Garuda Indonesia's first flight to Medan from Singapore
Sunday, July 31, 2016
HORAS!
That is the local greeting, which was also pretty much the word we relied upon the most throughout the entire trip. It was my first time to Medan, in fact, my first time in North Sumatra!
We were there on the newly relaunched flight between Medan and Singapore via Garuda Indonesia . So starting from 14th June 2016, there will be daily flights operated by Indonesia's National airline, Garuda Indonesia on this route!
We were welcomed inside our very own Changi Airport Terminal by the Garuda Indonesia's staff, stewardess and they even had hip hop performances and a flash mob for us!
Did you know that Garuda Indonesia was awarded a five-star rating by Skytrax, making
it the seventh airline to earn this prestigious award? After winning the title
"World's Best Regional Airline" in 2012, Garuda Indonesia was named
“World’s Best Economy Class” in 2013 and was recently awarded the ‘World's Best Airline Cabin Crew’ by
Skytrax for the third consecutive year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Garuda Indonesia
officially became the 20th member of the SkyTeam alliance in March 2014.
Wow that is a whole long list of awards, I knew we were in safe hands and indeed, we had such a pleasant flight there and back.
So let me fill you guys in on what I did when I was there. Upon arrival at the Kualanamu Airport, a bus was already waiting for us and we journeyed up to Parapat, which was a good 7 hours away. The coach ride was really comfortable and we had a local guide to tell us more about the place along the way.
We checked in Niagara Hotel, a hotel that overlooks the world's largest Lake - Lake Toba.
The views we woke up to was serene, peaceful and beautiful.
We then went on a Samosir Tour that required us to take a ferry to Tomok, and can you believe how big Lake Toba is? All the sights you are going to see below are all different sights of the same lake. We actually spent 3 days exploring the lake and every sight looked different!
We were brought on a local tour once we got to Samosir Island, and the first stop was the
Tomb of King Ompu Sidabutar.
Then we got invited to watch a puppet show which Charlene and I got sabo-ed to represent the group to dance. So we did their cultural dance and had quite a bit of fun.
The Sipiso Piso Waterfall
Doesn't it look like it came out of a scene from The Hobbit?
How rare is it to find so much nature and land all in one, the view was indeed breathtaking.
At night, we checked into our best accommodation for the trip, Simalem Resort, a resort that sprawls over 206 hectares (and 1 football field is 0.62 hectares btw) so can you imagine how big this area is!
It has its own farmers, exports its own vegetables and fruits.. have 5 resorts in there, golf courses, jungles, forests and more.
This was the day we journeyed back to Medan and paid their local fruit markets a visit. It was super interesting because they sell everything there, from flowers to local produce, vegetables, meat, and even pet animals!
We also got to ride on horses for only SGD$1
After the market, we went to the Lumbini National Park , a buddhist temple that was completely GOLD in color.
So that's it guys! Ending this post with a very touristy shot. heheh
If you're looking for a short getaway and experience nature like never before, you can always consider Medan and all the above places mentioned because they are pretty nearby Singapore if you've only got a few days to spare!
There is now an Economy Class All-In-Promotional Fare to Medan for my readers at only SGD 248.
All you have to do is quote #GarudafliestoMedan when making a reservation at sin-reservation@garudaindonesia.com.sg from now till Nov 2016.
*Fares subject to changes due to the fluctuation of
taxes. Terms and conditions apply.
Thank you Nuffnang Singapore, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia and Garuda Indonesia for having us!
Love
Mong
1 comments
I'm Indonesian but never been to Medan before. Really hope that I can go there soon. Nice photos, Mong :)
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