The Most Beautiful Sunset I’ve Ever Seen

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Upon arrival to Samosir Island, we decided to rent a scooter to explore this mysterious place. That seems to be the best way to see the island though we did see a few folks on bicycles so that’s also an option. Our hotel was a bit on the outskirts of Tuk Tuk (the small town on the island) so to get the most of our time there we chose scooters after feeling comfortable with riding one in Bali.

While there are a couple of must-sees on the island, we were thoroughly enjoying simply cruising around aimlessly, passing local villages, swerving to avoid cows on the roads and waving at smiling school children. The weather was perfect almost the entire time except for a couple of short rains. From what the locals have told us, it stays around 25 degrees C year round (77 F). We took our time riding around one way on the island until the road got muddy and unpaved (4 hours later), then we would turn around and ride the other way simply enjoying the experience. We made it nearly all around the island in two days.
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We’d take in the scenery that the island would open up for us as a reward as we’d turn corners on the winding road around it. It’s times like these that make me appreciate the little things in life and feel balanced.
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This leisurely pace helped us get in the rhythm of the life on island and get a sense for its unique culture. We found out that buried in the northern part of predominantly muslim Sumatra, the island of Samosir is mostly Christian, which was obvious right away as we passed multiple churches. We also noticed the Batak architecture right away. Many families on the island still live in these traditional houses. The island, which has become the cultural center of the Bataks just begs you to find out more about it’s culture and origin.
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The culture of Samosir deserves its own blog post – stay tuned.

…and then there is the sunset. We were floored at the breathtaking views right outside of our room. We’d just sip our Bintangs and take it all in every night. You can’t get tired of this:
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Simply put: come here – it’s worth it. If those shots are not convincing enough. How about this? Our room with this view from the balcony was only $7 USD/night and those beers we were sipping were about $1.50 USD/liter.

Packing your bags yet?

  • leners2

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