Witten by Aan Anugrah as told on the conversation
I first met Sam around 2007 in Bondowoso. In the area, natural tourism, especially to the Ijen Crater, wasn’t as popular as it is now. To attract guests, we often approached hotels, homestays, and even went on-site to locations like Paltuding, the basecamp for the Ijen Crater climb. At the time, I also worked as a tour guide, offering destinations such as Bromo and Ijen, plantation tours, photography and documentary tours, and several other customized tours. Here’s the story of Sam, an English-speaking tour guide from East Java.
Pioneering from Terminal, Hotel for Ijen Crater Trip (1998 – 2010)
Sam’s journey as a tour guide began in 1998. At that time, Bondowoso’s tourism industry hadn’t yet flourished as it has today, with the convenience of social media and Google Maps navigation. Sam got his first opportunity to take guests on a one-day tour from the Palm Hotel to the Ijen Crater. Tours typically started at 5 a.m. from the hotel and ended in the afternoon.
For the first 10 years or so, Sam focused on serving European tourists staying at several hotels in Bondowoso. He offered tour packages to Ijen in person—meeting prospective guests at the terminal in the evening, explaining the itinerary, estimated travel time, and the experience they would have. There was no online system, brochures, or official agents; everything was personal and spontaneous.
His biggest challenge at the time was transportation. The road infrastructure to Paltuding was still damaged and rocky. Sam didn’t have his own network or fleet, so he had to find whatever transportation he could find late at night. Sometimes he used a carry-on, a pickup truck, or even a motorcycle. The “best” vehicle at the time was a Panther SUV, which was considered well-suited for the steep terrain and climb to Paltuding.
Each tour had its own unique sense of adventure. Tourists typically stayed two to three nights in Bondowoso, rather than simply transiting as they do today. Along the way, Sam often offered additional stops, such as at Arabica coffee plantations or the forests surrounding the vast Ijen caldera. The tour experience back then lacked the blue fire attractions of today—tourists headed straight to the sulfur mining area to witness the activities of traditional miners at the base of the crater for those who were fit and prepared, but it was also possible to reach the crater rim itself—awesome.
For years, Sam pursued this profession for a modest fee, relying more on passion and relationships than professional facilities. He truly relied on his English speaking skills and physical fitness as he built his network little by little. 2008 marked a turning point: a friend helped him set up an email address and a Facebook account in the early days of social media. This was Sam’s first step in opening up to the digital world and establishing a broader connection with tourists.
From Local Guide to International Network (2010–2025)
2010 marked a significant turning point in Sam’s journey as a tour guide. After more than a decade focusing on providing tours to the Ijen Crater and its surrounding areas with adequate transportation, he began expanding his network. Armed with email, a Facebook account, an Instagram account, and guest relations, Sam began offering cross-regional tours—the story of the overland tour begins…
His first guests on this extended tour format came from France: a couple who contacted him via email. Over 15 days, they traveled from Yogyakarta, exploring Borobudur and Prambanan, traversing Trowulan, Bromo, and Ijen, ending in Bali. From there, Sam’s name began to spread, primarily through recommendations from 5-star reviews and international travel forums.
In the era before the internet and online communication boomed, Sam relied on popular guidebooks like Lonely Planet and its French-Belgian counterpart, Lengua de Ruta. His contact information and profile were listed there, leading many European travelers (especially French, Belgian, British, and German) to contact him directly via email or Facebook Messenger. Every trip became an opportunity to expand his network.
Around 2015–2017, Sam’s network expanded to Eastern Europe. Initially hosting guests from the Czech Republic and Poland, he then began to gain recognition among Russian tourists in 2017. A key milestone came when he met Michael Frobaev, a Russian photographer and travel agency owner. Collaborating with Michael, Sam connected with Russian tour groups that regularly traveled between Java and Bali and Labuan Bajo.
Another memorable experience came from other Russian guests, Dimitri and Elena Bogrova, who offered to post Sam’s profile on Russia’s largest travel forum. This included Elena’s school friend, Winski, a Russian traveler who popularized him. Several years later, Winski came to Bondowoso and toured with Sam. Since then, many Russian tourists have found and contacted Sam through his profile on the forum. Some even come directly on backpacker tours, private tours, without an intermediary agent.
This relationship doesn’t end at the end of the tour. Many guests continue to interact through social media—liking Sam’s posts, commenting, and even recommending his services to their friends. Some of them offer cooperation opportunities, such as shipping green beans and raw materials to Russia in 2017.