Medan

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Medan is located on the northern part of Sumatra Island, and is the capital of North Sumatra.

	medan Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By bus 3 Get around 3.1 By becak 3.2 By taxi 3.3 By bus 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Get out

Understand

Medan is the third biggest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. It is also the biggest city outside Java Island. The population of Medan city is about 2 million people (accourding to census in year 2000).

Get in

By plane

Medan has an International airport which is about 15 minutes from the city. There are direct flights from Penang (for only around $70 return), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Batam and Taiwan. Medan is served by the port of Belawan, where Pelni ferries from Batam and Jakarta, as well as boats from Penang and Dumai dock.

Several discount airlines service Medan, though the only one with reliable internet booking (in July and August 2005) is Air Asia (www.airasia.com), with fares often below $50USD r/t if purchased in advance. Domestic departure taxes from Medan increased on 15 August 2005 from 15,000 Rp to 25,000 Rp, while international departure taxes remained constant at 75,000 Rp. The domestic terminal is nicer than the International terminal at Medan Polonia Airport (a new terminal is scheduled to open in late 2006), and there is no moneychanger for currency other than USD. Fees for visas-on-arrival in August 2005 were $10USD for stays less than 7 days (note: this is what was posted in the airport, while the Indonesian Embassy states that short-term visas are only good for 3 days) and $25USD for single-entry stays up to 30 days. Bags are checked by customs upon departure, unless you have friends at the airport. Domestic flights out of Medan do not check IDs (sporadically, they check passports at check-in) at security checks (only tickets).

When departing the airport, walk past the taxis in front of the terminal and proceed towards the exit of Polonia airport. There are more taxis towards the exit, and if you bargain well, you can get a taxi for only 20,000 Rp. If you know the public bus number for your destination, it is 6000 Rp per person, but those unfamiliar with Bahasa Indonesian are encouraged to get taxis for their first transportation.

By bus

Larger, non air-conditioned buses and large luxury buses (often Mercedes) that are air-conditioned (some have toilets on board, though they are squatting toilets that are difficult to use when the buses are moving, given driving habits and road conditions throughout Sumatera). The central station for all larger buses in Medan is Amplas Station Central (not located in the center of the city though). This is where a lot of the smaller minivans go as well, and where travellers need to go to make connecting buses to further cities. Many of the large air-conditioned buses perform overnight routes, with prices varying by location served. As an example of prices from August 2005, expect to pay around 50-80,000 Rp for an 8-10 hour overnight luxury bus (without toilet saves about 10,000+ Rp) trip, as in to Duri, Bukit Lewang, or Lake Toba (Danau Toba). Such buses provide a small snack and sometimes have televisions on board. While seats are very comfortable by Sumateran standards, all rides are swervy/bumpy and drivers often play stereos quite loud during the entire trip (unless a movie is available). Also, many buses have smoking sections in the back, and sometimes, smoking occurs in the front of the non-smoking section by the driver if the driver is so inclined. Earplugs are good accessories. Furthermore, while the large luxury buses have ample stowage above seats, keep valuables safe while you sleep.

Get around

Medan city are swamped by Becak and Taxi (the preferable choice to get around)

By becak

Also known as trishaws or pedicabs. You have to be good negotiator if you want to ride on becaks, with price ranging between Rp.5000 to Rp.10000 depending on the destination (near or far).

By taxi

Cost Rp.20.000 (2005) to go anywhere around the city. From near to Far. becareful of picking up a taxi.Try to pick taxi from a reliable place such in front of malls,shopping centres or airport.

By bus

Public transport is not reliable and not suggested for travellers, though they have fixed price from one destination to other destinations.

Small minivans have painted numbers (1 to 267 in Medan) that signify their routes, which even locals don't have memorized. If you speak Bahasa Indonesian, just ask where people are standing by the roadsides which "bus" number corresponds to your location and what the price is in advance. When a van with the appropriate number approaches, flag them down as they don't make scheduled stops (just drive along a given route and drop off passengers when told or pick up new passengers when flagged). If you are a westerner, be sure to confirm the price before getting in. This type of transportation should only be braved by those with a point-to-point knowledge of Medan and a working knowledge of Bahasa Indonesian so they know where to tell the driver to stop, unless you have a local friend whom can take you around.

See

Many tourists choose to use Medan as a quick thru-point to travel elsewhere in Sumatera, but the city offers a glimpse of a large Indonesian city still unfrequented by western tourists, and shouldn't be quickly dismissed. However, Medan is more chaotic and has a bit more litter than Jakarta or Denpasar and open sewers abound. Furthermore, not as many people speak English in Medan as in other large Indonesian cities, but even a short list of useful expressions goes a long way, and Sumaterans are still unjaded by westerners.

Do

Buy

Carrefour stores stock food as well as electronics and clothing. The clothing section includes many namebrands at very low prices (ex: Diesel t-shirts for 15,000 Rp, or about $1.50 USD). Many western food items can be found as well, at fairly competitive prices. These supermarkets cater to the middle/upper classes and are one of the few stores in Medan that accept cr cards.

• Sun Plaza, located in central city. Big plaza and lots of happening in Saturday and Sunday. Plenty of food choices from western to eastern.

• Medan Fair Plaza, city center. Has a big Carrefour supermarket, so if you need something you will be able to find them in Carrefour. Lots of eating options also.

• hels, provide issues about anything to make concept design in fashion, the local clothing store with price range Rp10,000 - Rp120,000 (USD1 - USD12), the place call hels at jl. kh. wahid hasyim no.48 medan20154, +62614520749, hels.medan@gmail.com

Eat

• Merdeka Walk the hottest hangout place in town, cafe, resto, exhibition, entertainment. lapangan merdeka medan

Drink

Sleep

• Grand Angkasa Hotel http://www.grand-angkasa.com/, the only 5-star hotel in the city has rates around $90USD for introductory rooms and only slightly higher for suites.

Get out

• Lake Toba
• Leuser National Park

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