Vindhya Sabnani, the founder of Ibu Penyu (Brilio.net/Retno Wulandari)
Vindhya Sabnani is a young travel junkie to successfully turns her passion for traveling into a source of income. She left her job in a travel magazine to found a trip organizer company called Ibu Penyu.
So what's the story behind Ibu Penyu?
It all started with my traveling hobby. As a kid, my parents used to take me to many places during holidays. They pretty muchcreatedmy passion to traveling and my thirst to see new places. Once I had my own income, I started to travel by myself or gather friends to travel together.
BeforeIbu Penyu, I worked in a well-known travel magazine as an Account Executive. People think that it's fun to work in a travel magazine because they thought I could travel often, but that's not how it was. I was selling advertisement spots to clients, so it didn't really involve traveling.I wanted a job that allows me to travel and earn a living at the same time.
So, I started this trip organizing business in 2010. I found some amazing destinations and I thought, it would be great if I can bring some friends to see all of this beauty. It started as an effort to find travel mates to share cost, but then my family and friends encouraged me to take it to a new level. So, thats how the business began. My first trip as organizer was to Karimun Jawa.
And now I have employees helping me to run Ibu Penyu as I decided to do this full time and turn Ibu Penyu as a company.
Why did you choose Ibu Penyu for the company name?
Since the beginning, we dont want to treat participants as mere customers. Ibu Penyu means mama turtle and we want to treat our participants just like a mother treats her own children. Thats why we call them tukik which means baby turtles. Moreover, about 85 percent of our destinations are related to the beach and ocean. So were just like turtles and her children who love to play at the sea.
What's your favorite destination so far?
I have so many favorite destinations, I cant name one or several of them!
Every place for me has its own impression and uniqueness that keep me coming back for more. Basically, I love quiet, tranquil places such as Derawan and Komodo Island. For now, some places in Central Sulawesi stole my heart from the western tip of the area, there are Palu, Donggala, Togean National Park, Lore Lindu National Park, Tentena, and all the way to Lubuk Banggai.
At the moment, I love to bring my tukik to Togean or Banggai. Both of them consist of many islands, some of them are uninhabited. But there are also local residents in some islands who provide homestay facilities. Those areas boast many incredible snorkeling spots we can enjoy. But nothing fascinates me more than the people living there.
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