Medan - of Optimistic Itineraries

It all started from $67 plane tickets...

..and involved repeating in half a day a conversation that sounded like:

"No no, I'm not going to Bali. I'm going to Medan."
"No, not going back to my home town, I'm going for holiday."
"Do what? Erm...trekking up a volcano, visit a hot spring, visit Orang Utans?"

And I'm somewhat unsure if people think I'm Indonesian but just not from Medan.

Anyway the plan was simple and efficient:


     Day 1:   Hop on a cab to hotel; pick up scooter and ride to Bukit Lawang (3 hrs);
                  Head to Gunung Leuser National Park to visit Orang Utans
     Day 2:   White water rafting
     Day 3:   Ride to Berastagi in the morning (6 hrs);
     Day 4:   Trek Gunung Sibayak in the morning
                  Visit hot springs
     Day 5:   Ride back to Medan (3 hrs)
                  Explore Medan city
     Day 6:   Leave Medan for Singapore

In consideration of the boy's plead of insanity (mine), the plans were considerably simplified with very ample time for R&R, which was...g..okay given we only managed to contact the motorcycle rental guy very late (the hotel did not have a telephone line that dialled out, say what?) and there were no motorcycles available on short notice.

First thing on our agenda: get a prepaid SIM card!