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Updated April 2018.
The moment you are in your car and on the road from Kualanamu Airport the clock starts ticking at Time is Zero. (T=0)
It takes exactly 35 minutes from the Airport to Sei Rampah. It means that the toll road saves minimum one hour travelling time, but you miss Wong Rame Restaurant and Pasar Bengkel.
We will bring our guests via the Toll Road, unless the guests prefer the Highway route.
The following time schedule is based on normal traffic conditions
1 T = 0 On the Road from Kualanamu Airport
2 T = 42 min Lubuk Pakam
Wong Rame Restaurant in Tanjung Morawa
KFC in Tanjung Morawa
3 T = 50 min Perbaungan
- Restaurant Simpang Tiga Restaurant
- BBQ Seafood Restaurant of Pak Mis
- Restaurant Bahagia
4 T = 55 min Replica Palace of the Sultan Deli Serdang
5 T = 1 hr + 3 min Pasar Bengkel.
Buy the Dodol in Pasar Bengkel. If you don’t want to buy the Dodol, just take the opportunity to Inspect the Bathroom.
6 T = 1 hr + 21 min Kampung Firdaus
7 T = 1 hr + 28 min Sei Rampah
8 T = 1 hr + 33 min Kampung Pon
- Just before Tebing Tinggi you can stop for Lemang at one of the 60 small stalls along the road
9 T = 1 hr + 58 min Tebing Tinggi
- Bayu Lagoon Restaurant
- Just after Tebing Tinggi you can stop for Kelapa Muda, fresh coconut milk, at one of the 55 small stalls along the road
Just outside Tebing Tinggi one finds a well maintained 18 hole Golf Course. Openings times are from 09:00 h to 19:00 h. Green fees are Rp 50,000.-- per person with a minimum of 4 persons.
10 T = 2 hr + 28 min Burung Goreng Restaurant
11 T = 2 hr + 46 min Paten Outlet
Stop for buying the Ting Ting, Tang Tang, Ping Ping, Pong Pong, Pang Pang or whatever you favor. You can pay with Ringgits.
12 T = 2 hr + 56 min Pajak Horas (Siantar)
Possibly visit Tong’s Caffee for the Special Siantar Coffee
Or a simple lunch
Possibly visit Vihara Avalokitesvara with Kwan Im Temple
Restaurants in Siantar:
- Dainang Restaurant. Batak Food
- Awei Restaurant. Simple Chinese Food
- Panorama Restaurant. Nasi Padang. Formally Garuda Restaurant
- KFC
13 T = 3 hr + 1 min Simpang Empat
14 T = 3 hr + 6 min Simpang Dua
15 T = 3 hr + 11 min Simpang Tigaras (Sidamanik)
16 T = 3 hr + 21 min Tiga Balata
17 T = 3 hr + 28 min Tiga Dolok
18 T = 3 hr + 35 min Marihat Huta
19 T = 3 hr + 44 min Pondok Bulu
20 T = 3 hr + 49 min Aek Nauli
21 T = 3 hr + 52 min Tanjung Dolok. Simpang Simarjarunjung
22 T = 4 hr Monkey Reservation Area. With children interesting to visit
23 T = 4 hr + 15 min ARRIVAL PARAPAT TIGA RAJA HARBOUR
Normally we suggest to stop at the Nrs 5, 11, and 12 (Kwan Im Statue).
The new name of the Garuda Restaurant in Siantar is Panorama. From the outside it looks that only the sign has changed.
The restaurants serve a medium Nasi Padang, meaning that within 5 minutes after your arrival you will have some 15 to 20 different dishes on your table. If you know how to eat a Nasi Padang meal then it can be a real treat and you will be getting value for money. For food and a soft drink your cost will be some Rp 70.000,-- to Rp 100.000,-- per pax.
The system works as follows. As said within 5 minutes after your arrival you will have some 15 to 20 different dishes on your table. You may expect some different fish dishes, beef, goat and chicken plus soup and vegetable dishes. These places are RM Islam (Rumah Makan Islam), so no pork or alcoholic beverages. If you have one dish with three pieces of chicken or fish and you eat one piece, you pay only for the one piece you have eaten. However, if you have a dish with shrimps and you pick only one shrimp you pay for the whole dish. Therefore, if you don’t know how to eat a Nasi Padang meal and you just try out each and any dish you may easily end up with a bill of Rp 150.000,-- per person, if not more.
Simpang Tiga - Perbaungan Bahagia - Perbaungan Panorama - Siantar
Both places are very popular for lunch and start operating and the BBQ at about 11.30 h. You just point to the fish you want to have and it will be served within maximum 5 minutes, with some vegetables and white rice. Simple meals which come at a simple price, think of something like Rp 50.000,-- per pax. Most of the customers go for the grilled bbq fish. Personally, in Wong Rame, I like the fried Grouper (Kerapu) best, it takes a bit longer and costs a few rupiahs more.
Wong Rame Sea Food Fish Restaurant in Tanjung Morawa.
The Bayu Lagoon Restaurant, about 5 minutes from Tebing Tinggi on the road to Siantar is in my opinion quality – price wise by far the best restaurant en-route to Parapat. I think their Burung Goreng even beats the Burung Goreng in specialized Burung Goreng restaurants which you may also come across along the road. The Burung Goreng is for sure not fried chicken. The name of the bird is Burung Ruak, I could not find a translation for it. It reminds me of Quails. Quite a bit bigger than what is normally served as quails or burung goreng in this region, but still a lot smaller than the middle east quails.
Bayu Lagoon Restaurant Bayu Lagoon Restaurant
Restaurants in Pematang Siantar
Tong Café. For the special Siantar Coffee and really simple food. Prices some Rp 40.000,-- per person
Awai. For simple Chinese food. The Nasi Goreng here is not the regular Indonesian Nasi Goreng but it tastes more or less the same as you will get in any Chinese Take Away wherever in the World. Costs: Some Rp 40.000,-- per person.
Kok Tong Cafe Awai Restaurant
Dainang. Batak food. Simple food, simple price some Rp 50.000,-- per person
KFC. You can have the regular KFC chicken variety or the one adapted to the Indonesian taste. Costs: Some Rp 80.000,-- per person including your Pepsi.
There are some 120 dodol shops in Pasar Bengkel, all the shops selling more or less the same stuff. Quite some of the shops have a special arrangement with one of the transporters stopping at that particular dodol shop. Most of our drivers tend to stop at Doni’s Dodol shop which is a bit outside Pasar Bengkel on the road to Tebing Tinggi. The good news about Doni’s Dodol shop is that it also comes with a simple restaurant for very simple food.
Dodol Doni Front View Dodol Doni Side View Dodol Doni Restaurant
Coming from the airport or Medan the Paten Outlet shop is about 10 km before Pematang Siantar. Paten Outlet shop is the place for the Ting Ting, Tang Tang, Teng Teng, Tung Tung, Ping Pong and Ping Ping. If you don’t know which variety you want to have, nothing to worry, you sample the different ones one by one. The Paten Outlet Shop is very popular with Malaysian guests and these guests can pay in Ringgits in the shop.
Paten Outlet Shop - Siantar Paten Ting Ting Paten Tong Tong
Vihara Avalokitesvara with Kwan Im Temple in Siantar
The monkeys along the road
From the moment you see Lake Toba on your right you may also expect to see monkeys on the right side of the road waiting for you to feed them. These monkeys are normally coming out mid or late afternoon. Just about the time that you will be passing. These are the more or less real wild monkeys and they are quite shy. If you wish you can feed them, throw some bananas or the like, from the car. I don’t know whether this formally allowed but I see it all the time.
The monkeys in the monkey reservation area.
The Parapat monkey reservation area is at a distance of some 15 minutes by car from Parapat. For families with younger children this can be stop on your way to or from Parapat or a day trip from Tuk Tuk while staying at Horas, especially if you combine feeding the monkeys with a visit of the Traditional Market in Parapat on Saturday. To make it a full day trip you can take from Parapat a ferry to Tomok to inspect the King Sidabutar tombs and following that walk back to Tuk Tuk. Alternatively, instead of walking back charter an angkot for the 15 minutes ride back to Horas.
View from road monkey protection area Entrance monkey protection area
The entrance fee is Rp 5000,-- per guest and the feeding area is at about a 15 minutes walk from the road through a jungle kind of environment. It is quite a nice and not difficult walk but the paved concrete path maybe a bit slippery during and after rain. You are not allowed to bring food with you for these monkeys, for the simple reason that you have to buy the food from the family looking after the monkeys in the reservation area. The food for the monkeys from this family comes a bit expensive, which is fine with me, as it provides a bit of needed extra income for this family. The family which is not supported anymore for looking after the monkeys also feeds the monkeys from their own pocket in the absence of guests.
The monkeys being used to visitors are not scared or even shy and may come straight at you to take or steal the food from your hands. Please note that when I say steal, this does not have to be restricted to food only, so better not to have too many loose items on your body. This is rather meant as a warning than to scare you off, but for young children it may be a bit much for them if you just let them walk around freely.
Upon arrival at the feeding area the guide will start calling the monkeys with special screams and blowing a horn. A few minutes after you will hear and see the first long tailed macaque monkeys coming through the trees from all directions. A little bit later the short tailed macaque monkeys follow for their share of the food.
The real fun and acrobatic show starts when the Siamangs join the crowd, two mature black Gibbons with baby Nellie.
Short tailed macaque coming for food Food is coming
Long tailed macaque waiting his turn Nellie Family
Me and my small friend Look how big I am
To give you an idea on how much to spend on the food after the monkeys have had only limited rations for quite a while think of three baskets full with bananas, which come at Rp 50.000,-- per basket. In season the monkeys also love Peanuts and Rambutan, i have no idea of the cost.
