[ Medan on a shoestring ] | [ explore.dream.discover ]

There was a reason I wanted to go to Medan. I have heard of a particular spectacular hot springs and wanted to visit. And Medan was not too far from where I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An hour plane ride is all I needed.

But it was Christmas week, and flights ( even to Medan ) was exorbitant. But, a backpacker will do what a backpacker has to do, right? I decided to rough it out and take the ferry instead.

Yes, there is a once daily ferry plying the South China Seas from Port Klang to Tanjung Balai Asahan, in North Sumatra. Tanjung Balai Asahan is about 5 hours from Medan by land. I figured it would be easy to get to Medan judging by the stories other travelers has written.

So on 23^rd December 2015, I boarded a train from the KL Sentral station to Port Klang. We had good weather, but once we arrived at the Port Klang station, it started raining. The ferry terminal is located about 5 minutes walking distance from the Port Klang station, and you can’t miss it. The ferry is at 11am, but you will have to be at the station at 9am for immigration and customs check.

I lugged my backpack and went to the ticket counter to get the tickets to Tanjung Balai. It cost RM240 for a return ticket. The return ticket is an open ticket and it’s valid for 3 months from the date of purchase.

Next, with nothing to do, I had a coffee in the cafeteria and some curry puffs. When we were called for immigration checks, I moved along with the crowd, who were mostly Indonesians going home for the holidays. After immigration and customs checks were done, we were ushered into the ferry. The seats were comfortable, but they weren’t king sized beds which I would have preferred for the 5 hours journey.

The ferry was supposed to depart at 11am, but it took its sweet time and departed when it felt like it, at 12.30 pm. I would have had enough time to go ashore, have lunch and come back and the ferry still wouldn’t have departed. When we finally started moving, the crew came around to give us packed lunch.

Now, the packed lunch consists of nothing more than white rice, a suspicious looking fish who looks like it’s still alive with some chilli paste smeared on its body, and a packet of soup. I declined politely. I definitely do not want to end up in Medan with a fish doing flip flop in my stomach.

Instead, I wheeled the 5 hours talking to a Trusted Partner ( to be called TP herein ), trying to read, trying to sleep, trying to eat, trying to make sensible plans once in Medan, none of which was successfully completed ( okay, maybe the trying to eat part ). It was an uneventful journey.

We arrived Tanjung Balai Asahan at around 5.30pm, when the sun was deciding to call it a day. We made our way through the crowd of people in Immigrations who were not passengers, but touts who came to visit and rip everyone off. We were waved along after getting our passports stamped, and TP got annoyed when a tout tried to grab her bags when asking where she is headed to.

We took a beca ( mototaxi ) to the train station, but was told that there are no seats left for trains going to Medan. We took the beca again to the local bus station, and hopped on an ‘angkut’ ( local term for local bus ) and started our nightmarish ride.

Angkut drivers are well, generally competent, but their driving will scar you for life. Often we came within hair’s breadth of colliding with another vehicle. The journey tool 5.5 hours, meandering through bad roads and potholes, and we arrived in the city of Medan at about 1am.

TP, who has lived and worked in Medan before (and also speak fluent Indonesian), directed us to a small cozy guesthouse called Wisma Hari Kota. The last thing we needed was the reception informing us that there wasn’t any rooms for the night. I was ready to explode and yell, but TP saved the day. The receptionist, as an afterthought, offered us a basic room with attached bath for Rp 85,000 per night. My only wish was it wasn’t a haunted room.

As it turned out, we were too tired to worry if the room was haunted or not, as I was sure even the ghosts would have been turned off seeing two ragged travelers walking into their abode. We showered and blissfully slept.

We woke up at around 7am, and TP, strangely, wanted to show me the market. So we went to the market. It was a colourful morning market, the type you can find in South East Asia, with locals thronging fruits and vegetables stall. We had our breakfast ( I had noodle soup ) in a very busy corner shop, and continued exploring. We came to a ‘jamu’ seller and TP insisted that I have a glass of ‘jamu’.

Jamu is a traditional preparation consisting of turmeric, lime, ginger, honey and assorted other spices to boost your immune system. I was down with an onset of URTI ( Upper Respiratory Tract Infection ) and as much I would like to believe the jamu would cure me of my agony, I had troubles swallowing the concoction, especially after seeing a woman next to me gulping a raw chicken egg and the jamu like it was Starbucks coffee.

Alas, after downing my jamu, I did feel strangely..umm..well. Off we went to the Medan Train Station to check out trains to our next destination, Berastagi, but was told there weren’t any trains plying that route. We decided to take another ‘angkut’ instead, so we went for lunch in the most amazing place in the history of amazing places, called Socrates.

Socrates, is a vegan restaurant located close to the big shopping malls, but hidden enough that it has some rustic feel to it. And quite right too, as you walk in, you are greeted by thousands of books – all neatly arranged on the shelves, and wooden tables and chairs resembling a canteen. TP took me upstairs, and on the way there were amazing quotes and pictures from famous personalities lining up the walkway, and more books, ranging from philosophy to business.

TP, who knows Pak Benny, the owner, told me that he is an avid reader and a great philosopher. We ordered our food, complete with satay, all VEGAN! And it was so tasty and delicious. I would definitely recommend Socrates to anyone who is visiting Medan. If you are a carnivore, you’ll be converted into vegan the moment you walk into Socrates.

We caught a taxi to Padang Bulan, where the angkuts for Berastagi are stationed. The angkuts give you a feel of the jeepney in Philippines. There was an angkut preparing to leave, and they offered us to sit at the top of the angkut, with the bags. I was raring to go, but TP was hesitant. Finally we just waited for another angkut to take us to Berastagi, about 2 hours away.

Berastagi has a cooler climate from Medan, and as it was Christmas Eve, the road was jam packed. We reached Berastagi after dark, and checked into a small guesthouse called Sibayak Guesthouse, which also doubles up as a money changer and travel agent. The room, a basic one with attached bath and hot water, was priced at Rp 300,000 a night.

The next morning, we watched the colourful Christmas Parade from Berastagi’s main square. We had breakfast in guesthouse and café called Hotel Mexico, which was clean and served awesome coffee. We took an angkut and asked to be dropped off in Sibolangit, the famed dual coloured waterfalls.

Getting to Sibolangit is easy. Take any angkut or transport that is en route to Medan and asked to be dropped off. We walked for about 30 minutes before arriving at the ranger post, and was asked to wait because there we no guides available.

I was getting a little jittery because we were severely under equipped. It was after 1pm, and the trek to the falls is estimated at 2 hours, if not more. And I didn’t like not knowing how the terrain will look like. Poor TP had to put up with my grumpiness. Not long after, a female guide arrived, and so did 2 university students. So our party, consisting of 5 people now, trotted through the jungle terrain in silence in search of this famed, mystical waterfall.

The terrain wasn’t at all bad. With a little steep climb here and there, the trail was fairly flat. Just before you arrive at the waterfalls there is a steep hill you will have to navigate with ropes, which is the killer. You will also have to cross 2 streams (with beautiful blue water) before you get to Sibolangit.

The falls were truly gorgeous. Located at the foot of Mount Sibayak and more than 100 metres high, the highly sulphuric and phosphorus content in the water gives it a pale blue hue. Our guide, Feronika, told us that the pool is indeed very deep and swimming must be practiced with caution

We spent about 45 minutes before heading back through the forest. A blanket of thick mist has already fallen around the forest which made visibility slightly poor, and the day was getting dark. We came out of the jungle just as the last of sunlight were disappearing on the horizon.

TP and I walked back, tired but happy. We flagged an angkut, (our lives in Medan were revolving around angkuts, yes ), barely able to lift our legs, returned to the guesthouse, booked our transport to Lake Toba the next day, had a nice dinner of fish, chicken and vegetables, had a hot shower and went to bed, totally exhausted.

The next morning was spent waiting around. We visited the fruits and vegetable market again and bought two very touristic T-Shirts, had coffee in Mexico Hotel again and went back just in time for our 2pm transport, which never came. We waited till 3pm and the receptionist told us it will only come at 4pm. Having wasted practically the whole day doing nothing, we demanded the refund of RM100 and decided to make our way to Lake Toba on our own.

First we took an angkut to Kabanjahe, a small town 20 minutes away. From there, we took another angkut to Pematangsiantar, a mere 2.5 hours ride through plantations and potholes. Rain was pelting on our windows again. We arrived Pematangsiantar at almost 9pm, and was unsure if there are transport going to Parapat, which is our destination before Lake Toba.

Turned out there was. Using TP’s excellent Indonesian skills, we managed to get an angkut to Parapat, an hours’ drive away. We arrived Parapat, the getaway to Lake Toba, at around 10.15pm, just in time for the 11pm ferry to Samosir Island.

The ferry ride took 45 minutes and upon arrival, we asked some ojek riders for transport but those youngsters were rude. We were walking out when a nice looking car came around and asked us our destination. He was in Samosir to pick some guests up and was going to their hotel and could drop us on the way. TP and I happily agreed.

We arrived at our guesthouse – Merlyn Guesthouse – after reading positive reviews about them on Travelfish. We were directed to a Batak style house with pointed roof, two single beds, and a basic shower and toilet (with hot water). Because we arrived in the middle of the night, TP and I quickly fell asleep while watching posters and quotes of Bob Marley adorning the walls. Long live Reggae.

The next morning was greeted with serene and peaceful sunrise from the Lake. There were families and kids having a splashing time and some were just strolling and taking in the view. It was a truly magnificent and magical moment. The lake in itself was amazing. I stood at the edge of the lake, enjoying the morning and the calm it brought.

Later, TP and I rented bicycles and rode around the island to Tabo Cottages, a flashpacker style hotel with a bakery to die for. We splurged much of our rupiahs on a good breakfast, walked along the lake, took some pictures, cycled a little bit more, raced each other and went back to Merlyn to shower and check out. We took the ferry heading to Parapat and arrived at around 2pm. From there, we had to take a taxi to Pematangsiantar again before taking a connecting angkut to Tanjung Balai, where we are going to stay the night and head home the following day.

There is only one so called business hotel in Tanjung Balai, called Hotel Tresya. We checked into the hotel, and woke up in the middle of the night sweating, despite taking an air cond room, and I couldn’t stop scratching because there were gazillions of mosquitos! Big fat mosquitoes were zooming past my ears I could almost hear them say ‘Ha! Gotcha tonight!’

Unable to stand it any longer, I woke up and switched on the light, and saw that some parts of the sheets were stained with blood. Damn those mosquitoes.I went to the reception and requested for a mosquito repellent, but before going I asked TP to check if any windows were open. Right above us, two huge windows were open to the gardens beyond. We closed it, and sprayed the room. Moments later we could feel the air cond finally hitting us and we fell into a short sleep before we had to be woken up at 7am to go to the ferry terminal.

It was a different story at the ferry terminal. First we were told that we needed to register before we board, a day earlier. Nobody told us, and it wasn’t written anywhere that we needed to do this. We disputed this with the guy in charge, who seem to be holding a bunch of passports and waving a bunch of money and looking like a village gangster. He simply told us to wait, and if we are lucky, we can get a space, if we are not, we need to come back the next day.

TP and I sat watching the whole drama take place. The place was quiet when we arrived, and was packed with Indonesians just moments later, as though everyone in Tanjung Balai has decided to become workers in Malaysia. The guy waved for us and asked our passports, and asked us to pay Rp150,000 as ‘fees’. After waiting for almost 3 hours, he returned our passports, told us that the ferry is overloaded, wished us a good journey and sent us on our way.

Before we could enter immigration, we were requested to pay Rp35,000 ( or RM15 ) as the official tax. We paid, begrudgingly, and was ushered into the queue for the ferry. We noticed that our passports were already stamped. We didn’t have to pass through immigration nor do a bag check. How convenient!

TP was absolutely astounded to see the scam and scammers all around us. We were made to wait close to the ferry for almost 30 minutes and then was asked to get in. Turned out we were the last two passengers in the overcrowded ferry.

The ferry started moving and not even 20 minutes into the journey, the ferry stopped in the middle of the sea. Everyone was staring at us suspiciously as though it was our fault the ferry stopped. Nobody offered us any kind of explanation. We realized later that it was low tide, and the ferry couldn’t proceed with its journey.TP slept blissfully through it mostly, the sleepyhead that she is, and I was keeping watch on our belongings and reading. After 2 hours, the ferry resumed its journey, and we were back in Port Klang by 7pm, as opposed to the original 3pm schedule.

We walked out the ferry terminal and went home with a train and Uber. And went for a satisfying Indian meal of thosai and Teh Tarik right after, feeling deprived.

Sibolangit – checked. We will return to Medan soon (for Socrates at least!)