We woke this morning and had to say goodbye to our lovely homestay by the lake. We waved goodbye as we walked to the ferry port, only 5 minutes away.
The boat arrived exactly on time and transported us over a beautifully calm lake to the town of Prapat. From here we took a 'people carrier' with other Europeans .... destination Medan!
It was a smooth journey but traffic rules and courteous driving etiquette don't really exist on Indonesian roads. We stopped at a small cafe for a 'rest stop' and dropped off most of the other passengers at the shiny new Kuala Nemu airport.
We now drove into the city of Medan, voted the worst city in the world and were dropped at our hotel. The budget hotels in Medan are not great. They have terrible reviews. Noise, bed bugs, no locks on doors, stinky toilets etc. etc. So, we upgraded a little for just 1 night and for 'not a lot' of extra money, we have an amazing room!
Medan doesn't seem bad at all. The traffic is busy, it is a little polluted, there are more beggars but it seems ... OK. Whichever poll voted it worst city in the world, needs to take a look at a few others!
There appears to be only one major site which is a large mosque in the centre but it is nowhere near as beautiful as the one we visited in Banda Aceh. Shopping kept us busy for the afternoon, as there are large malls around town and we appear to be staying on 'fashion street'!
In the evening we walked back to the mosque area as there was a Ramadan festival tonight. Just as it started to get a little dark we brought some interesting food from a small stall and started eating. A policemen approached with a smile and pointed at the mosque where a voice was coming over the loud speaker... We were not exactly sure what he was trying to tell us but we did recognise the word Ramadan. We thought he was trying to tell us we shouldn't be eating but as we walked on everyone was ordering food. But, they were waiting to eat when the voice on the speaker stopped. Oops, we had started eating a few minutes early and right in front of every Muslim who must have been really hungry. Sorry!
We tried loads of food at the festival and everyone was super friendly. We had a browse at a photo exhibition and met the photographers, who had taken some amazing photos. There was a big stage and some music playing. Outside were parked TV vans and expensive cars for transporting VIP's. There were loads of stalls selling clothes, watches and jewellery.
We had a wonderful time in Medan. It seems like a great city in which we would love to explore more!
The boat arrived exactly on time and transported us over a beautifully calm lake to the town of Prapat. From here we took a 'people carrier' with other Europeans .... destination Medan!
It was a smooth journey but traffic rules and courteous driving etiquette don't really exist on Indonesian roads. We stopped at a small cafe for a 'rest stop' and dropped off most of the other passengers at the shiny new Kuala Nemu airport.
We now drove into the city of Medan, voted the worst city in the world and were dropped at our hotel. The budget hotels in Medan are not great. They have terrible reviews. Noise, bed bugs, no locks on doors, stinky toilets etc. etc. So, we upgraded a little for just 1 night and for 'not a lot' of extra money, we have an amazing room!
Medan doesn't seem bad at all. The traffic is busy, it is a little polluted, there are more beggars but it seems ... OK. Whichever poll voted it worst city in the world, needs to take a look at a few others!
There appears to be only one major site which is a large mosque in the centre but it is nowhere near as beautiful as the one we visited in Banda Aceh. Shopping kept us busy for the afternoon, as there are large malls around town and we appear to be staying on 'fashion street'!
In the evening we walked back to the mosque area as there was a Ramadan festival tonight. Just as it started to get a little dark we brought some interesting food from a small stall and started eating. A policemen approached with a smile and pointed at the mosque where a voice was coming over the loud speaker... We were not exactly sure what he was trying to tell us but we did recognise the word Ramadan. We thought he was trying to tell us we shouldn't be eating but as we walked on everyone was ordering food. But, they were waiting to eat when the voice on the speaker stopped. Oops, we had started eating a few minutes early and right in front of every Muslim who must have been really hungry. Sorry!
We tried loads of food at the festival and everyone was super friendly. We had a browse at a photo exhibition and met the photographers, who had taken some amazing photos. There was a big stage and some music playing. Outside were parked TV vans and expensive cars for transporting VIP's. There were loads of stalls selling clothes, watches and jewellery.
We had a wonderful time in Medan. It seems like a great city in which we would love to explore more!
