I know I was supposed to complete this like 2 weeks ago, but I really couldn't. And I am actually writing this in the hotel room of another Indonesian City - Surabaya. How quaint. Hahaha.
Anyhow. During the most recent long weekend (during Hari Raya Puasa), I took a somewhat #YOLO trip with 2 of my UNI friends. One of my friend asked if anyone wanted to join her on a trip to Medan and 2 of us replied “Yes”! I was still in a meeting (cause I think it was my regular mad Tuesdays) while the 2 of them went ahead to book a hotel room as all rooms were snapping up fast! When it came to our flight bookings, we were more relaxed and only booking it the next day.
I was rather worried about the weather there as there were contradicting information on certain blogs and I really wasn't sure what to pack for. So I packed one of each - a pair of jogger pants, a pair of shirts (berms rather), a few t-shirts and a lightweight jacket. (FYI, our travel period is in End June).
Conclusion: I didn't have to use the jacket at all! It was cooler than usual but nothing too cold. When it rains, it gets extremely breezy though. So, in case you're worried, bring along a windbreaker.
There's nothing much to buy there unless you're into the Medan City T-shirts at the airport. Hence we didn't really spend much. The only hefty thing we splurged on, was Transport!
Day 1 - Arrival at Medan Airport
We were quite hungry so we got ourselves a Roti Boy each (at 11.5k) and then the must-have... DATA SIM card (at 55k). When you're travelling free and easy, it's always good to invest in the local DATA SIM cards. This way, you can look for maps and even call for vehicles wherever you are.
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| Bus counter |
We read online that we were supposed to take a bus to AMPLAS terminal and change to another bus from there. So, thats what we did. Bought tickets to AMPLAS terminal (at 15k) and when we finally reached, we paid another 40k for the second bus fare.
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| All these people were headed the same way! |
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| This is how the terminal looks like. |
We were told that the bus will leave at 12pm. Mind you, it was only almost 10am IDN time. We had 2 hours in that rundown terminal with nothing to see nor seat. We were already prepared that the buses were non-air-conditioned, but when one of the local bus came and we saw how the people squeezed themselves into the non-air-conditioned bus, it caught us speechless. We were there at the terminal because we wanted a local experience, not a "I-shall-stick-my-whole-sticky-body-next-to-you" experience. Probably being judged, a Taiwanese couple came to us and talked about how they were cheated of their "aircon" bus that never came. So, we decided to uber back to the airport (100k per car) to get ourselves a shared taxi. (FYI, Uber and Grab do not service Parapat area.)
When we got to the airport (again), we couldn't find where is the shared taxi counter. All there is are the expensive private cars. Finally after asking around, we found the shared taxi counter - which is also the bus counter. Omg! So dumb right? There's a small sign on the counter that says "NiceTrans" taxi. So small card, who will notice?!
Anyway, after asking, we found out that shared taxi runs on a unidentified schedule and the taxi has just left. There are no taxis at the airport on standby anymore. So they offered the private car again (although slightly cheaper than the others). Eventually, the 5 of us took it and paid another 140k per pax. That's like a total of 230k spent on transport alone in that one morning.
The journey from the airport to Lake Toba takes 4hours (on good traffic). So, when we finally got to our hotel, it was already time for dinner. We were staying at the Parapat View Hotel.
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| Empty expressway on the way to Parapat. Wait till you try to local roads. |
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| So nice! |
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| Parapat View Hotel |
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| View from the main lobby |
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| View of Parapat View Hotel |
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| It's feels more like a chalet (with breakfast) than a hotel |
It was almost impossible to go out of the area without a car. So, we ate at the hotel and spent about 180k per pax.
Day 2 - The only day we went around
Like I mentioned, without a car, there was no way around. So, we requested to our hotel to help us get a car to go sightseeing. Again, the car cost 700k but this time, we are sharing within 3 and not 5. So about 230 per pax.
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| There are many photo zones in the area. So pretty! |
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| We went to Sipiso-piso. The waterfall! |
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| And when we wanted to go Mt Sibayak, it started raining. |
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| So we went to a place where we could see the volcanoes instead |
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| View from Bukit Gundaling |
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| Coffee with a view |
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| And the toilet we had to go cause we were out for too long |
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| Yeah, you get it. FYI, we had to pay to use the toilet too. |
So yes, day 2 also ended with dinner at the hotel for 190k.
Day 3 is the day we leave Parapat and head back to Singapore.
This time, we managed to get ourselves the shared taxi and it cost only 80k per pax. However, the downside was, we had to hitch with regular Indonesian guys working at or around the airport. This means, a very early trip to the airport. Our flight was at 8pm! We initally planned to go around again, till 12pm and head to the airport, knowing it was a 4-5hour journey. But yes, because its such a long journey, you really don't know what's going to happen on the way, so we agreed to leaving at 8am for the airport.
Eventually, we reached the airport at 12ish.
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| Survivors of the back! |
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| A&W for lunch |
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| POP MIE for dinner |
Piece of advice, please stay within the domestic boarding gates until absolutely necessary. There are no food/ restaurants inside the international gates and POP MIE was our only option. So yeah, before going into the boarding gates, we hogged seats at Starbucks for 3 hours. But, can you blame us? Hahaha.
Anyway, after we came back from the trip, I felt like my back was breaking apart. Hahaha. Since I am the smallest sized (and youngest) on the trip, I always volunteered to take the back seat. By back seat, I mean the last (3rd) row of seat inside the MPV with no head rest. Right..? You can imagine, can't you?
So. The good thing about taking the back seat is, you get both left and right windows to yourself. If you want to see something on the left, scoot left. If you want to snap a picture on the right, move right! Hahaha! But because of the long distance journey, yes, my back felt like it was gonna break! HAHAHA!
That said, this trip is super therapeutic for the soul, but really tiring for the body!
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| Hence, therapy for my body the next day! |
Total expenses for the trip (approximately 400 SGD)
Flight: 230 SGD
Hotel: 80 SGD
Expenses (Food): ~460k IDR
Expenses (Transport): ~550k IDR
Expenses (Others): 55k IDR
Hope all these little bits of information helped whoever going to Medan/ Parapat in future.
Cheers!
