Medan Trip 23/5 - 26/5: Part 2 (Samosir Island - Berastagi - Medan)

Hello hello people!!

Yeah..yeah..I am as slow as snail in posting entry but I am super busy at office since I m back from my cuti-cuti Malaysia with kiddos! Don't worry, will share a bit here and there about it soon but as for now, lets continue with my trip to Medan ok.. Sabar para pembaca yang dikasihi sekalian (*cehh, ayat minta kasihan ba itu..hehe) and be ready for super long post!!

On 25th May, after a restful night at Samosir Villa Resort, Just and me (*forgot to inform that we were roommates during this trip) woke up early and go snapping pics for remembrance around the hotel area and also in front of our room which was facing the magnificent Lake Toba. The hotel was beautiful artificially but the services were poor and the staff was kind of rude (*the buffet breakfast also 'poor' - broken glass and plates for guests?? What the...). Our room have no AC, toilet paper and water heater! We were not expecting this but we were too tired to argue. Just and me open our window to let the lake's air/breeze coolant our room or we going to feel like in oven..

Room 07!

Breath-taking view in front of our room

Another breath-taking view from left side of our room

Peace all the way from Samosir Island!

Group picture (minus the pacik)

Part of the front view of the Samosir Villas.. Snapped from speeding boat, jadi dapat half seja..haha!

Cruised back to Parapat (Ajibata Jetty) around 10am and we head off to our next pit stop which was Simarjarunjung where we had our IDR65k lunch only after 3 hours after we had our brekky.. Adeii, ketat perut tapi saya makan juga sebab the lunch cost me around RM20++ people! Tapi menyesal saya sebab tidak pi rasa2 tu teh herba.. It was included! Menyesal tahap gaban because Simarjarunjung is known for its Teh Halia.. Dapat rasa pisang goreng seja but to me, it was same taste as our own pisang goreng, in other word not that special (*smile).

Writing/words on the wall caught my attention - meaningful!

the bus stop area in front of Ajibata Jetty - lengang!

Front yard of Simarjarunjung Restaurant

Inside the Restaurant and the house of teas..

Peace, it's makan time!

Rupa pisang goreng di Simarjarunjung - biasa seja kan..

The ingredients for herbal tea

After early lunch we continue our 1 1/2 hours journey along a bumpy road (*yeah, this time worst than the day before -_- ) to the famous Sipiso-piso waterfall.. Luckily the view of the magnificent lake Toba was breath-taking and as always my amateur hands keep snapping the view with my compact camera. Errm, actually keep snapping dengan harapan ada juga yang 'tersangkut' cantik..wakaka!

Akhirnya, dapat juga snap pic yang buli tahan (-_-) haha!

The road to Sipiso-piso Waterfall

The Sipiso-piso Waterfall was indeed so beautiful but the place were crowded with people picnicking there and the smell from the public toilet also kind of disturbance to my sensitive nose. The place was not well managed/maintained - vandalisme. We only spent like 30min there to snap pictures of the Waterfall (from afar because we didn't have much time to go down the stairs and see it closed-up). I bought a tee there but I forgot to buy FM of Sipiso-piso Waterfall..Huarghhh!!

Souvenirs shop at the entrance of the waterfall

OMG! Magnificent kan..

Ini gaya wajib ok! Wakaka!

The view is great..tapi vandalism on the wall bikin sakit mata. Kalau grafiti buli accept lagi..tsk..tsk

I wish my house built in front of this view..

I was here !

Next stop was Berastagi, a must visit place that famous for its colorful fruits and vegetables market where we bought some fruits, more FMs and souvenirs. Oh well, fruits were everywhere and I was expecting the price to be way cheaper than our local pasar malam but disappointed to know that it was the same.. Saya ingat kalau persaingan banyak, harga pun murah2 la kan...Hurmmm... I tried to look for Sipiso-piso FM but I was out of luck because the shopper have no stock of it. 

Macet people!

Fruits and vegetables are everywhere!

 

I bought the seeds of this 2 flower

The journey from Berastagi to Medan was the most challenging because of the bumpy road and heavy traffic. We only managed to reach our hotel, Soechi Intenational Hotel around 11pm but I only went off to bed around 2am, after I finished up this novel with title 'Teduhan Kasih' (*wink2). Dinner? Errr, we stopped by at the 24 hours shop (Indo Marek) to buy instant noodles etc and have dinner in our room that night because we were too exhausted..

 
The next day, on 26th May, the last day of our trip, we went for souvenirs hunting at Kedai Batik & Telekung Wajir (*didn't buy anything there) and Pajak Ikan (*bought 5 set of toddler shirt-pant and 2 t-shirt, telekungs and kain pelikat for souvenirs). We didn't have much time to do the city tour to Maimom Palace and Masjid Raya but we were taken to this place to snap some pics (in front of it hokeh) since it was in our itinerary, after we had our dinner at Ayam Penyet Ria Restaurant. The lunch was F.O.C, gratis from our tour agency (*smile)..We didn't even have time to stop by at Hajjah Mariani/ Zulaikha/ Rika / Amanda to shop for lapis legit, bika ambon and brownies but it was understandable, so we placed our order for thru our tour guide..

Telekung yang bersepah-sepah sampai ke lantai dan dipijak-pijak..tsk..tsk

Pajak Ikan Street

Restoran Ayam penyet Ria ya tuan2, puan2 - Oh my..I look fat here! LOL

Picture with our tour guide, Pak Adam

We were here!

I have no head cover so can't enter the area - RESPECTO!

We arrived at the airport around 2.30pm, 3 hours before our departure to KL. The airport was small (*didn't notice it when I 1st arrived because we were rushing that time) and crowded..
 

Gaya happy mau balik suda...hehe

Masa datang 1 bag-pack seja, balik ambil ko tambahan 1 beg yang beratnya 10kg - so ladies, please purchased your additional luggage ok!

 At 5.25pm Medan time, we departed and reached KL about 55min later..Pheww!

Overall, as I said I enjoyed this whole trip but I think our time was so short that everything were done in rush, that I don't have the time to feel the excitement kicking in like my trip to Langkawi where I spent lot of quality time to learn about the Island and even to mix with people on that Island. But as I said it was understandable. However, I do wish that next time, I will have the chance to venture the Samosir Island (hiking or jungle trekking or swimming in the Lake Toba), learn the place and its culture and mix with the Batak tribe etc..God willing!
 
That's the end of my Medan group trip story.. Gumbiranya hati sebab managed to finish it within 2 weeks. I hope my story is not too boring and all of you can imagine what I see, what I feels a nd what I experienced during this short trip..


Until next entry people! Happy weekend!



Note:-
1) Every pictures were snapped by my Nikon coolpix compact camera and my samsung note camera - raw and no editing done (because I don't know how to edit it..hahaha!) except for resizing. Kalau tidak cantik, anggap ja cantik kio sebab sia  ni bukan professional photographer. Saya main snap ja..haha!

2) If you are reader from Indonesia and you feel offended with words or pics or even my opinion/perspective, please accept my sincere apology because I didn't mean to offend anyone with this post. This is merely my honest opinion (not a review), experienced while I travel to this area.

Happy Kaamatan Day 2013

Hello peoples!

At the moment I m on vacation with my kids. They are super-excited with this vacation because it's been a while since they go for cuti2 Malaysia. Where?? Hehe, wait for my updates hokey (*smile).

Actually I just wanna wish 'Happy Kaamatan Day' to all Sabahan especially my families and friends and 'Happy Gawai Day' to all Sarawakians. Friendly reminder from me; Safety first, please don't drink and drive. Kalau mau minum sampai kalapik pun, minumlah tapi biarlah kalapik di rumah, jangan kalapik di tempat yang tidak diingini kio...

Until next post, good day and peace no war(^^) v

posted from Bloggeroid

Medan Trip 23/5-26/5 : Part 1 (Medan - Parapat - Samosir Island)

Remember when I announced about my 1st oversea trip/travel in my previous post? The destination was Medan and once again I want to thank my friend Just for inviting me to join her tour group and anticipating more invite from you just (*wink2). This is part one of 2 parts, so don't wonder if I leave you all with cliff-hanger..wakaka!

Our flight to Medan was on 23rd May at 9.25pm (suppose to). I arrived at the LCCT,  1 and half hour before the departure time and met Just and the other there. Just introduced me to 4 of her colleagues and that included Lin (Ratu Hatiku), another blogger that I met personally for the 1st time. Nice to meet you Lin! Just said the other 4 (not her colleagues but friend of her colleague) already fly to Medan and we gonna met them at the hotel.

Snap2 at LCCT and inside the plane

We arrived at Polonia International Airport (Medan) around 10pm Medan time and already waiting for us there was Pak Adam with his "Ibu Just' sign . Haishh, tidak sempat snap tu kadbod sebab kami rushing ba.. We dropped by for dinner at Rumah Makan and Buffet Famili,  that cost us IDR 50k each for rice with chicken curry, eggs, fried chicken and plain water (*pingsan). 

Our tour bus

Dinner!

After that we went straight to our Hotel Soechi International where we gonna stay for that night. Also bought local number (Simpati) to prevent from the costly roaming if using our Malaysian number. Our tour guide said, most shop closed at 10.30pm but entertainment such as disco, bar or even karaoke place still open up to 2.00am..

The hotel, the ladies and the palm tree?? :P

Saya mau try bawa ba tu beca kunu (LOL)

On 24th May, we continued our journey to Parapat at 7.30am after a filling buffet breakfast - complimentary by our Soechi Hotel and there we met up with the other 4 members of our tour group. I was fascinated by the colorful buildings all the way to Parapat and my amateur hand keep snapping the building and architecture building (*mostly blurred pic yang akhirnya terpaksa deleted - kesian). The journey to Parapat took about  5 - 7 and if you ask me whether I enjoyed the journey, I will answer I enjoyed every single minutes minus the bumpy ride okay!.. Banyak gila bumper wei!.. Sakit bontot/pantat terhentak-hentak.. I was not 7 hours straight awake because in between time I tried to get some sleep too but the bumpy ride make it possible to stay asleep even for 30min (*sigh).

Buffet brekky at Asoka Resturant

I m scared with Kuala Lumpur traffic but I was terrified by the traffic in Medan! Jarak kereta kiri kanan macam 1 depa seja ni..bikin takut!

I guess this is their little India like ours in Brickfield..hehe

Colorful and artistic building - saya suka..saya suka!

On our way to Parapat, our tour guide dropped us at Gedung Batik and Telekung to do some shopping but at that time the mood of shopping not yet kicking in because we were excited to reached Parapat and see the famous, magnificent Lake Toba. So we just  have a look and asked the price for comparison. We also dropped by at the famous shop called PATEN that selling peanut candy that have unique name such as teng-teng, tang-tang, tong-tong etc.. I bought 10pack of this candy peanut as I know my kids love it (*Wink).

Tengok-tengok seja ya bu..

Pajak peanut candy di sini

We reached at Parapat around 2.00pm and from our tour bus we witnessed the truth about this beautiful and magnificent Lake Toba. I was so amazed with the beauty of this lake.. Macam jakun pula saya rasa..haha! No wonder people categorized this lake as one of must see/visit in Medan.

1st glimpse of Lake Toba from inside our tour bus

We had our lunch at one of the local restaurant that clean and hygienically guaranteed by our tour guide. This time our tour guide explained to us about the cost so we will not surprises anymore but to me the price is expensive and not worth of what choice we have (*I m lucky since I m not fussy with foods), so I tried to eat as much as I can to even out the price..Ketara godoot! wakaka! But don't blame me because the lunch cost me IDR45k (around RM14) and in Puchong I can have big full plate of nasi campur plus tea O ice (-_-).. *Tsk..tsk..makan juga la kau nombor 1 Tunung...
 

ini seja pic yg sempat disnap time lunch di Parapat.. See, our choice was limited (-_-)

Cruised from the Parapat port/jetty to Samosir Island around 3.00pm and before that I managed to shopping kecil-kecilan (LOL) at one of the souvenirs/shirts shop nearby the Parapat jetty. 

souvenirs shop at Parapat - bought 1 tee here

The port/jetty

Peace Yo!

We reached our 1st stop at Ambarita, one of village in Samosir Island around 3.45pm and walked for about 200 meters to the Huta Siallagan, an ancient court yard (with stone chairs and stone tables arranged in circle) where the judgement and punishment execution held.  You can see souvenir shops all the way to this place and don't surprised with the over 'friendly' shop owner/villager chasing after you, persuading you to buy from them. It was kind of freaky actually especially when they started to block your way and forcing you to buy from them. Actually we have a bad experience with the shop owner in Ambarita. You see,  Just and me bought some stuff from this lady shop after bargained with her, followed by our other group member and it caused envy to the other shop owner and they were mad/ not satisfied because we only focus at the lady shop. They were started 'attacking' just and me while we were waiting for the others that caused us to fled from the shops. ( Note: they even climbed to our boat to persuade us buying their stuff).

Entrance to Ambarita

Souvenir shops with their over friendly owner

Entrance to Huta Siallagan

Traditional house of Batak

Meeting table - ala2 macam round table dalam King Athur punya cerita kunu

Place where prisoner/enemies beheaded

Our tour guide showing/explaining about items that important in deciding the best time for execution

Sudah melawat, snap2 gambar, sila beri derma ikhlas ye.

Row of shops where we bought some stuff from the lady in red shirt then 'attacked' by the others shop-owner

Then we cruised to our 2nd pit stop; Tomok, a traditional village and gateway to the Samosir Island that famous with its royal cemetery/tomb around 5.30pm and go straight to visit the cemetery. We were suppose to wear a traditional attire provided by the cemetery caretaker but we were late and the caretaker already stored the attire, so we just listened to our tour guide explanation. No shopping at Tomok because we still traumatized with our shopping experience at Ambarita. Moreover, it was already dusk and we were rushing to cruise to our hotel since it was a bit windy that evening. Even pics were less snapped in Tomok.

Monument in front of the entrance to Tomok - unique!

Entrance to Tomok

Entrance to the Royal Cemetery

The tombs

Isolated tomb with beautiful craving

Donate for conservation of the historical site

When we leave Tomok, the sky was dull and it was drizzling all the way to our hotel;  Hotel Samosir Villa. We reached our hotel around 6.30pm and retreated to our room right after we got our room key... We spend most of the time inside our room because it was raining that night and we have Maggi in cup as dinner.. Maggi lagi sedap daripada makanan yang mahal tapi tidak kena selera kan..haha! 

Senja yg suram and berangin di Tasik Toba - cewahh, puitis kunu..wakaka!

That's all for part 1 of my trip to Medan and to be continued.... (*cliff-hanger!!!)

Last but not the least, gambar mikirayou yang wajip dalam semua post hokeh!

I come in peace people!

Note:-
1) Every pictures were snapped by my Nikon coolpix compact camera - raw and no editing done (because I don't know how to edit it..hahaha!) except for resizing. Kalau tidak cantik, anggap ja cantik kio sebab sia  ni bukan professional photographer. Saya main snap ja..haha!

2) If you are reader from Indonesia and you feel offended with words or pics or even my opinion/perspective, please accept my sincere apology because I didn't mean to offend anyone with this post. This is merely my honest opinion (not a review), experienced while I travel to this area.