[@richardhughes8352]

Thanks that place looks great! I’m already booked for Indonesia, Thailand and KL in 2023. I can’t get enough of SE Asia!

[@Goeker]

"Just pinch me wow" That defines that view well. I have never heard of this place before. Hope you did some videos there. Can't wait to see more. Cheers!

[@SideTripLife]

Thanks! Many more 'just pinch me wow' scenes upcoming as we explore around Toba

[@jnsr7591]

I was surprised to see how nice you were dealing with the locals. Then you said you were Canadian. One thing for sure, Canadians are the nicest foreign people, according to Indonesian people (survey I did years ago). I agreed, tillI worked, stayed and studied in Calgary lol.

[@SideTripLife]

Thx eh;)

[@jnsr7591]

@@SideTripLife YW 😑

[@hairifly7090]

Your vlog is the best so far! I will be going to Medan next week! By watching your video I get so much information. Thanx!

[@heatherdavies1894]

What a beautiful place 😍. The view is picture post card perfect.

[@streetfoodmagic2024]

Love seeing a unique destination. Great work mate! Wishing you a Happy New Year and many more Side trips in 2023!!!!

[@SideTripLife]

Same to you & yours!

[@jadeswormfarm]

Great concise and informative presentation there brother ! Thank you

[@mauihowey]

Looked like a long bus ride, but comfortable enough,awesome boat ride across the lake and your resort was amazing and only $40……great video STL, waiting to see the next video for sure!

[@NickyDunn]

Hiya STL. Great views while on the bus. Lovely scenery. Good to hear he was a good driver. For your long journey. Always informative. Love watching your travels. Gorgeous place to stay. Stunning views. I could stay there for a month it is beautiful. Shame about the big party of people, but great for the hotel. Great video

[@cathyhughes7442]

Wow so beautiful by that lake. Cathy and Kevs x

[@andrewrobinson2565]

Great travelling to new places with you. Thanks 🙏❤️.+1

[@SideTripLife]

Thanks for coming along!

[@KP_XRP]

just been going down a @sidetriplife rabbit hole for the past few hours. thanks for the tips.

[@SideTripLife]

Thanks for watching :)

[@17000Islands]

My wife is from that village, very beautiful area

[@xiraoit9342]

Really?

[@janus302]

Beautiful movie again. I wish you a happy and healthy new year,and lots off nice movies.🥂🙏

[@bramsleon6852]

this is the crater of a super volcano!! he said almost made humans almost extinct and the ashes alone reached far to the coast of east africa ... the largest volcanic crater lake in the world

[@fatvinnydabully386]

beautiful spot.

[@joewalton6056]

I think probably my favorite video of yours.

[@SideTripLife]

Thanks Joe. Next vid will be showing much more of wonderful Lake Toba

[@siharpetrussimbolons.th.9470]

Lake Toba is amazing.

[@SideTripLife]

One of my fav places on earth (lovely people too:)

[@lizcarlyle2477]

Hello from CA & thanks 4 beautiful trip from Medan 2 Lake Toba(my next trip). Hope u meet up with Carly & Agung in Tuk-Tuk. Can't wait 2c next video.🚎

[@Unclebuckexpat]

Keep up the good work!

[@robbielittle52]

Nice one mate

[@shirleyboy8859]

Mother Nature can be truly Spectacular..... That must have been one Hell an explosion when that Volcano erupted!!!! Great vid as always STL..... Seasons Greetings Young Man...... :-)))

[@SideTripLife]

Thanks SB, Toba really is spectacular. btw I'm getting older but never felt younger lol

[@antruok4950]

Beautiful place 👋👌👍🙏

[@David-uo2oc]

Could you scooter round the island please if you haven't already done so .I would love to see that.was there years ago.i took a share taxi from medan.pretty wild ride.overtaking on blind corners at 100km/pH no problem! Bus ride looked safer.many thanks.

[@SideTripLife]

Bus was great! For sure will show Toba by motorbike upcoming + a trip to the white sand 'beach' & so much more. Stay tuned

[@wijayasalim8244]

beautiful north sumatra.

[@SideTripLife]

It really is!

[@jesusiscomingsoon625]

beautiful..

[@danangpurwanto6149]

next trip to INDONESIAN🇮🇩, if you go to Indonesian you must visit -Bali -Gili T, Gili Air, Gili Meno -Nihi Sumba -Lombok -Labuan Bajo (komodo) -Yogyakarta (Place of Javanese Culture)

[@SideTripLife]

Terima kasih Danang. I'm fortunate to have been to a few of those beautiful places recently, pls see my recent vids (but still have soooooo much more to see in wonder-FULL Indonesia :)

[@rolandet]

13:45 valuable info!!! Tnx 😀 And man, that satay in the hotel looks mouth watering!!

[@SideTripLife]

hehe love a comfy bed & yes, the satay and peanut sauce was off the hook!

[@natico-w812]

what a nice view

[@purbagultom8536]

Horas, Danau Toba.

[@SideTripLife]

Horas!

[@williamoliver6807]

This place looks like it is five times bigger than lake atetlan in Guatemala very impressive great work

[@SideTripLife]

Thank you William. Always wanted to see Lake Atitlan, the topography does seem similar

[@dethray1000]

excellent presentation

[@BUJANG_HALU]

Lake Toba Will be host of F1 speed boat in 2023 sir hope U can visit it again NEXT year.. Thank YoU ..

[@ArifurRahman11]

What a wonderful

[@tracyking5872]

I watched Part 2 First, not knowing it was part of 2 of? Since watching, I have to go! I'm in love ❤️. Planning all day. Today, I'm finding out how long it takes to get there 😮! I'm not deterred. Next up, learning the language. IYO (In Your Opinion), as a tourist, which do you recommend Indonesian or Javanese (Jawa)? Which do you speak in the videos? Do you know both? BTW: Fellow Canadian here, I'd appreciate any flight/travel suggestions coming out of Ottawa

[@SideTripLife]

Hi Tracy. The main language is Bahasa Indonesia. That's what most speak but use local dialects too of course. So would look online to study basic phrases of Bahasa Indonesia (easy as no tones and in English alphabet). As for flights, I'm from Vancouver which is 4300km/4 time zones closer than Ottawa so a heckuva lot cheaper. But you can still find ways to save. For example, play with the following flights link and swap Kuala Lumpur for Jakarta and see how much cheaper it may be to land in KL. Then it's a cheap local flight to Medan (nearest point to Toba). Flights: bit.ly/3STHLvf + KL would make for a nice 2 day stop to climatise and get over jet lag, see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXbRZ5egqr2bitU and: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2q8pn2enJejsMk I'm so glad you feel inspired to visit, I really really love Lake Toba and I hope you may too. Happy travels eh;) STL

[@baazooka86]

Wow!!!!!!!

[@Meditation-Affirmations]

Incredible adventure bro. The places you find amaze me. Thanks for the outstanding content. Happy New Year!

[@SideTripLife]

Glad you enjoyed it, Happy NEW Year!

[@Danielroams]

What are your top 3 picks for hotel stays in Kuta, Bali?

[@LGandM]

Absolutely amazing, what a beautiful place, both the area itself and that hotel. This might just have to go on the list..... A long overdue coffee headed your way. Really love your videos. aka JG in TX

[@SideTripLife]

Cheers! (also for the coffee :) STL

[@bungelonlevel2862]

My trip,my adventure.

[@JinXian]

lovely ! may i know where's the exact location the taxi driver dropped you in medan city for the closer Sejahtera bus station? can't seems to find it

[@SideTripLife]

Hi, sorry I can't recall the exact name but contact them on FB and they will know: PT.SEJAHTERA TRANSINDO

[@senjayaidris7410]

Aku rasa kalian butuh waktu 1-2tahun supaya bisa menikmati tempat yang indah di seluruh indonesia. Karena di setiap provinsi dari Aceh sampai Papua mempunyai tempat wisata yang bagus. Minimal kalian tinggal 2minggu di setiap provinsi agar bisa menikmatinya. Kami mempunyai bahasa yang berbeda beda disetiap provinsi tapi kami disatukan dengan bahasa Indonesia. Selamat menikmati perjalanan mu bro..

[@SideTripLife]

Terima Kasih. Yes, would take years to properly see all of wonderful Indonesia (& I will be back to see more soon:)

[@dirkofficial1303]

I was there in 1988, absolutely stunning

[@SideTripLife]

Wow '88!

[@1danacom]

Background music excellent

[@baliwalknshops1517]

Thanks for video

[@mintarsihsoemarno9627]

Yeah...

[@peterpritzl3354]

Ready to travel. Been around the world 10 times, but that was 45 years ago. Since I am in the US, main question is, can you use credit cards, or how do you get cash, if needed, to get the least rip off. Thanks for reply.

[@SideTripLife]

Several intnl ATM machines in Lake Toba and Parapat, no worries.

[@peterpritzl3354]

@@SideTripLife LOL, I would not even know how to use an ATM. I pay everything with CC, because I usually fly on miles. To word it differently, do they accept CC's, or not at all? Thanks, love your channel.

[@leonidsmirnov1788]

Thank you so much!:) My girlfriend and I are gonna visit this place as well. Do you think one week is good? Not too long?

[@SideTripLife]

Depends, I could just chill there a month or more but for a 1st visit 3 days should give you a good feel for amazing Lake Toba.

[@leonidsmirnov1788]

@@SideTripLife gotcha! thanks again:)

[@robertsz2199]

I watch your channel and wish you the best. Congrats increased a lot of subsbscibers and 750k views of one recent videos

[@adullahalyammahi2791]

Greetings from Dubai 🙋❤️

[@MGreen-vz6yb]

I really wish you would do a video for a visa hop! We need to know how to from Thailand.

[@lightgearwire]

Although I live in the US while traveling I'm now Canadian 🇨🇦

[@SideTripLife]

don't forget to say eh and always be polite lol

[@antoniomorais1503]

Hello, Another great video ! Is there any city between Medan and Lake Toba to spend 1 night before I reach the lake ? Thank you again.

[@SideTripLife]

YES! Wish I'd done it actually. Take the train from Medan to Pematangsiantar (locals just say Siantar). Can google map it to see. It arrives in the afternoon but I wanted to get to Lake Toba same day so took the bus. Search KAI app indonesia (train booking site) download and change to English to see sched etc. Horas! STL

[@mrdave22]

thumbs up

[@SimosThailand]

Happy new year man, best of luck in 2023 🎉🎉 happy travelling 👍👍😎😎

[@SideTripLife]

Cheers Simo and all the best to you and yours too

[@LEObondTraveller]

Wow. That is indeed Gorgeous. Reminded me of what I've seen of the lakes in Switzerland. The Asian version. This vid is "600,000 Views Worthy" ... Mike Myers signing off (-:

[@SideTripLife]

Cheers Leo/Mike. Really is like a tropical Switzerland

[@YouTubeLindsey]

Same, it is similar in size and views to Harrison Lake here in BC. I just wish we had the tropical heat and palm trees 🌴😊

[@BruHombingJeram]

Paradise

[@bungelonlevel2862]

good video

[@muz90ful]

What is the room type (Samosir Villa Resort)?

[@SideTripLife]

I believe it was a deluxe lake view but the other rooms looked fine too: www.agoda.com/samosir-villa-resort/hotel/samosir-id.html?finalPriceView=1&isShowMobileAppPrice=false&cid=1898974

[@alantan1174]

what is a standard tips in medan?

[@Meta.Empress]

Can you touch on safety in your videos (for solo female travelers)? I feel like it would be a very different experience...

[@SideTripLife]

Great point. The Batak people of Lake Toba are kind hearted, friendly and respectful. In my now 2 trips to Sumatra I've felt completely safe (well, apart from the odd wild angot/mini-van ride;) This is from my male perspective of course but have also met solo female travellers who felt same. Just take regular precautions as you would anywhere.

[@mackiesa3385]

😍😍😍😍

[@alanamiller-kh6mt]

I love your videos and I mark them all for places to consider staying BUT But BUT, how about sharing with us complete newbies, how to find our way around. You seem to know exactly what bus to take, and what plane to take, Can you do a video bringing us into the country, what do we need to know? Do we need to get sim cards? Where do we get them? Phone tax in Bali? is that real? How can we get a 60-day or 6-month visa for Bali? Do you do a visa run after 30 days? How do you know all the buses etc? Is there an app you are using? Can you dumb things down just a little bit for us that have not been to all these countries? (big smile) And the big nosey question, how on earth do you afford to do all this traveling? How can we travel like you are?? How long are you typically staying in most spots? Please Obi-wan, teach us :)

[@SideTripLife]

Hi, good points thanks. I usually show how to get sim cards, transport, visa etc in my initial series video, for example pls see vid 1 of this series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/laPccmqwopWfe7M For more visa info, I'll copy n paste my response to another commenter below, hope this helps: ---------- Indonesia Visas? Most just use the 30 days on arrival visa ($35) and renew for another 30 days and then via visa runs to re-start (flight to Singapore etc). There's also a B211 Visa (meant for offshore workers) cost approx $300 for 180 days (valid for 60 days but can be extended twice). Indonesia is also rolling out a 5 year 'second home' visa for those with 130k in the bank. Beyond visa on arrival, most use local visa agents for longer term stays. Best ask local Expats via FB Groups etc which agencies to use (and use caution). Visa options and restrictions are always changing so best google latest updates. ----------- How do I afford to travel? I sold my modestly successful small biz in Thailand and now also have some income from YT. Usually the video revenue doesn't even cover costs but I enjoy doing it and I'm very grateful for the support I get from viewers via watching my vids. ----------- How long do I stay in each spot? It really depends. For example just before 'rona I went away for a weekend and ended up staying here for several months: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX_Ze3qYjq-Kfpo So one never knows, I just roll with it. Happy sidetrips, STL

[@tonyshaw7420]

No way I could get used to driving on the other side of the road 💀

[@timkdiamond]

Dude. That's fkn mental. Have to go. 😱😱😱

[@SideTripLife]

Toba=magic

[@andy-travels2345]

hi,, wow your making me Jealous hehe,, very nice place,,i,ll have to ask my future daughter in.law(Balinese) if she knows about this place... enjoy 👍🙏

[@SideTripLife]

Lake Toba is an absolute gem Andy, I'm certain they'd love it (perhaps for a honeymoon too;)

[@memekinal]

most beautiful than bali yeah

[@bungelonlevel2862]

bali is the best

[@debbyvanheyningen1823]

Why oow why dont you buy a cloth to make the windy noise less. Somethimes it is realy irritated. I like to follow you.

[@simonsuimanjaya7494]

Dude, you should visit Tana Toraja too

[@SideTripLife]

I really do! (and will!;)

[@simonsuimanjaya7494]

Oh yeah you should add Raja Ampat to your agenda

[@robertmcbrain]

I feel like a bit of a jerk for making this comment: in English, plurals do not take apostrophes. eg the 1970s (not 'the 1970's'); 'the temperature was in the '70s' (not 70's), and so on. Apostrophes are usually only used for possessives (eg 'Bob's Burgers') or contractions (eg 'the '70s' for 'the 1970s'). Sorry about all this, I do feel bad, but not sufficiently so to not comment obviously.

[@SideTripLife]

Thx & no worry's ;)

[@robertmcbrain]

@@SideTripLife very good!

[@beehive5835]

Would love to see you do a review of Malaysia vs Indonesia vs Thailand (city vs rural vs beach) and why!

[@park-ev8vr]

😍😍😍😍