I traveled from Medan to Padang by ALS bus . Though Normally , there is not much to say about a bus journey but this is very special for me as the bus journey is more than 24 hours and mostly through the mountanous road . After completing this journey ,there is a feeling of achievement . Main reason for choosing this bus journey because to make a stop in between long journey from Medan to Jakarta . Actually my destination is Jakarta but it would be beyond my imagination to make 50-60 hours of bus journey . Frankly I am not prepared for that so I make a stop in between . This is going to be one of my longest bus journey .
I don’t choose airplane because this would be more expensive and also I want to see the countryside of Sumatra . Countryside is unexpectedly beautiful . In this journey you can have a panoramic view of Lake Toba , almost to a horizon Palm trees , tropical forest , natural skyline of trees . By the way , Indonesia is the largest producer of Palm oil in the world . Also in the road you will see the durian tree . Though mostly of the durian farms are not beside the road .
My journey starts from the ALS bus terminal in Amplas Bus stop in Medan . There is lots of buses leaving from this area , you can choose any of the bus company . But this company give the best rate and also the fastest journey .
This bus stand is little far from the city centre of Medan City . So either you book through Online transport app like grab , Gojek , Maxim to reach from your hotel but it would be expensive in my case as I have lots of Luggage , so I must book a Taxi . So I used Ankot to reach there . I make a two or three break journey to reach here . Maybe it would be little difficult but people are such a amazing in Medan that you never have any problem . Both Men and women are very helpful here .
I come this bus terminal , just , one day before the journey to book my ticket . There is three types of ticket – Economy , Economy with toilet and Business class . I choose Economy with Toilet . Ticket price is 275000 IDR for a passenger . Buses are Air Conditioned . Tough written WiFi beside the bus but still there is no WiFi inside the buses . When I asked them they said it is like promotion for the bus .
My actual journey date was on 21st september 2022 . On 12:00 pm my bus leaves from the ALS bus terminal , Medan . I reached there two hours before . In the bus there is a huge luggage storage space , so no problem for luggage storage . All people were Indonesian when it leaves from Medan . Indonesian people are very loving and they are very welcoming towards foreigners .
After that our bus travels through the mountainous road and passing Berastagi and Kabanjahe it reaches Parapat beside the Lake Toba . Lake toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world . Scenery of Lake toba from the bus is worthwhile .
Bus stopped here for sometime . From this area some western foreigners board this bus . This time heavy rain was going on with thunder strike . After stopping here for sometime bus once again start for the next journey . I must say that roads are very narrow here and when two big cars passes they must slowdown . Leg space was not good and seats were not reclined properly . This makes the journey little tiring .
After that the Bus stopped for dinner around 9 pm in the night . I know that in the middle of the journey prices of the foods were very high so already I buy a cake before this journey and also some water bottles . Prices in this restaurant where bus stopped were quiet high . so , If you don’t buy food in advance , I suggest you to buy food from the opposite side of the road where the bus stopped . I assure you that the food price will be half than this restaurant . I used this trick as it really works .
After this there is no more stop in the night . Now lights were switched off and bus running on it’s space . It is difficult to sleep in a bus . Like our indian train , some people sleep in the passage inside the bus .
In this bus toilet is an exceptional experience . Smoking room is connected with the toilet . Some people sleep in this area so going to the toilet is specifically difficult . Though you reach there in the running bus doing this is really a challenging . You can not stand properly in this area when bus is running . Sometimes accidentally you wet your cloths in the toilet . Also there is no basin and water is collected by the waste water of the AC and collected in a customized bucket . It is an unforgettable experience here . I must say that other than emergency you must not use Toilet in a running bus .
In the early morning bus stopped in a middle of the journey . Some parts of the bus were broken so ,in the meantime we reach a nearby restaurant for the morning breakfast . Morning time was cold in this mountain . After 2 hours the bus was repaired and once again the bus starts . morning breakfast was done there in that restaurant .
Afternoon lunch stop was lost as to compensate the time lost in the morning break down and I have to satisfy me with that cake . Finally it reaches Bukittinggi around 2 pm . From here Padang is one and half hours journey . I get down in Padang . But I recommend you to stay here some days as this is the traditional area where you can see traditional house and culture of western Sumatra . Buffalo is very special among the Minangkabau people . Here you see , most of the building’s roof , even govt building ‘ s roof were made in the shape of a bull ‘s horn . Foods are very special here in Padang .
In the road of Padang , you can see lots of stalls selling Durian(King of fruit ). In this stalls you can get a good durian 2/3 times cheaper than Medan and other cities in Indonesia and may be 10 times cheaper than Malaysia . I saw the driver of this bus loads lots of Durian in the Bus . Masakan padang restaurent are famous in all Indonesia . With the rice , they have tons of different dishes . You can choose any one or more variety , you may be eating in one restaurant but not bored after months as such the variety . Finally my stop come at around 4 pm . I was such hungry that after going in the restaurant I almost ordered two times I normally eat . I stayed in Padang for two more days and visited some of the local tourist attraction in the city .
Summary:-
This bus journey is one of the longest bus journey in my life covering more than 700 km of mountanous road in more than 24 hours . It costs me 275000 IDR . In this journey you can see some wonderful mountain scenery and unforgivable experience . In this whole journey our bus broke down once and specially the experience in the toilet is just unforgettable .
