Medan - Lake Toba: Day 1

When mentioning that I was going to Medan and Lake Toba on a holiday, I did raise a few eyebrows in my circles. When I added that I was planning on taking a train from Medan to Lake Toba, in addition to the raised eyebrows, some thought I was a bit nutty.

Then again, they weren’t too surprised, after seeing my track record of taking a train from Singapore to Siem Reap, and traversing (albeit accidentally) overland from Labuan Island to Limbang in northern Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, via Brunei.

So, an early morning it was on a Friday, 17 August, as I trekked out from my place and onwards to KL Sentral to catch the train to the airport. Now, I’ve taken many early morning flights, and usually, any time I check in at KL Sentral before 7am is a breeze, but not this time.

This was a long weekend, which starts on Saturday. So, naturally, I booked the flight earlier to avoid the mad dash to the airport on Friday afternoon. On the contrary, before 7am, when dawn barely broke, the check-in counters for Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Emirates all had a long queue. If it was bad at the City Air Terminal, the airport itself would be worse.

And indeed it was. Check-in desks were 10-deep, with the longest queues for flights to China. To add on to the chaos, immigration was not as smooth as usual. The autogates for Malaysian passports had queues that were 15 deep, not helped by some tourists who were relatively unfamiliar or confused by how it works. The counters for Malaysian passports and foreign passports didn’t fare well either. Only the APEC Business Pass counters were fairly quiet.

We managed to pass through the autogate 20 minutes later, and thankfully our gate was just nearby. To make the flight that more interesting, and as a foretaste of Northern Sumatra, our flight to Medan had quite a number of nuns onboard. Yes, flying nuns.

After a quick puddle jump across the Straits of Malacca, we landed at Medan’s Polonia International, after a very scenic approach past the Barisan Range, with views of Berastagi, two volcanoes, beautiful ranges and green scenery that would not look out of place in a remake of The Lost World.

Polonia International Airport is a simple affair, very basic without fancy aerobridges or grand arrivals area. There is something nostalgic about exiting your plane on stairs on to the tarmac. The immigration counters were right next to the tarmac, and you can see the plane from the baggage claim area if you just move closer to the conveyer belt and flaps.

Poolside, The Aryaduta Medan, from our room's terrace

It should cost you no more than 50,000 rupiah if you get coupons for taxis to the city, but beware of touts who would charge upwards of 60,000 rupiah. The airport is in the city, and traffic included, you can reach downtown in under 15 minutes.

SSM and I stayed at The Aryaduta Hotel, apparently one of three fine hotels in Medan, the other being the Aston City Hall and JW Marriott. Located on the top three floors of the Grand Palladium Shopping Mall (which I suspect has seen better days despite the grand name), it is in a good part of town, and definitely accessible on foot, a very important precondition for me.

Next door was a North Sumatran government building, and a short 5 minute walk away is the Aston City Hall, the outdoor food court of Merdeka Walk and a collection of handsome Dutch colonial structures. Best of all, the train station was just across the field from Merdeka Walk.

Medan is apparently famous for food, and has been mentioned online, from Wikipedia and Wikitravel to travel forums and Trip Advisor, as a food haven and a food tourism destination for Indonesians, if not regionally. So, I did my homework and prepared my list of to eat dishes.

Streetside, with 'becak'

However, my problems manifested itself when I realized that there was not a single decent map in Medan. No proper tourist map, no walking street guide. This being ‘Visit Medan Year 2012’ did not bode well for curious travellers. I was initially surprised when the front desk looked shocked when I asked for a map, and was taken aback when the map they produced was an in-house map, which was photocopied and did not have a sense of scale.

This was not helped by the fact that street names seem to change on a whim here, and I had trouble locating the one street I was looking for on Google Maps. With a rough idea where it was, based on the clues ‘intersection’, ‘Jalan Tapanuli’ and ‘Jalan Sumatera,’ SSM and I set out to search for it, initially on foot with the rudimentary map, and then finally, with two ‘becak’ rides.

A ride on a ‘becak’ is almost inevitable here, in addition to it being quite the harrowing experience. Imagine a Thai tuk-tuk, only smaller, and not attached on the back of the motorcycle but on the side, like a side cabin. Only this side cabin was rather flimsy and the exhaust fumes were in your face.

'Mie Rebus Udang Garing'

Eventually, we made it to the junction, but now we had to find the stall, since there was no name to it. Luckily, there was only one store selling ‘Mie Rebus Udang Garing,’ located 2 doors away from the junction of Jalan Sumatera and Jalan Tapanuli. Just look for the sign saying ‘Soto Pak Haji’ and be aware that Jalan Sumatera also appears as Jalan Aip II K.S. Tubun. The noodles and soto was worth the headache.

With our unwillingness to get back on the becak so soon, we trusted my navigation skills and memory and walked back to the hotel. It was a really interesting walk, past dilapidated shophouses, closed shutters and buildings that look as if they’ve seen better days.

We eventually trekked out again after lounging by the pool, this time in search of dinner. I originally planned for the famed Kesawan Square, which I have read much about, but the walk down Jalan Ahmad Yani as opposed to the bright lights of the stalls along Merdeka Walk right next to us was a fairly easy call after our afternoon of walking.

Railway crossing, Jalan Mt Haryono

Part of the Roman Catholic Mission, Jalan Mt Haryono

Kesawan Square arch, Jalan Ahmad Yani, south end

Tjong Ah Fie Mansion, Jalan Ahmad Yani

Side street to Jalan Masjid, off Jalan Ahmad Yani

Along Jalan Ahmad Yani, north end

Dilapidated granduer, Jalan Raden Saleh 1

London-Sumatera Building, Lapangan Merdeka

After a full day in Medan, I did realize one thing: it felt like we were the only travellers in town. Apart from a group of Kiwi travellers on the plane and a British couple at the hotel, we didn’t see any one else who didn’t look like a resident of Medan.