Visa run to Medan, Sumatra with pics

[beerlaodrinker]

I havent been there for donkeys years but it certainly looks nicer than i remember it, excellent thread

[sunsetter]

"Pimpin an ranting" Sounds like a TD member

thought someone would spot that

yes willy thats the one, i did a thread i think but couldnt find it to link, cheers

[Deerculler]

Great photos. Many thanks

[kingwilly]

i did a thread i think but couldnt find it to link, cheers

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...8-awesome.html (awesome)

[Loombucket]

Great thread with some nice pictures! I too, have never been there.

[DrAndy]

I havent been there for donkeys years but it certainly looks nicer than i remember it, excellent thread

me neither, but it was always a good place

it has been modernised, posh hotels and stuff

[laymond]

love your work champ.cheers.

[Bangyai]

Just checked flights with Airasia

If You depart Thailand on the Monday 11th of February and return on Saturday 16th , the return fare all inclusive is a pretty amazing 2480 baht which is outstanding value for money.

Too bad Ms Bangyai doesn't fancy being away that long.

[sunsetter]

^ thats a good deal, we got some flights for krabi, and then back to bangkok from trang at the end of the month,for about 2000 baht each, gotta love air asia

[natalie8]

very chilled out in the airport

Who took their cat to the airport?

Great thread, ss. Looks like a nice stop for a visa run.

[nigelandjan]

Nice thread Sunny mate ,, might do me one day for a run ,, make a nice change ,, allways liked the old bogs at Don Muang ,, the solid walls give you that " reasurring " feeling when saying farewell to the logs as opposed to that floopy cubicle crap at Swampy

[nigelandjan]

Didnt see old Gravy Davy on your travels did you mate ?? where he off to these days ?

[sunsetter]

gravesend dave? naa, there was an engineer staying at the hotel, couldve been him, looked a bit mental, in his overalls stomping round the hotel


if you join up for notifications from air asia, you can get some amazing deals,400 baht flights, no big loss if you cant make it

[nigelandjan]

Thanks for the tips me ol darlin , will do right now ,, as hopefully soon I will be in a position to be able to go as and when ,, thats the thing , just being able to go at times they have probs filling the planes .

Cheers for the up mate!

[kingwilly]

A bit too late for this trip, but I found this article about Medan in the paper.
\
Looking westward to Medan, a city on the move

Margareth S. Aritonang, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Travel | Sun, January 13 2013, 2:25 PM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 15
Medan, the westernmost major city of the nation, is best known as a thriving hurly-burly of commerce. But visitors will find it is more than just a fly in-fly-out stopover on a business trip. With a 2010 population of 12 million people, from various ethnicities and backgrounds, it is also a colorful travel experience, boosted by that prospering economic growth.

There are numerous shopping centers, including Medan Mall located in the center of the city, and seven dynamic traditional markets, including the Fish Market which, despite its name, offers countless options for textile products.

History is seemingly found on every corner. There is the hereditary Malay sultanate’s residence of Maimun Palace, built between 1887 and 1891, and the famous mansion belonging to late prominent Chinese tycoon Tjong A Fie. Descendants of both the sultan and Tjong still reside in wings of the historic buildings, which are deteriorating due to poor maintenance.

Tourists can also visit several religious sites, from the Great Mosque, which was built in 1906 in the Moroccan architectural style by Dutch architect Dingemans, or Annai Velangkanni Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health, with its multicultural architecture combining Tamil Hindu and Chinese design.

While it may seem a distance from Jakarta, the city is served by a growing number of airlines (construction of a new airport is in the works), and also hotel accommodation to fit all budgets. A growing trend is the positioning of Medan as an ideal site for the MICE market, especially as the gateway to other attractions of North Sumatra, from the Berastagi mountain resort to sprawling Lake Toba.

One of the hotels banking on the tourism business is the four-star Santika Premiere Dyandra Hotel and Convention Medan, home to the city’s largest convention center and where The Jakarta Post was invited to stay.

The convention center, which can host around 3,000 people, is one of the available rooms within the hotel, in addition to two exhibition halls, ballrooms, with a capacity of up to 1,200 people, and eight meeting rooms equipped with essential facilities.

The 12-story hotel has 324 guest rooms of various types, including the eponymous Santika suites. Each room is outfitted with modern amenities, from high-speed Wi-Fi connection and a wide selection of cable TV channel. On site, there is a fitness center, spa, swimming pool, Gramedia bookstore and restaurants for those guests who wish to unwind at the hotel.

“There is only one entrance to access the rooms to ensure security. Therefore, we can always monitor every single person coming in and out of the hotel,” said Melina Elvi Zahra, the hotel’s sales director.

Its central location in the heart of the city also means that visitors can take in the major attractions. The nearby Merdeka Walk, only a 15-minute stroll from the hotel, is a 24-hour culinary adventure of local dishes and drinks. The durian pancake is one delicacy that many visitors bring home for family and friends.

Visitors should also be sure to taste the city’s well-known bika Ambon – a rich cassava cake – or Meranti rolls, available close to the hotel on Jl. Majapahit.

Transportation ranges from bus, taxi to the local traditional motorized pedicab, known as bentor. The latter is a practical means for tourists in getting around the city, and its open top means they can enjoy the view.

The replacement of the currently overcrowded Polonia airport, now swallowed up by urban sprawl, with the larger Kuala Namu International Airport in Deli Serdang is expected to facilitate the tourist boom in Medan and North Sumatra. It will be able to accommodate up to 8.1 million passengers when it begins operations early in 2013.



Looking westward to Medan, a city on the move | The Jakarta Post

[sunsetter]

^ nice find willy, i really liked the place, as i said before, i would go back without a doubt.

[kingwilly]

The article doesn't say an awful lot of substance, but it does give a few tips for places to see in Medan. And given the you have orangutang rehabilitation centres slightly north and Lake Toba south, it's worth about a week's visit. Imo.

[terry57]

Another recently found thread.

Never been there, thanks for the heads up Sunny.

[G2G2]

Planning on opening a chiropractic clinic there one day not too long from now. There's only one there now and he's .... easy pickings.

[natalie8]

Sounds good, G2G2. Is there a big enough western population there or are locals into chiropractic?

[harmonyudon]

And for those who likes the pattaya scene....there are plenty areas in Medan

[aging one]

And for those who likes the pattaya scene....there are plenty areas in Medan

Please explain as it is a very strict Muslim area.

[VocalNeal]

And for those who likes the pattaya scene....there are plenty areas in Medan

Please explain as it is a very strict Muslim area.

North Sumatra also has a sizable Christian population and not all Indonesian's are devout!

[aging one]

But Medan is. Sure you have the Batak people but I for one have never heard of whoring in Medan

[natalie8]

North Sumatra also has a sizable Christian population

You have exact numbers for all these 'Christians'? What about other believers or people who don't follow any religion? I think that Christian is one of the most overused words in the English language now and people appear more and more ignorant by using this word as a catch-all for populations.

And just an FYI, I was born Roman Catholic and am from a country that has many fanatical Christians who have their own churches. These loudmouth radical Christians criticize everyone else who does not follow exactly their church. I've never asked people if they are Christian nor preached religion, yet I see this more and more all the time.

So, all that to say, please stop abusing that word or using it as a catch-all for huge numbers of people.