08.08.2009 (1st day)

08.08.2009? hahahaa.. sound funny. This is my 1st year anniversarry of blogging.. hehheee. What's more? oh ya.. I've mentioned in my previous post that I'm going to 'short break' vacation. Yes.. I went to North Sumatera, Medan with a group of 40 peoples. Nothing much happen in a 1st day. Let the pic's tell the story.

Medan is a nice medium sized city. Top of the list as safest city to visit in Indonesia. Nothing much to see in the city, except and old mosque and a palace with some history behind it. City is clean by "indonesian standards". You wont see many tourists around, mostly passing through to Lake Toba. And I'll post about Lake Toba in my next post.

The city is Indonesia's third most populous after Jakarta and Surabaya, with approximately 2.5 million people. The city has a mix of communities, reflecting its history. It is famous throughout Indonesia as the home of the Batak people. More recently more and more of the Batak ethnic minority have come to the city to make what was once a minority become a fairly sized community. However, Batak homelands are found throughout North Sumatra. In Medan, there is few ethnics of Batak such as Batak Simalungun, Batak Karo, Batak Maindaling, Batak Pak-Pak, Batak Angkola, Batak Toba and etc.. I cant recall.There are many old buildings in Medan that still retain their Dutch architecture. I will post the pic's in my next post.. too much to choose hehheee...lol..

(pictures taken from tour bus...lol..)

Becak Medan (Trishaw) is ones of the transportation means in medan. Some becaks are pedaled, while others are machine propellers. There are also more common transport like taxis and minibuses, known as 'Angkot' (Angkutan Kota)

One of the famous hotel in the city after Polonia Hotel. Asean International Hotel is our 1st stay. Located at town area and very closed to the food shops and night market.

Our Tourist Guide at the front counter.. Dove Tours

Some souvenir shop at the hotel. Medan famous with Batik Halus and other handicraft.

Hahahhahaa... my 1st bed to stay at Medan.. sharing with my friend

HORAS!!!! means terima kasih, selamat datang and others welcome greetings.. will come back later in my next post for the 2nd till 5th day of tour..