Medan is the largest city on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It’s the capital of the province of North Sumatra, and if you are visiting Lake Toba and/or Gunung Leuser National Park (for the orangutans) then you will pass through here. I have a soft spot for Medan as it was the first place […]
Medan to Rantau Prapat by train (North Sumatra)
The train from Medan to Rantau Prapat is the longest railway journey in North Sumatra (266 km). It’s not a route that is useful from a tourism perspective, but if you are curious to take a trip then here is what to expect. Tickets I bought my ticket at Medan station on the morning of […]
Sumatra Railways: A guide to every train line in Sumatra
Sumatra has a small railway network that operates in different provinces of the island. The eventual plan is to build a railway network that will form the Trans-Sumatra Railway. The railway system of Sumatra is fragmented and not of great use for tourists. If you plan your itinerary right, there are a few lines that […]
How to get from Medan to Lake Toba by train and bus
Lake Toba is the largest lake in Southeast Asia and one of the highlights visiting Sumatra. The nearest big city is Medan, and it takes about four hours by road to travel from Medan to Parapat (the main city on the lake). There is also a railway network in North Sumatra, with Medan as the […]
Kualanamu Airport Rail Link: The Medan airport train
The Kualanamu Airport Rail Link is an airport railway connecting Medan to Kualanamu International Airport. Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is the airport serving Medan in North Sumatra. The airport is located 23 kilometres east of central Medan and not in Medan (thus it is not Medan International Airport). The airport opened in 2013, replacing Polonia […]
Hotel Review: Festive Inn, Medan – Indonesia
Hotel Name: Festive Inn. Address: Jl. Sambu, Pandau Hilir, Kota Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia. I stayed at the Super OYO 3159 Festive Inn in Medan, Indonesia. I booked online at the rate of $8.23 USD per night, and I booked it for its price and location in Medan. I was passing through Medan after getting the […]
Hotel Review: Kama Hotel, Medan – Indonesia. Budget hotel in the Medan old town area
Hotel Name: Kama Hotel. Address: Jl. Jend. Ahmad Yani No.97, Kesawan, Medan, Sumatera, Indonesia. I stayed at the Kama Hotel in Medan, Indonesia. I booked online at the rate of $17.54 USD, and I booked it for its location in Medan. The Kama Hotel is on Jalan Jend. Ahmad Yani, which is the main road […]
Hotel Review: Vivo Stay, Medan – Indonesia
Hotel Name: Vivo Stay. Address: Jalan Surabaya No. 2-4, Ps. Baru Medan City Center, Medan, Indonesia. I stayed at Vivo Stay in Medan, North Sumatra. I booked online at the rate of 193,682 IDR ($12.68 USD), and I booked it for its price and location in Medan. I had been to Medan before but I […]
Palembang to Bandar Lampung by train – riding the coal-subsidised railway of South Sumatra
Sumatra is the sixth-largest island in the world with a population of over 50 million people, yet there are only a few railway lines on the island. There are plans to unite the current lines to form a trans-Sumatran railway that would travel from Medan to Bandar Lampung. This is a distance of over 1750 […]
Notes on Palembang – The port city of South Sumatra
Looking out of my window to the barely visible palm oil plantations below I was wondering what the hell I was doing voluntarily flying to Palembang in the midst of the great hazepocalypse of 2019. Apparently, I was arriving on a good day. It got so bad later on that flights were being delayed due […]
