Get in Medan; by Bus

Larger, non air-conditioned buses and large luxury buses (often Mercedes) that are air-conditioned (some have toilets on board, though they are squatting toilets that are difficult to use when the buses are moving, given driving habits and road conditions throughout Sumatra). The central station for all larger buses in Medan is Amplas Station Central (not located in the center of the city though). This is where a lot of the smaller minivans go as well, and where travellers need to go to make connecting buses to further cities. Many of the large air-conditioned buses perform overnight routes, with prices varying by location served. As an example of prices from August 2005, expect to pay around Rp.50,000-80,000 for an 8-10 hour overnight luxury bus (without toilet saves about Rp.10,000+) trip, as in to Duri, Bukit Lawang, or Lake Toba (Danau Toba). Such buses provide a small snack and sometimes have televisions on board. While seats are very comfortable by Sumatran standards, all rides are swervy/bumpy and drivers often play stereos quite loud during the entire trip (unless a movie is available). Also, many buses have smoking sections in the back, and sometimes, smoking occurs in the front of the non-smoking section by the driver if the driver is so inclined. Earplugs are good accessories. Furthermore, while the large luxury buses have ample stowage above seats, keep valuables safe while you sleep.

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Get in Medan; by Plane

Medan's Polonia International Airport and Belawan sea port are both visa-free and visa-on-arrival points.
For more visa information, see the Indonesia page.

Medan's international airport is known as Polonia International Airport (MES) and is located about 15 minutes from the city. Domestic departure taxes from Medan increased on 15 August 2005 from Rp15,000 to Rp25,000, while international departure taxes remained constant at Rp100,000. The domestic terminal is nicer than the international terminal (a new terminal is scheduled to open in 2007), and there is no moneychanger for currency other than USD. ATM machines are only at the domestic airport. Bags are checked by customs upon departure, unless you have friends at the airport. Domestic flights out of Medan do not check IDs (sporadically, they check passports at check-in) at security checks (only tickets).

Getting there: A Taxi into town sets you back around Rp40,000, unless you walk past the taxis in front of the terminal and proceed towards the exit. There are more taxis towards the exit, and if you bargain well, you can get a taxi for only Rp.20,000. If you know the public bus number for your destination, it is Rp.6000 per person, but those unfamiliar with Bahasa Indonesian are encouraged to get taxis for their first transportation.

There are direct international flights to/from Penang (for only around $70 return), Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh in Malaysia; Singapore. Several discount airlines service Medan, though the only one with reliable internet booking (in July and August 2005) is AirAsia, with fares sometime below US$50 return if purchased in advance.

AirAsia [1] to/from Penang and Kuala Lumpur
Kartika Airlines [2] (Tel: +62-61-4522433) to/from Penang and Ipoh
Malaysia Airlines [3] to/from Penang and Kuala Lumpur
Garuda - the most popular in domestic flights
SilkAir (Singapore Airlines)
Lion Air [4] (Garuda Plaza Hotel, Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.18. Tel: +62-61-7351168 or 7351169) to/from Penang

For destinations within Indonesia, there are direct flights to/from Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Batam and other cities.
AirAsia [5] to/from Jakarta
Kartika Airlines [6] to/from Batam and Jakarta
Merpati
Garuda
Lion Air [7] to Jakarta and Banda Aceh

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Medan; Horas.......!!

Medan is the third biggest city in Indonesia, Jakarta and Surabaya. It is also the biggest city outside Java Island. The population of Medan city is about 2 million people (according to census in year 2000).
Medan is recognized for its multi-cultural society living in harmony creating a unique culture blend. They are mainly made up of Batak, Javanese, Chinese, Indian, Minang and other minor ethnics such as Sunda and Madura.
Each ethnics contributes to thousands of tasty, mouth-watering dishes that can be found in every corner of Medan. They offered locals and tourists with dozens of food streets and hawker centres to fulfill their appetite at any time of the day. From the sweet Javanese cuisine, to hot Padang dishes, from savoury Chinese noodles, to spicy Indian curry, they are all available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. It is obvious why the locals are so into food and the city itself is quite well known for "food-tourism" especially amongst indonesians.

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Monument of Japan Occupation

Banda Aceh- 1942 Japanese Monument

During World War Second between 1942 to 1945, Japan come to Banda Aceh with what Indonesian peoples recognized as Samurai and Kami Kaze, The Japanese troop then made their base camp in almost all region of Indonesia, including Banda Aceh. Not far from Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Port, the Japanese Soldier erected a monument writing in a Japanese character. According to the peoples here, recently, Japanese volunteer for tsunami reliefing come to visit and renovated the monument. For Japanese Tourist, it is worth to visit, just tell the driver to make a short visit before head on to the city center Banda Aceh.


Address: Sultan Iskandar Muda AirPort-Banda Aceh
Directions: It take about 10 minutes walk From the arrival gate of the Air Port, head on to the street outside the air port, turn to the left, the monument is located beside Animal Quarantine, on the right side of the street.