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Blogs from Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia
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January 14th 2013
If you ever need to take the Pelni ferry to Medan from Bedan in Sumatra you just have to upgrade to 2nd class. The standard, though very cheap economy class is seriously unappealing. 2000 souls with baggage and kids, a 24 hour journey with appalling toilets ( floating floaters, need I type more) and dormitories to, well, avoid really. I'm now in Medan at the upper end of Sumatra. Just had a chest xray at the request of Australian immigration office, cost 10 pounds for the film, a report and a CDRom! Amazing. Especially as , having gone and got it, the Ozzies, blessem' have decided I don't need the bloody thing! Actually it's quite reassuring to see a nice normal CXR about 40 years after I had the last one. Meanwhile, I'm off to the ... read more
Forgive me God of backpacking, for I have sinned...
Published: October 30th 2012Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra » Medan
October 29th 2012
Dear travel Lord, There comes a point in a backpacker's odyssey when the knots in his back and dirt under his finger nails come together and demand a higher standard of accommodation. With a bag full of stinky clothes and the anticipation for a soft mattress, I stroll up (going comando no less) to the counter at the Cambridge Swissbel 5-star hotel in Medan. "I have a reservation for three nights," I say as a member of staff hands me a complimentary fresh squeezed pineapple juice. "Of course, sir," the receptionist responds then informs me about in-room dining, the spa, and pool. "Enjoy your stay, sir." Recuperation and relaxation here I come! I arrived in Medan by a small van twisting and turning once again through the mountain curves. My driver and his buddy chain smoking ... read more
August 13th 2012
Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia. It's dirty; It's noisy; It's polluted. We saw very healthy rats, we had a couple of cockroach friends in our room and there are beggars everywhere. It's a large Asian city... what else could you expect? Beyond these generalizations that many people avoid on their travels, we found a city that is sooo much more. Another thing you hear about is the constant “Hello Mister!” calls. We were expecting it to be hookers trying to see that my Tyler gets a happy ending but instead it was every child on the street, and they were saying it to Rebecca! We are back in an Indonesia that isn't quite used to seeing Caucasians. The kids that aren't brave enough to say “Hello” or “Good morning” tend to snicker in ... read more
July 24th 2012
Vanochtend maar weer eens vroeg opgestaan om de taxi naar het vliegtuig te nemen. Het vroege opstaan wordt een gewoonte, want als we wel eens een keertje niet vroeg gewekt worden voor de taxi, is het wel een of andere moskee die om 4.30 's-morgens lawaai begint te maken. Tom en ik hadden het vliegtuig bijna gemist omdat wij even bij Strabucks iets lekkers wilden kopen. We kwamen bij het vliegtuig aan en die mensen begonnen tegen ons te schreeuwen dat we op moesten schieten. Iedereen zat nl al in het vliegtuig (al 20 minuten voor vertrek!) Toen we in Medan aankwamen, stond onze chauffeur al op ons te wachten. Het zou een rit worden van ong 2,5 uur naar de jungle. De verwachtingen waren niet hoog gezien het gemiddelde niveau hier in Indonesie. In Bukit ... read more
November 29th 2011
It is Saturday morning, shortly after midnight and we experience a typical tropical rain shower. A new waterfall develops - in our room. The water runs down the walls and a lake develops on the floor of the green room. I really do love waterfalls but not in my room. It was a horrible night and as if the water wasn't bothering us enough the prayers were projected through the loudspeakers at 4.30 in the morning. Amazing - NOT! We decided to get up at 6 am in the morning. Yes, you got that right, 6 am! It seems like we are turning into real morning people. We had a quick breakfast and took a minibus to the bus terminal to catch a big bus to Bukit Lawang. The bus ride was quite bumpy and it ... read more
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September 11th 2011
8 septembre 2011, On prend notre petit-dejeuner puis on part en jeep, direction Tangakahan, un petit village de jungle encore plus recule. On nous annonce 39 km de route en 3 heures... hein??? Ca semble louche... et en effet, ce l est! La route n est pas pavee, toute defoncee, pleine de cotes en glaise... sans parler de toute la menagerie du coin qui passe sur la route... et des ponts en bois avec pleins de trous... au point que nos ponts a Montreal nous semblent bien solides tout a coup! Vive les Gravol, sinon on aurait pas survecu au voyage! On arrive a Tangakahan, a l office du tourisme. Notre guide nous prend en charge et on traverse la riviere dans un bateau pour le moins rustique... des planches sur des bidons... On arrive au ... read more
September 10th 2011
Bonjour tout le monde, 6 septembre 2011 On se leve tres tot car a 5:30, il faut etre assis dans notre taxi. On prend la direction du 2e aeroport de Kuala Lumpur, dedie aux vols low-cost... il y a des gens partout malgre l heure tres matinale... et qui dit low-cost, dit organisation qui laisse a desirer... on peine un peu a faire notre check-in puis lorsque c est fait, on se gate avec un bon petit-dejeuner chez Dunkin! Les dejeuners locaux sont plutot composes de riz, viandes et cie... tres peu pour nous... Lors de l embarquement, c est la pagaille pour entrer dans l avion, tout le monde se lance partout... c est dans ce temps la que c est pratique de voyager avec 2 colosses! Dans l avion on se croirait chez McDo, ... read more
December 23rd 2010
Leaving Burma proved to be more of a headache than I had hoped for. It was as if the government themselves were clawing at the straps of my backpack at every step of the way. I had checked-in online to save time at the airport. On arrival, I sailed, rather smugly it must be said, past the long line of people waiting to check-in. The long queue appeared to be going nowhere as every person seemed to want to negotiate the size, shape and weight of each bag they owned with meticulous detail. With my little rucksack, a little heavier from the odd souvenir, I glided past and upstairs to immigration. I handed over my passport, departure form and printed boarding pass for inspection. After a brief flick through my passport the immigration official barked for ... read more
November 20th 2010
Horas, horas, horas is a greetings from local dialect ( Batak ) in North Sumatra province. I have been invite by Narasindo Travel and Tours for familiarization trip to know about tourism product and destination that they can offer for tourist in Medan, Brastagi and Lake Toba. I never been there before, so I take this opportunity to visit this places. Temporarily I need to forget about guesthouse, where all lodging and transportion is arrange by this agency. Medan is the 3rd largest city of Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Located north side of Sumatra, and 45min by flight from Kuala Lumpur, also can be reach by ferry from Penang. The lead majority population is Java Sumatra followed by Batak, and Chinesse people. Old building architecture blend with Dutch design, also can be found in ... read more
June 6th 2010
No alarm this morning but we still woke up pretty earlyish. Left GH at around 11 after saying bye to Fadil and Opick (and seeing some punky monkeys leap about on our roof). The trek through the village is much less fun when you're weighed down with a huge backpack, big swelt on! Grabbed bike thing (motorbike with a sidecar attached to it, like a sideways tuk tuk, 6000Rp) to bus station where we were put straight into minivan to Medan (20,000). It was quite empty when we set off but we knew what to expect. After going at a crawling pace for the next 20mins through the village there were 16 of us (and 4 big bags of fish that were taking up their version of 2 seats) in a 12 seater van!! Squishy :) ... read more
