Medan Kota

some 3 years back… for each Idul Fitri comes, and with each holidays being longer than the next… I was telling my hubby how we should take the time to explore more of Indonesia.. i.e visiting other cities…  like Yogjakarta, Lombok,  Java, Manado, Sabang etc..  well.. it ended with nothing…

apart from Jakarta, Padang and Bali.. thats just about it for Indonesia with me…. I know that I should explore more… BUT I bet I am not alone to feel the reason behind… Idul Fitri holidays will probably be the only time that best suit me to travel within the country… but with Hari Raya (the New Year for the muslims) being the most important date for the locals…. where shops are closed, airport are jammed packed with locals trying to get home ( just imagine the queues and delays… the squeezing and queue jumping…), and that hotels charging high season rates and that air tickets are like double the price… honestly…. I simply can’t bare to part with my money.. coz.. adding it all up… I can easy take a trip to Hong Kong..  plus the fact that my dearest just not into local sightseeing.. (a typical local who dont see what’s the point of seeing all things local…aiii)..

with Indonesia being such a big country and that the infrastructure is not well developed… it’s really not easy… unlike Thailand, Malaysia, US, UK etc.. the locals can choose to drive.. and go cities hopping… while here.. all you can do is take Plane rides… and living in Medan makes it even more unfeasible…

being here in Medan means that where ever we go… we need to take a flight out to the nearest cities before we get to our next destination.. i.e plane connections.. and that simple 1 hour plane ride.. to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore or even Jakarta… will cost an extra of at least US$ 150 per person.. so for my family.. it will add up to like US$ 600!!

well.. my current travelling wish lists are Lombok and Yogjakarta… each time that I look up Lombok…. my brain will say….. let’s do it the next time.. I need 4 planes connection – Medan-Jakarta-Bali-Lombok.. and imagine waiting for flight connection in Jakarta airport!!!… I don’t even want to go explaining it… even with lounge access… its kind of not the place I want to be… anyway…. assuming I am taking the earliest flight like 6 am… I will only get to Lombok like 2/3pm and will cost me about US$ 350 for air ticket… so with that… we never get round to doing it..

the time that we were enrouting to Bali.. Jadon being his first time to Jakarta Airport… (we were only transiting…).. was real excited about the whole trip… the moment that he stepped off plane and walked into the terminal… he turned back and said “mama,… are you sure we are in Jakarta?? …. it smells so bad.. and very dirty”.. and he never mentioned about going back there again…

and when I asked some of the local friends….. apart from Business trips to cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya as well as holiday destination, Bali… many of them don’t really explore much of their own country too… well.. I guess I am not alone…

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