raihanahariff: Travel: Medan, Indonesia

Assalamualaikum and hello everyone!

Praised to Allah because I still can update new entry. Okay. Today I would like to share my new experience travelled to Medan, Indonesia. Medan is another city in Indonesia that has larger capacity of citizens after Jakarta and Surabaya.

I went to Medan on 3rd April by aircraft, Malindo Air from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Perak. To be very honest I am not travelling alone but actually I went with my big family. But just assume that I went to Medan alone. LOL. Okay, back to my stories.

My vacation is just 3 days and 2 nights. Once I arrived to Kualanamu International Airport, Medan, Indonesia, our tour guide brought us to Ayam Penyet restaurant for having lunch. He (tour guide) said that Ayam Penyet is one of the most popular dishes in Medan. So if you go to Medan, I encourage you guys to try Ayam Penyet. You should try to taste their ‘sambal’. So spicy but I love it! And one more thing.. You guys really need to try their fruit juices! So fresh and original taste from fruit and so mouth-watering. Once you taste it, you’ll ask for second, third times and so on. I always order their fruit juice whenever I having lunch or dinner because at Malaysia isn’t easy to find that kind of very fresh fruit juice.

We stop by at a mosque to perform solat after having lunch. Then we continue our trip to Maimun Palace (Istana Maimun). I’ve learned more about histories of Medan. It so amazing! After that we went to special boutique. First session of shopping in Medan! I just shop ‘telekung’ for myself. Then, we went to hotel and check in there. Take a break and prepared for dinner at another restaurant. Again, I ordered fresh fruit juice. LMAO!

Next day, early in the morning we get ready for long journey to Brastagi. Having breakfast at hotel and it took about two hours to arrive at Brastagi. If you’re Malaysian then let just imagine that Brastagi is like Cameron Highland, Pahang. At there, the weather is a bit cold because Brastagi is located on crossroads on the main route linking the Karo Highlands. We shop again. I bought dream catchers (handmade from Indonesia), shirts, pants, fridge magnets for souvenir and seeds. LOL! I really do buy Celery seeds. HAHAHAHA! At Brastagi, they have offering if you want to ride horses.

After that we having lunch at Sunshine restaurant and we ate Chinese foods. Then we went back to Medan and go to Pasar Ikan (Fish Market). Pasar Ikan is just a name but at there, they’re selling all things. Clothes, telekung, kain pelekat, and so on. Majorities said that Indonesia is nirvana of clothes especially in Bandung. But still at Medan, it full of kain sarong. Tour guide said that in the past, Pasar Ikan is main place to sell fishes so that why it named as Pasar Ikan even though now they’re no longer selling fishes. What’s taking my attentions at Pasar Ikan is.. On 5pm sharp they’ll hurry up to close their shops. In within minutes, that place which is hectic before become quiet.

We go back to hotel and rest and having dinner. We started to pack our stuffs since tomorrow we will went back to Malaysia.

Last day in Medan. Woke up early and having breakfast. Then we continue packing our stuffs and check out from the hotel. Before we arrived to Kualanamu International Airport, we stopped by at shops that selling Kek Lapis Indonesia. We bought for make it as souvenir. Finally arrived at airport. Our flight is on noon but have to delay for about two hours because of bad weather, raining heavily and thunderstorms. And because of delayed flight, I could find it! I finally have a chance to buy postcard for myself. HAHAHA! Since on the first day I stepped enter the Kualanamu International Airport I’ve swearing to myself that I want to buy a postcard for myself.

Oh yeah, for your information the time zone for Indonesia is UTC +7:00. So if in Malaysia now is 1am, while at Indonesia is 12am. Even though the difference of time zone is just one hour but still can makes me feel jet-lagged. Heol!

Conclusion about my latest trip to Medan, Indonesia is just— great! I enjoyed it. But what makes me a bit disappointed is I couldn’t visit to Danau Toba and Masjid Raya because of our packed schedule and it just a short family vacation. If you want go to Danau Toba, at least you should spent about 5 days and 4 nights in Medan and then you can visit other great places in Medan.

People in Indonesia are so workaholic and hard-working. They’ll never give up to work and having money for families. What I can see by my own eyes is people in Medan are so punctual in time. Besides that, their traffics in Medan are so amazing! I salute traffics in Indonesia. No rules for traffics but still no accident. They’re just amazing.

I’ve learned more things about life from this trip. I hope someday I can spend time and visit Medan or maybe another city in Indonesia. I love to discover about other cultures, foods and lifestyles. Thank you Indonesia for another great memory for my life.

Enjoy some photos that I've captured!