Medan Day 1

So… here’s to trying to reminisce what happened in Medan way way way back in January. Why did I not do this earlier? Ugh.

Note: Picture-heavy post.

Medan is an hour flight away from KL. And I suggest you to visit Medan during non-peak season! We went there mid January so it was a little quiet.

Oh speaking of KL, before I even talk about Medan, IF you’re planning to stay overnight at the airport and if you have baggage to check-in, please make sure your hotel is NOT inside the terminal LOL!

What happened was, we only found out that our hotel is INSIDE the terminal and we have check-in baggage. Luckily the custom and security helped us out. What we did was we left our baggage in their paid locker, passed through the immigration and slept in the hotel. We checked out of the hotel during Subuh, and out of the terminal to get our bags checked-in. It was a lot of hassle! We arrived KL before midnight and our flight to Medan was early in the morning. I suggest you to stay at Tunes Hotel instead!

Anyway, we arrived at the humble airport of Medan – Kuala Namu – and waited for our driver. Luckily we had our Indonesian simcard. Turned out our driver was late as his tyre was flat. And yes, I would recommend Pak Rijal – +6285275603660 – make sure you book his service in advanced! Once you reach the airport, there will be A LOT of men offering their services as a driver. According to our driver, some are not really honest and some barely know places. Our driver has been hired by a lot of Malaysian tourists and travel bloggers. Anyway, the point is, one – book your driver in advanced, two – stay inside the airport and don’t go outside until your driver has arrived!

One thing for sure, Medan is not a place for you to shop. Yes if you like sight seeing and island hoping!

It took 4.5 hours from Bandar Medan to Lake Toba. Nope, no highway. Just small roads with A LOT of big trucks and I swear the closer you are to the lake, the scarier the road is as you have to go up and down of the mountains. Yes. MOUNTAINS. The road barely fit 2 cars so imagine an Innova and a BIG TRUCK full of loads driving across each other, and you can actually see how high up in the mountain you are at the moment. SCARY. The whole time we kept going “SubhanAllah” because we were scared – not for the weak-hearted people LOL! But the view was worth the ride!

On our way to Lake Toba we went to several pit stops. We passed by several districts along the way. One of it is Siantar. Here, we went to Paten – one of the goods producer in Medan famous for their Tang Tang, Ting Ting, Tung Tung snacks – very. yummy. Apparently the names are after her children. Cute! The shop looks like a typical, humble Chinese shop. We bought some snacks as delicious souvenirs for family and friends. The owner will give you testers and they even have special packs with all the flavours too.

And yay. She provides boxes for you as well as tapes and plastic bags. Awesome customer service

Then we had our lunch. One special dish here is Nasi Padang – anywhere we go it’s always Nasi Padang! Usually they will serve ALL kinds of food on your table and they will only charge you what you ate. Nothing more, nothing less. I love the kerabu – my childhood maid used to make me some and I finally satisfied my crave here!

The main dish was… burung ruak ruak. It’s like burung puyuh but slightly chewier. No I don’t eat any kinds of birds. Only chicken. Chicken is obviously my ultimate favourite. (So obviously I made a sad face and asked for fried chicken)

Another specialties in Medan is Jus Mertabi – a mixture of markisa (passion fruit) and terung belanda.

After lunch, we continued our journey to Lake Toba. Along the way, you will see signboards saying “B1” and “B2”. B1 stands for dog meat (derived from the word Biang) and B2 is pork meat. So after Siantar, the majority are non-Muslims thus the signboards. We saw more churches after that compared to back in Bandar Medan and Siantar where there are more mosques.

When we went up the mountain, this is where the scary rides started (we got used to it on the second day. Kidding. It was still scary). You will see a lot of small coffee houses on the edge of the mountain called Panatapan – where you can enjoy a good cuppa while viewing the majestic view of Lake Toba.

Sadly, the day we arrived, it rained and fogged a little so we couldn’t do much sight seeing or go to the other island.

So we checked in into our hotel, bought a little souvenirs, ate dinner and spent the night passed out in our room because we were tired and probably had the effect of motion sickness hahaha

We stayed at Hotel Niagara, Parapat. They have wifi of course… at the lobby. So guess who stayed for an hour or two at the lobby during our stay there? HAHA! Oh, by the way, since you’re up on the mountain, the weather was very cold! We did not even turn on the fan!

Medan is a fan of lizards – it symbolizes the people, that they can live anywhere in the world and still survives.

We stayed one floor above the lobby and our balcony had the most amazing view.

I love the hotel’s architecture. And yes, our room is facing the majestic looking Lake Toba!

According to the driver, it used to be one huge volcanic mountain. It went active and blasted millions of years ago, thus creating Lake Toba. It is very huge and reaches up to 7 different districts. Well, that’s according to him. Sila refer Wikipedia hehe

Then we went for a quick shopping – which I recommend to shop at the other island instead lol

There’s a lot of dogs here (so silakan imagine Ummi trying not to attract their attention and simply stood still with scared face on. LOL!) We had our early dinner at the humble rumah makan nearby.

YAAAAAS! Jus Durian Belanda (Soursop) is a must whenever I’m in Indonesia. Same goes to Alpukat (Avocado). How I wish Avocado is cheap in Brunei –_-

After dinner, we continued sight seeing. We went to the nearby hotel (oops) for better view since it was foggy and then toured around our hotel a bit before we went back (to the lobby. for wifi. duh.)

Oh when we went up the mountain, I realized that there’s a lot of pine trees in Parapat. Combine it with the cold temperature, it felt like I was in Switzerland! It did not feel like Indonesia at all (actually my friends don’t even know where Medan is hahaha!) I should have said I was in Swiss instead

Yes, I brought my travel buddy again this time and she didn’t disappoint me!

Anyway, that’s part one and end of my Day 1 in Medan. 4 more posts! Till then

Apa ada di Bandung?

It was actually kinda unplanned. The actual plan was just to go to KL. But then, the next thing we know, we bought tickets to Bandung, via KL.

Our flight to KL was in the morning. We arrived at LCCT around lunch time. Then, waited for a good few hours as our flight to Bandung was around 3pm. To cut the story short…

We arrived in Bandung on the 11th, arriving at Husein Sastranegara Airport. The temperature was around 23 degree Celsius, if I’m not mistaken. Trust me, you won’t drop a sweat there. According to our driver, it lasts until.. April? May? Right. I’m unreliable with sources.

What’s funny was the arrival “hall”. We got off the plan outside the building.. then as soon as we entered the “hall”.. well, that was already where we lined up for immigration. There’s only two immigration counters, one for local, the other for international.

After you passed the counter, just five steps to the right, there’s where you get your luggage. The space is reeeeally small to hold the passengers from one airplane.

What’s cool about Bandung.. they have a freaking pilot academy. So cool >.<

We arrived at the hotel around 6pm or so.. We stayed at Kenangan Hotel. The hotel is good enough, really. I like the environment, and it’s really near to the places we wanted to go. Most of the time, we used our driver though.. It’s easier since all of us are heavy shopper.

Because of the cold weather (cold enough not to make you sweat, but not too cold that it felt like you’re surrounded by AC) we don’t usually use the AC in the room. The room also has fan.

Outside the hotel, there’s always men selling stuff. They’re not allowed to go inside the hotel area, so they usually stay in front of the gate. Their price are usually almost the same with the ones at the shops, so if you need a last minute shopping for souvenir, you can just buy from them.

Also, the area has a lot of hotels nearby, ranging from the expensive-looking hotel to budget hotels.

Now.. what’s there to do in Bandung? Shopping, definitely! It’s way, way, way cheaper! First, there’s A LOT of Factory Outlets. It’s all branded stuff, except cheaper. People usually go to those along Jalan Riau.. and also Rumah Mode (pronounced as Mo-de). To start off the day in Bandung, we went to Merdeka Arcade Factory Outlet. Got my self few shirts there. Then we went to the mall in front of it.

We didn’t go shopping that much that night.

We went to Karamba for dinner. I think the driver always bring tourists to this place though. I like the environment there. Open-air kaliah! And the food is definitely great. The tempe and tauhu taste way different than Brunei’s. And not to forget, Alpukat Juice (avocado) and Juice Sirsak (durian belanda/durian salat/soursop) mesti order!

Also take note.. most of the shops close early. Always ask your driver about this. He would know what and where. He knows where to get stuff and such.

The next day, we went to….. Pasar Baru! Man, that’s like heaven on Earth. Well, not really. Everyone smokes at every corner of the building. So, that’s a minus. It feels like you’re gonna get lung cancer on the spot. But, hell, this is the place for all shopaholic. The building is uber big, and each floor has different purpose. If I’m not mistaken, Level 1 and 2 are for kain! So, we went mad kain shopping there. This is a must go place. Only if you don’t mind being in a crowded place, with a lot of smoke.. We spent the whole day there, from morning.. until the shop closes. We didn’t even go for lunch. We definitely bought too much.. even the hotel guy said “banyak nya..” and a lot of Malaysians go to Pasar Baru that some shopkeeper actually speaks good Bahasa and some accepts Ringgit Malaysia (RM). Also remember, you always have to bargain!

So after shopping, we went back to Karamba and had our lunch and dinner there. Can’t get enough of their food, really. And there’s free wireless lagi tu!

After filling our tummy.. we shopped at the factory outlets along Jalan Riau, such as Secret, Heritage, Unusual.. there’s a lot really. So, we just walked on foot, from one factory outlet to another. I think most of them close at 9pm or 9.30pm. And you can always leave your stuffs at the counter if you walk from one place to another, and they don’t charge 🙂

After tired shopping from morning till night, we.. had durian feast.We asked our driver to bring us to place with local durian. The super kuning durian is good! And kinda cheap, I think.

Most of our stuffs after shopping.. a lot of kains!!!

The next day, we went to Paris Van Java. There’s Zara, Topshop, Mark & Spencer, Carrefour.. mostly the branded ones. The toilet is a must go though. Open-air. Super nice. Amazing. Fishes. Everything. They definitely know how to use their amazing cold breeze. Save budget lah.

Oh! I made myself a new glasses in Pasar Baru. It’s way cheaper, really!

I also found this cafe.. and annoyed my dad the hell out of it. LOLOLOL. Man U for life.

This is my only favorite shop! They sell analogue camera (not from lomography though) and a bunch of cute stuffs you see on Tumblr! I regretted not buying this thing I wanted… #lesigh

Another shop we found there was this candy shop. They sell Korean ice-cream!… and Japanese, I think. Well the writings on my ice-cream was in Korean (glad that I learned hanggul! lol)

We rested a while at the sunflower village. There’s a place where you can take pictures (using their props and stuff, but you have to pay) and also a juice stall. Must, must, must buy their juice. It’s all fresh juice.

We went to Sangkuriang for lunch. The interior is nice and creative. They even have individual huts if you want to eat there. However, Karamba still has better food.

We then went to Rumah Mode, which is another must go place. The place is uber nice, trust me! And a lot of people, local and tourists. You can take pictures around. There’s even prayer room. There’s also other factory outlets nearby, within walking distance, just like Jalan Riau, but not as much.

Later then, we went to the mall next to Trans Studio. Trans Studio is like Universal Studio. One day, I wanna spend the day there! As for the mall, the security is really tight. It’s a big shopping mall with expensive shops. You know, those shops selling branded stuffs and such. So that’s why they are very strict with security.

Anyway, it was our last day in Bandung.. We went back to KL the next morning. The departure hall isn’t as small as the arrival hall though. In fact it looks quite nice. Although still smaller than Brunei’s, the interior is not bad.

Dear AirAsia, I hope there’s nearer flight to Bandung, instead of just KL.

That should conclude my days in Bandung. I will edit this post if there’s anything I forgot to write on.

View full album on my facebook.

Updated
I forgot to add one thing though. Bandung is also famous with Kartika Sari. But no worries if you don’t get the chance to visit. The airport also sells goodies from Kartika Sari, like the cakes and such 🙂