Medan is a very large city on the north coast of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, and the capital and largest city of North Sumatra province. Medan isn't a tourist destination, but it's a convenient stepping stone to other places like the 'weekend getaway' Berastagi, the island of Penang, Malaysia, and the popular, beautiful crater lake, Lake Toba.
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With a population of about 2 million people, Medan is the fourth-largest city in Indonesia (after Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung) and the largest city outside of Java. No ethnic group forms a majority; the largest ethnic groups are the Javanese, Batak, Chinese, Minangkabau, Malays, Acehnese and Indians, and there are many more smaller ones. Each ethnic group contributes to thousands of mouth-watering dishes found in every corner of Medan. They offer dozens of food streets and hawker centers to suit their appetite at any time of the day.
Medan city is swamped by becaks and taxis. There is also a form of public transport known as the angkot (small minivan). There have long been two types, the noisy smelly motorized ones, called becak motor, and the human powered pedal ones, called becak dayung, or in English, trishaws or pedicabs. Recently they've been joined by the popular new Bajaj three wheelers, which are much quieter and more comfortable becak motor alternatives. These can also be called with their app Maxride. You have to be a good negotiator if you want to go by becak, with price ranging between Rp5,000-30,000 depending on distance and bargaining skills.
Most tourists stop in Medan only to get transport to elsewhere in Sumatra, but Medan offers a glimpse of a large Indonesian city still unfrequented by western tourists, and shouldn't be quickly dismissed. Medan is more chaotic and has a bit more litter than Jakarta or Denpasar and open sewers abound. Furthermore, fewer people speak English in Medan compared other large Indonesian cities, but even a little Bahasa goes a long way, and Sumatrans are still unjaded by westerners. Medan hosts a great lot of very nice Art Deco buildings from the Dutch colonial era, like the Old City Hall, the Post Office, the Great Mosque and many business buildings in and around Jl. Ahmad Yani.
1 Pantai Cermin Theme Park & Resort, Sales office : Jalan D.I. Panjaltan No. 153, Theme Park : Dusun 1 Desa Pantai Cermin Kanam, Kec. Pantai Cermin, Kabupaten Serdang Bedagai, ☏ +62 61 4510956 (Sales office), +62 61 456-2893, fax: +62 61 4520922. weekdays 11:00-17:00, weekends and public holidays 09:00-6:30. The water theme park is located in Cermin Beach, Serdang Bedagai. The theme park is organized by a Malaysian investor and the local government. Swimming, sun bathing and kayaking. To go there, take a rental car, private car or mini bus (sudako) at Jalan. MT. Haryono (in front of Medan Mall) and stop at Perbaungan city. Then take a machine trishaw to the beach.
With its ethnic diversity, Medan is a culinary delight. Here you will find several of Indonesia's regional cuisines, as well as localised versions of Chinese and Indian cuisine. Common sights are mie pangsit (a variant of wonton noodles, sometimes without wonton - commonly pork, but beef and chicken version exist), nasi padang or nasi minang, kwetiau/bihun/mie/nasi goreng (fried noodle/kway teow/vermicelli/rice), bakso (meatball soup served with/without noodle) and sate padang (satay with spicy yellow sauces origin from West Sumatra). Ayam penyet, Javanese style fried chicken, is popular, as is sate and mie Aceh.
Cafes: Given that Indonesian coffee is excellent and Indonesians love to drink it, it should be no surprise that Medan has many hundreds of cafes. You'll find all the espresso based drinks in your favorite, whether that's a tiny neighborhood place or a Starbucks. Many also have food available. Prices are surprisingly reasonable and most have wifi. A popular local creation is the Sanger, espresso with milk and sugar. There are several clubs, pubs and karaoke joints to visit at night in Medan. 1 Bistronomix, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan (just across from JW Marriott Hotel). Popular especially with youngsters. (updated Jul 2024) 2 Harbour 9, Forum 9 building ground floor (near Lapangan Benteng).
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Nov, Medan typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 29 rainy days.
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