Medan City Layover

Let's talk about Medan City just a little bit. I made an overnight layover here on the way to Banda Aceh from Kuala Lumpur, because the available (one-a-day) direct flights did not fit my preferred schedules.

I've been to this place many years ago. The airport was even still at city center (more of that later). but come to think of it, I don't remember many things Medan, except that this was where I first ate Durian!

It was almost 5:30PM when I checked-in at my hotel. So, I just tossed my bag to the bed and hurriedly went down and out to street hoping to catch glimpses of whatever else I can in the immediate vicinity.

Ha! I knew this would still be here, as it had been for many many years, almost forgotten my many!

Many people refer to this as the Train Monument in Medan, for in fact it is. It was a real Steam Engine Locomotive of the Déli Railway Company, circa late 1800s. I'm not sure if that's still the authentic one like what was there many years ago. But it looks the same to me - a relic of their industrial beginnings.

Medan was a center of trade and commerce in the western Sumatra area even from long ago. That is why the Dutch colonizers thought of installing trains to speed up transport of goods - mainly tobacco.

These days passenger trains still ply regular routes to/from Medan, plus the one to the airport.

Across the road is their Lapangan Merdeka (Freedom or Independence Park) and surrounded by this.

It's nothing extraordinary as there are so many such walks in the world, including us in the Philippines, right? But, while many are "cultural-historical" in nature, this one in Medan is more of the gastronomic!

Theirs would be socio-cultural anyway, right? It's a row of so many restaurants, eateries, stalls, stands, carts and/or whatever else that offer food of many kinds or types that you can imagine! Being popular to locals and visitors alike, it has attracted other enterprising individuals, like those that sell souvenirs!

Ang epekto, mura sya'g foodstreet or nightmarket that sizzles and bustles beside/around the park! It's now (so far) the place to be, to-see-and-be-seen, to chill or just hang out with friends family or visitors.

But it was too early to experience since many stores weren't open yet. So I trained my eyes on these:

The cute little white building at left is the Old Medan City Hall built in 1908 during Dutch Colonial Rule.

It's now owned by that big building behind it, (Aston) Grand City Hall Hotel. Ironically, that nice-looking cute colonial building does not appear in the hotel's 'list of tourist attractions in Medan'. Preposterous!

Trivia: that little building wasn't originally built as city hall? It was built to become a branch of the then Javasche Bank, later became Bank of Java and now the Bank of Indonesia or their Centreal Bank. But their city council purchased the building and made it their city hall. So, where'd the Javasche Bank go?

Look to the right. Yep, the bigger one, with a more "bank-like" look! Until now, that is the representative office of BI or Bank of Indonesia. Kumbaga sa atin pa Central Bank o Bangko Sentral. Yes, ganun nga!

FYI I so wanted to walk through the streets behind those hotels even to the sides and even beyond the river, because I could see there were many colonial buildings with wide green grassy, tree-lined lawns.

Ah, another FYI, for the Pinoy Catholics who may come this way, there is a cathedral in this city. Yes! It is because Medan is an archdiocese. That cathedral (I forgot the name) is about a hundred meters to the left from that picture above. Pwede lakarin, I really wanted to go but as you can see nagdidilim na!

And then there was this old Medan Post Office or Kantor Pos Medan. Another old edifice circa 1911

Cute. It is actually a big building but the design of the façade makes it look small because it faces the corner. The ugly orange-colored thing is what once was a water fountain. There already was in 1911.

Wasn't I so lucky I was in the very heart of Medan? Well you could say that but the truth is I planned on this - to stay at the hotel above 'Stasiun Medan' (train station) as it is truly in the middle of the city, just across the Merdeka Park, and it will be easy for me to ride for my early morning departure tomorrow!

I just actually circled Lapangan Merdeka walking, No need to ride but many things to see. Bitin nga eh!

That building on foreground is Statiun Medan - d'prima hotel where I stayed at, is on 3rd and 4th level. The tall building at the back is mixed-use thing, like there's mall (Center Point?) and high-end hospital.

This is the pedestrian crossing from the park to Stasiun Medan (my hotel is on top of that)!

As you can see, the train station itself has a lot of stores and other businesses that I didn't see a need to go to that big mall! There is also a Metro in that mall, but all I needed was available in this building!

From the ground or railroad level you ride an elevator to reach the lobby of d'prima hotel...

I do not have many comments other than it is clean and livable enough for a layover.

There's free water, free coffee tea and sugar, me kasama pang cup noodles (kaso yun maanghang)!

The towels are clean and crisp, there's toothbrush and toothpaste, plus soap and shampoo

Natawa ako sa big barriotic suklay. Pag sa atin mo ipingalandakan yan, I don't know.., baka kutain ka!

Okay okay... I slept well anyway, at hindi lumabas sa panaginip ko ang dambuhalang suklay na yan!