We always, (well nearly always) arrange an airport pick up on arrival, as it saves a fight with the local taxi mafia. We have never been let down by them not being there, well that was until Medan. The Marriott left us like a shag on a rock with no transport, surrounded by a sea of taxi drivers who smelt business. Cindy rang the hotel but they were more concerned with proving we had actually booked a pickup than solving the current problem. In the end we got into a rattly old taxi for the 15min drive from the airport, and presented the bill to reception on arrival. The girl at reception was about to tell me they couldn't pay when I put on my "we are not amused" face, at this she lost her nerve and ran out and paid the man.

As part of our package we have access to the Executive Lounge with free food and drinks, so next stop is to check it out. This bit does work, lots of horse duvers, free wine and free Wifi, this is going to be fun. After eating and drinking as much as we thought decent, (they might get the wrong impession if we over did it on the frist visit), we head downstairs to find some dinner. Not being very hungry after all the finger food, we opt for sharing a Nasi Goreng. Our waiter "Rommel" is a young, guy with an infectious laugh. He has worked at the Bayview Hotel in Lang kawi and is knocked out to know we have stayed there. He wants to visit Phuket, so we give him our contact details and promise to keep in touch.

The first outing is to "Plaza Medan Fair", calling in at "Petisah Pasar market" on the way back, we decide to walk as its only about 20 minutes away. Just getting across the road is life threatening, not like Vietnam where the traffic weaves around you, this mob will just run you over. We spot a pedestrian foot bridge and head for that. It is debatable wheather crossing the road by the bridge is any safer than dodging cars below. The steps are wooden and many of them are broken or just not there. At the top we find the metal so rusty that there are holes big enough to lose a foot in. At one end a lost soul has made a hammock from a flag and is fast asleep oblivious to us passing. Under normal conditions this would be a 20 minute walk, but the missing flagstones, broken rubble and gaping holes makes the going slow. You can only look around with one eye, the other must be watching where you put your feet. We come upon a Muslim cemetary which at first glance looks well tended, we ask if we can enter and the caretaker seems happy. We take a few photos and chat to the caretaker (in sign language) about which direction Mecca is, and which way round the bodies are placed. We learned how the muslims are buried. They have their feet towards Mecca (see foot note) & are laid out on their sides. The graves are dug 3mtrs deep. The headstone is in arabic and the footstone is in roman text. We head off round the side to find the rest of the cemetary is over grown and graves are so tightly packed there is no room to move. Around the edges and in every spare spot are the small graves of children who have been squeezed in between the adults.

Local Medan Children

"Shanty Town" Shop

We went back via the local "Petisah Pasar Market" where we were quite a novelty! I don't think Medan gets many tourists, so they're not used to seeing Westerners. Every stall we stopped at the shopkeepers seemed to be giggling about us. We felt like we were in an episode of ""Dr Who" & had just landed in the Tardis! They kept calling out "hello mister" to me and the only other english words they seemed to know were "howdy" & "coca-cola".Funny they never spoke to Cindy, in Asian countries men are always the boss & women almost ignored.

On the upside, for Cindy shoes are approx $4 a pair & she picked up a pair of sensible shoes "homeypeds" that were on specail for $7. Cindy has a special knack when it comes to shoes. I reckon she has an inbuilt hardrive which scans & records every pair of shoes she's ever laid eyes on. But today she had a hard drive crash & definitely needs more ram! There must have been about 200,000 pairs of shoes in this one shop & she was ashamed to say it was all too much for her. Her eyes just glazed over & she didn't buy a thing.

The security at the Marriott is pretty hot, all cars enter a bomb proof shelter for checking before they can enter the grounds. They have security guards all around the hotel, bomb sniffing equipment at the main entrance & all your bags have to be scanned & we have to be metal detected every time you enter the hotel. Marriott's are notorious for being bombed, so I guess they have to be careful.

Last night on the way back to the hotel there was a homeless beggar woman on the street, not far from the hotel. She looked like a branch that had fallen off a tree. She had green dangly bits hanging from her hair & she was curled up in a ball. I gave her a few bob as we passed & she gave us a big cheezy grin with a mouth full of missing teeth.

We stopped in at a shanty town later in the afternoon, we had seen all the tin roofs from our hotel window & thought we'd take a closer look. Definitely very poverty stricken but interesting to walk around. The local children soon found us & started yelling "hello mister" again!! Soon we had a bunch of about 8 young boys following us & couldnt get rid of them. I shook all of their hands which they thought was hilarious. We stopped frequently today for re-hydration (non alcoholic!). I had been seeing a drink here called "Pokari Sweat" & vowed to try it before we left. This afternoon I got a chance & found a nice cold bottle. It's like a sports drink that replaces salt, a bit salty & a bit lemony but quite refreshing.

Yesterday we had a ride in a traditional "becak". It's a motorbike with a sidecar that seats 2 very skinny Indonesians!! We were struggling to both stay on the seat with our big farang bums!!! It has a little canopy over the top & also hung down the front, so we didn't have a clue where we were going. All we could see out the sides were cars & trucks whizzing by & we felt very vulnerable stuck out there in the middle of the road with only canvas betwen us. The 5 min ride cost about $2. Cheap if you get there in one piece, which thankfully we did!

Today we take a becak to the Maimoon Palace & Grand Mosque. No seatbelts I'm afraid, even the proper taxis don't have seat belts. Oh I forgot yes they do have seatbelts but only the stretchy half. There's nothing to plug them into!!! Par for the course in Asia I'm afraid, it's just get in, cross yourself & say "Insha Allah" which means "we are in the hands of god".Yes we braved another "becak" for a 20 min ride this time! first to Masjid Raya Al-Mashun (Grand Mosque).As we entered the mosque, we both had to put on a skirt!! A long, sarong type cloth tied in a big ugly knot at the front. Cindy also had to put her shirt on & wear a scarf over her head. Just what we needed in this heat, once again we were covered in sweat but at least the long skirts hid it sliding down our legs. It's amazing how after you've sweated constantly for several hours, feeling it running down your back & soaking into your knickers, it suddenly becomes strangely comforting. No sooner had we got out of our Becak than a guide finds us and offers his services. A nice man but as with many of these guides, their English is not good and we only catch the odd word. The mosque was designed by a Dutch man back in 1906. It has influences of Islamic, European, Indian & Moorish architecture. It was paid for by the local Deli Sultan. In the grounds of the Mosque were the tombs of the Sultans family including the 16th Sultan who died in a helicopter crash during the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

At the palace & it was only Cindy who needed a sarong this time & a shawl over her shoulders. She was a bit miffed to have to wear a sarong & I didn't & also to find out that the Sultan (who doesn't live there any more) is only 11 years old & lives with his mummy in Sulawase. We got a photo taken of us both sitting in the Sultan & his wife's chair. The sultan's chair (mine) was one inch higher than Cindy's, just to keep the women in line.

What did we think of Medan? Well if you are looking for holiday town it's not for you. Medan is large, run down city of over 2 million, but it does have nice people who give you a great welcome. People went out of their way to say hello, girls in particular walked as close as they could before giving you a big smile. I liked it, behind all the urban decay is a city with a lot of history, many of its buildings have had a grand past. I was surprised how easy going their brand of Islam is, Cindy was able to wander around in shorts and sleveless tops as were many other women. We only saw 3 other westerners during our walks round the city and I found that very refreshing.

Every day 6 times a day the call to prayer can be heard over the city. It's a reminder that they've got about 15mins to get to the mosque & probably about 10% of them go & the rest just ignore it. The chants come from a big tall tower at the side of the mosques called a "minaret". The calls are actually made by humans & it's a sort of song sung in arabic & the words are something like "alla wachba" which means god is great.