 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
After lunch at Ompung's it was back to shopping again (can I scream now?) and this time it was to buy some rings. Unfortunately rings in Indonesia may be cheaper but they're also lower quality. A lot of the rings we looked at showed obvious signs of not being put together with anything better than a pair of glasses. I've got very good eyesight and I could see the imperfections without a magnifying glass. We also stopped in at Karyas to see how our photos were coming along. We found out, much to our dismay, that it would take about two months. Why didn't they tell us that when we signed up? After all this shopping we finally headed back to the hotel and had some time to ourselves. 5th November
We then went to a restaurant and had Froke - frogs fried - as well as several other dishes and a 'made in Jakarta' Guinness! Then we headed back. Quick stop in the Plaza on the way (the main highway
had signposts 100km/60km for two lanes. Also a toll was paid 'Take card
at one end, pay distance at other') Then to Aunty Lin's canteen again.
Then it was back to the hotel again and a short walk to look for food. KFC only had chicken left and it was risky for me to eat local street food so I had goat meat stew somewhere else. Very hot flavour but worthwhile. An interesting note about KFC is that even though Medanese are extremely poor, the price of a meal at KFC was comparable to something similar in Sydney. The only difference was you got extra rice and salad, and that the chickens were Indonesian chickens - a lot smaller than we're used to. (So probably steroid free and free range!) More Medan |
Well,
plans, as always, keep changing. There is a Batak superstition that great
distances must not be travelled if you are the main feature of a family
event. So, no trip to Lake Toba until after the Resepsi. So, that means
we're stuck in Medan for another few days. Which, as the Resepsi is on
the day before we leave, means we can't go to the Orangutang Sanctuary
or the Crocodile Farm. Not happy Jan. Instead, we went shopping.
I got measured
for a couple of new suits (good Japanese fabric and really cheap in Medan)
as well as bought some postcards from the nearest Toko Buku. 
After
souvenir hunting in the city (Nothing worth noting for Medan) we drove
to Belawa Port. The highlight wasn't the fishing trawlers or oil and produce
cargo ships etc, it was the 'on the water' houses. I only got a couple
of minutes as the good shots of other houses were recorded over, thanks
to some stupid engineer designing video cameras to always rewind a bit
before you start recording again. And stupid me for forgetting this and
not fast forwarding a bit to compensate.
