Letters from our guests

"COMMENTS FROM OUR GUESTS" ======================= June 2010 Dear Tri Jaya team, dear Diana, dear Dirk, The whole group came back safely to Germany. All brought with them many new impressions and experiences. This is also due to your perfect and always reliable organization. We were very pleased with the hotels, with the bus and especially with two guides we had. Both Daniel in Jakarta and Horasman in Sumatra were very competent, friendly and helpful at all times. They contributed considerably to the good atmosphere in the group. I want to say a special thank you to you Dirk for accompanying us on the city tour through Medan. From a historical point of view this was one of the most interesting parts of our journey. Prof. Dr. Reinhard Wendt FernUniversität in Hagen Historisches Institut Neuere Europäische und Außereuropäische Geschichte 58084 Hagen, Germany Tel. 0049 (0)2331 987-2122/2124 e-mail: Reinhard.Wendt@Fernuni-Hagen.de ----------------------------------------------- Beste Dirk en Diana, Alweer bijna een week thuis en in de rush van het werk gedoken vliegen mijn gedachten elke keer weer naar de fantastische reis door Sumatra. Hartelijk bedankt voor alles. Het verblijf in jullie mooie, rustgevende hotel, het reisprogramma was geweldig geregeld en we waren ontzettend blij met Yoel als chauffeur/gids. Het was in Padang moeilijk afscheid nemen van hem. Een vriendelijke, integere man met veel humor en een enorme interesse en kennis van de natuur en een fantastisch goede chauffeur. We hebben ons met zeer veel plezier en een heel veilig gevoel laten rijden. Kortom niets dan veel lof over Yoel. Wat mijn zoektocht betreft naar het verleden van mijn moeder, heb ik dankzij jullie en Yoel, die ook regelmatig ging informeren voor één of ander gebouw of straat naar aanleiding van de fotootjes die ik bij me had, alles gevonden wat ik zocht. Het bezoek aan Dolok Merangir was heel speciaal. Sumatra heeft ons hart gestolen en we zijn zeker van plan terug te komen want er valt nog ontzettend veel te zien en te ontdekken. Ik heb in den jaren ontzettend veel door Azie gereisd en prachtige natuur mogen zien maar van Sumatra zijn we diep onder de indruk en ontroerd door de overweldigend mooie natuur en vooral ook de hele oprecht lieve mensen. Wij wensen jullie al het goeds en succes met hotel en reisbureau. We laten iedereen die van plan is Sumatra te bezoeken van jullie weten. met hartelijke groeten, Willem Panders en Jacqueline van de Flier Email: jvdf@hotmail.com ----------------------------------------------- Beste Dirk en Diana, We willen jullie nog eens dankzeggen voor de dagen welke we in jullie fantastisch gelegen hotel doorbrachten met een restaurant waar de attente en vriendelijke bediening ons zelfs een glas goede wijn inschonk. Ook de aanvullingen op het reeds door ons zelf samengestelde programma waren zeer welkom. Geprofiteerd hebben we van de expertise welke Dirk vergaard heeft over Sumatra en Medan in het bijzonder. De tocht langs de Nederlands-Indische architectuur in Medan, al dan niet gewapend met de door jou samengestelde gids, is een aanrader voor eenieder. Ook de tocht naar de OrangOetangs was een belevenis, dit allemaal met een chauffeur, die "hatihati" reed. Als historicus en docent was je ook geen moeite teveel om jouw gasten 's avonds van allerhande wetenswaardigheden te voorzien. Ook op Java hebben we de dingen gezien, die we wilden zien. Een van de hoogtepunten was de fietstocht door Bandung, waar we door de Riouwstraat fietsten waar een vriendin van ons vroeger had gewoond. Dankzij onze chauffeur hebben we ook het vroegere Hotel du Pavillon gevonden in Semarang, waar een vriend van ons is opgegroeid. Wellicht zal het binnenkort onder de slopershamer komen. Al met al hebben we een fantastische reis gehad. Het team van TriJaya Tour& Travel heeft ons daar uitstekend bij geholpen. Een 10 geven we nooit maar jullie komen heel dicht in de buurt. Jan en Anna van den Berg bergkonijn@kpnplanet.nl ----------------------------------------------- April 2010 This has had to be one of the most delightful places we have ever stayed, Dirk Buiskool and his wife Diana have built a dream retreat that looks out over the river. The name Omlandia of the Hotel / Restaurant comes from Dirk's student fraternity group in Holland. Diana is Indonesian and both of them are committed to the preservation of the old Dutch buildings that are under threat from the modernization process. Booking through Asia rooms we obtained three nights accommodation for $185 US including transfers from the airport, The rooms were well furnished, with good bathroom facilities and with air condi- tioning. The food at the restaurant was delicious and we were served by very friendly staff. They run a tour company and for just $170 US we had the the use of an extremely helpful driver for three days. We had a historical tour looking at the Dutch architecture the first day. Dirk has written a very interesting guide (a 60 page booklet) to the city buildings which has been translated into English which you can take with you. During the tour we visited the mansion of Tjong A Fie - he was one of the original builders and benefactors of Medan. His uncle built the famous blue mansion in Penang that this house was a copy of. On the Saturday the driver took us south to Berastagi. Parapat and Pematang Siantar. The final destination was to see the waterfall and to see the Northern End of lake Toba. The presence of a large lake and active reminded these New Zealanders of Lake Taupo/ National park area of NZ. We wish we could have stayed in Medan longer and arranged through Dirk and Diana to have stayed at lake Toba but this would have meant another long drive. We passed through coffee plantations, and abundant market gardening areas and walked though local markets and had lunch at a local non western restaurant that had great views over the valley. Helen and I strongly recommend this hotel and its associated tour company partly because of the geese, the fish and giant lizards but also because Dirk and Diana believe in what they are doing and Medan will be a better place for it. Charles and Helen Nicholls- New Zealanders living temporarily in Singapore hknich@gmail.com April 2010 ----------------------------------------------- November 2008 Hotel Deli River. In een kleine vallei aan de rand van Medan. Een groene oase van rust in een woestijn van knetterende brommers en brommer-becak. Het hoofdgebouw met restaurant op de ene helling en de kamers in de vorm van op zich staande kleine appartementen op de andere. Het restaurant is een open restaurant met 2 zalen en diverse mogelijkheden om buiten te zitten. Een buitengewoon gezellig familiehotel met een hoge mate van persoonlijke zorg en belangstelling door het management. Een grote dosis kennis van de mogelijkheden die Sumatra biedt voor zowel een willekeurige bezoeker als een bezoeker die specifiek op zoek is naar historische herkenningspunten. Alle basisfaciliteiten zijn er, voldoende om een prettig verblijf te verzekeren. P.S. Muetstege Wassenaar - Nederland email psmuetstege@hetnet.nl ----------------------------------------------- November 2007 "I stayed here for a night as I was leaving Sumatra after a somewhat grueling two-month consulting assignment in Banda Aceh. What a find! Beautiful lush grounds, lovely architecture, friendly hosts (Diana and Dirk) - the pictures at the hotel website, lovely as they are, don't really do it justice. I only wish I had found out about it sooner. To my great regret I left Sumatra without seeing Lake Toba and Mt. Leuser as I had hoped, and Deli River would have been a perfect place to do it from. (There's also river rafting for the more adventurous.) I'm quite sure Diana and Dirk would have organized it far better than anyone else. I found this place to be full of pleasant and intriguing surprises, from the ramp system (I didn't quite figure it out completely, but the place appears wheelchair accessible, not something one expects anywhere in Asia, let along 12 km outside Medan), to the music wafting out of the open air lounge when a visiting pianist takes a turn at the great- sounding new Yamaha upright, to the fact that Dirk is an historian (specializing in the Medan area) - be sure to ask about walking to the nearby archeological site. The clientele (including restaurant patrons) is intriguingly diverse, ranging (apparently) from local families with multiple young kids to nostalgic Sumatra-born Dutch returnees. A few things to keep in mind: It is outside Medan so eg shopping trips involve a taxi ride (a small price to pay for NOT staying in one of the - I thought - rather grim city hotels). The whole operation is very small scale and personalized, so if there is anything you want to do, email / talk to Diana and Dirk to get it organized. The airport transfer (mine was in a spotless white van with a polite, mature driver) was about USD12 one way, but one transfer is included in the room rate. the younger children I saw were happy exploring and hanging out, but I think older or higher-maintenance kids might get antsy after a bit - there is TV in the rooms but almost all Indonesian stations (and Russian? go figure), some baskets of toys (thoughtfully), but no pool etc (yet). OK, enough. Go. Enjoy!" Sara Bennett, Canada email: sbenett@bicn.com ----------------------------------------------- June 12 2007 Dear Diana & Family, From the bottom of my heart, thank you for a very exciting holiday for my twins & me. Not only did James plan a great journey at such a short time, I have to admit you all provided us a very comfortable trip thru' all the historic places. My main wish was to see Lake Toba and to see the local cultures of the various Batak tribes....and it was fulfilled. I really enjoyed the whole trip and En. Sanill was also very protective and friendly. On coming home to P.Jaya (KL), I told everything to my sisters and we plan to be back real soon. So dear Diana, once again thank you so much for your kind hospitality & trust in us. p.s. We loved staying at Hotel Deli River. The food was excellent, the room was very, very clean....one can practically sleep at the bathroom. And your staff was also so very friendly. Thank you all. Lastly...keep up the good work, Yours truly, ROSNANI AB. RAHMAN e-mail : nani@tm.com.my No. 18, Jalan 14/57, Section 14, 46100 Petaling Jaya Selangor Malaysia. ----------------------------------------------- September 19, 2006 Hello Diana, Dirk, James and all the staff at Hotel Deli River and Trijaya Tour & Travel. Well it seems so long ago since we were there with you. I would just like to say that we had a fantastic time with you and your staff. A friendly welcome awaits. Our 7 days with you was a great start to our Indonesian adventure. You all went out of your way to help and look after us, from the fantastic food, great trip to the jungle to see the Elephants and the Orang Utan to the great accomodation. We will definitely visit you all again. A big thanks to James who put our 7 day itenary into place which covered everything we went there to see. There was a lot of road travel but the end result was worth it. This should not put off anyone from doing this. Our guide was a top guy and stopped as and when we wanted for breaks and coffee. I have put a link to your website on my website, hope you will be able to do the same for me. My website is alexfoordphotography.com Kind Regards Alex and David Foord e-mail : alex.foord@btinternet.com www.alexfoordphotography.com ----------------------------------------------- August 2006 "It was a wonderful holiday for a very reasonable price. The last evening in hotel Deli River was lovely. I felt as though I had returned to civilisation." Christopher Fitzgerald email: chrisfitzg@hotmail.com. ----------------------------------------------- June 2006 We are only writing to you now after our trip to Sumatra (Medan-Toba-Brastagi) and our brief meeting at your hotel in Medan. Our trip to Sumatra was the very beginning a long 6-week "trek" that took us through Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Vietnam. We only came back home in Canada 3 weeks ago, and are still sorting through the 3000 pictures we took (the danger of digital cameras...!) We had to tell you that, of all the places we stayed, yours turned out to be the most pleasant and best of all. Also, both our guide and driver were also the most professional. We once had a very good guide in China, but the driver was not, another time when the driver was good but not the guide... Now our travel advisory to our friends is: GO THERE! NOW! With our sincere thanks, Lyubov and Jacques Mainguy Email: jacquesmainguy@yahoo.ca ----------------------------------------------- Mei 2006 Beste Familie Buiskool, Sinds vorige week ben ik terug in Nederland. En nu ik bij mijn dochter in Veenendaal ben, kan ik van haar computer en e-mail gebruik maken U te schrijven. Onze reis door Sumatra was een succes.... Wat het verblijf In Uw hotel betrof, alle lof. De kamers zo liefdevol ingericht, het eten echt heel lekker en het personeel alleraardigst. Door de ligging deed het me echt aan het vroegere Indie denken en vooral ook het ontbijt buiten op het terras. Het was een feest in Uw hotel te zijn en U ook te leren kennen.Gaat alles goed, ook met de kinderen? U het allerbeste toegewenst en ik hoop, dat vele touristen in Uw hotel zullen verblijven. Vele hartelijke groeten Ria Meijburg-Straatman Email: abons@wanadoo.nl -----------------------------------------------