Made it to Medan I: Horas
The end of May was travel season for mum and I. Both of us joined Uncle J for a pilgrimage to Medan. Traveling with Uncle J is no-frills, but extremely value for money because he does not profit from it at all. He was our tour leader for Bali pilgrimage the year before. At 8:30 AM, we were all checked-into our AirAsia flight and were having a typical kopitiam breakfast at Kopi Kita . A very warm welcome was waiting for us at Kualanamu, arranged by Lucia, the same tour agency boss we engaged in Bali. Once we grabbed our bags, we were draped with ulos , a traditional Batak ( indigenous people of Lake Toba ) woven cloth draped over the shoulder and headgear, and greeted with "horas", an all-purpose greeting of the Toba Batak people. Who doesn't love playing dress up? Deja vu -- Nasi Padang for our first lunch in Medan, just like on our Bali trip. The food at Restoran Simpang Tiga wasn't exceptionally good, but it was definitely a bit exotic. The meal would sustain us ...