Ke Indonesia Kita?? Kali ini ke Medan.

This is not a plan trip in term of the place. Originally, we were supposed to go to Luang Prabang in Laos. But unfortunately, Airasia had cancelled the route completely and for us to go there, we need to go via Vientiane (Laos) or Doung Muang in Thailand. With just 3 days I think it will not make any sense as transit time will be a waste and with two senior citizen & a toddler, I think it will be a hassle and stressful trip. So me & Rita decided to use the refund and bought ticket elsewhere, which finally we decided on Medan. So..that was how we end up in Medan, Indonesia.

Always ready for some adventure..my little travel buddy!

I did not have any expectation when I arrived in Medan but myyy...I was very impressed and surprised that the airport is very modern & nice. I actually expect it to be old and probably out dated. Boy was I wrong. hahaha..

As usual when I travel with my parents, I make sure I booked a driver..and here we are waiting for the driver to bring the car over. 

We stay at Roemah (pronounce as Rumah) 28. The place is cosy and quiet as it is situated within a housing area. One down side is that it is quite a distant to the town centre. The cafe's food is nice. But bare in mind that food in Medan is generally spicy. I am the only one who enjoy it very much. Not only they mix it with fresh chilies, they also give a generous spread of chilies flakes on your food! hahhaha...And Indonesian like their drink to be sweet (well at least here in Medan) that I need to constantly remind them not to add condense milk/sugar. On our first day, we didn't do much. Everyone was deprived of sleep since we all need to be at the airport before 7am so we took the chance to rest since we arrived in Medan quite early.

I realised that Medan town is very unorganised..I mean everything is everywhere. The eating shop, souvenir, mall, hotels, tourist attraction..they do not centred in one area. You really need to go here & there ..and even better to hired a 'supir' to really go around. Medan is a very busy town ..car everywhere..honking every minute..hahaha...my son don't really like it when they just can't stop honking. The honking remind me of China ..So since we do not hired any 'supir' for that day we just walking around aimlessly and just discover the place ourselves.

We slept early on our first night as we need to move quite early the next day for our trip to Lake Toba, Berastagi & Parapat.

I thank God that he is a morning person. We left the hotel at 6am and he woke up at 530am by himself to get ready for the trip. Well, of course he slept along the way...hahaha...

We left the hotel without breakfast so this is our first stop after 3 hrs of driving. What I love about road trip is the scenery & we get to see the small town that we pass along the way. 

Everyone is hungry at this point including the 'supir'..hahaha

This is Lake Toba. 

View from the top

Ok..here's the thing..we did not cross over the lake and go to Samosir Island. There are two reasons for that, the first one is because my mom is a bit superstitious. She learns that the island is the original place of the Batak people and historically, Batak people do not bury the dead..they literally it the dead so that they can continue on living inside them. Well..that was long...long..longggg time ago as now a majority of tha Batak people are Christian. But still my mum do not want to go there..hahaha..Second reason is the safety issue. There was an incident happened the year before where a ferry was capsized at the Lake which killed all the passenger. Why it happen? Overloaded of passenger and car, no life jacket and lack of maintenance of the ferry. At the same time, the ferry was still operating even though the weather was bad. Hence, me & Rita reluctantly agreed to skip the boat ride to Samosir Island and just satisfied by viewing the lake from above the cafe. Hahhaha...I cant possibly leave my parents at the other side while the three of us go to the island. 

This will do..hahaha...at least as proof that we did went to Lake Toba

This place call Sukarno museum. This is where Sukarno hide running from the Dutch army.

Look at that...with the cold breeze..I did not feel that I am in Indonesia..terasa macam di negara barat plak aku...feel2 di switzerland.  hahahha

Then off we go to Berastagi, which will take ard 2.5hrs of driving from Lake Toba. The scenery was breathtaking, it was beautiful, full of greenery, plantation, fruits farms and vegetable farms. We we passing from one small town and villages to another. I realised that the Batak people like to bury their loved one near their house. There are cemetery everywhere and it is really build within their house's compound. I cant help but asking our 'supir' why. He said that they just want to be near them even though they are no longer alive. My mom have to asked the question..Aren't they afraid of the dead? " Apa mau takut omma? Sudah mati. Engka boleh buat apa2. Yang hidup kita harus takutin."...

Before reaching Berastagi, we make a pit stop at Sipiso Piso Waterfall. This is actually a river which end up at a hole at a stony hill..hence, that how it become waterfall. You can actually go all the way down but I did not go because my son will surely want to follow. From Sipiso Piso, it will take less than 2hrs to reach Berastagi, which is very popular for its fruits market. We stop by for lunch at a padang restaurant. The food is spicy but nice.

 In Berastagi, we took a climb (via car..haaha) to Gundaling Hill to view the two majestic mountain, Mount Sinabung & Mount Sibayak. Being on top of the hill the air feel fresh, clean and cold with occasional smell of horse poop. Hahhaha.. 

The view is to die for. The place is so peaceful and quiet..no wonder there are few people who just spread a mat and sleep there. Once you on top of the hill, you can see the whole town and farms everywhere. On our way down to Berastagi, the 'supir' decided to use the scenic road..I didn't even sleep because there are so much to see. The fruit market was huge but we reached there almost 5pm so most of the seller has gone home. But we manage to get good price for avocado, strawberry, mango, buah salak and oranges.

Although it was an unplanned trip but it was a great one. Medan actually offer a lot of outdoor activities and for those outdoor junkie, this place is highly recommended. I wish I have time for the hiking, trekking, waterfall, river etc but we only have 3days. You can skip the town as there is nothing much to offer. Just go to the outskirt of Medan and you won't regret it.

We are off to KL but we'll be back to Indonesia soon! I like to go to Indonesia because there are a lot of places to explore and discover. Furthermore, it is near to home as my parents are not so fit anymore to endure long flight hours. Next trip Jakarta-Bogor-Bandung! Yeahh..