Trip Report: Medan

An airport train. the massive main square redevelopment, Jakarta-style Superblocks arrive, and the rejuvenation of the old city area that could put Medan on the tourist map.

Author

James Clark
August 08, 2023

Medan was the first place I visited in Indonesia, which is an unusual introduction for an Australian. I was arriving from Penang across the strait, and I wanted my introduction to Indonesia to be somewhere other than Bali.

I wasn’t the urbanist that I am today on that first trip, so I only stayed in Medan while waiting to go elsewhere. It was great to go back and see how Medan has changed. For a start, there is a new airport with an airport train. There is a massive redevelopment of the main square, and the old city area has the potential to be listed in those “cities to visit this year” travel listicles. The big “Superblock” developments that are common in Jakarta have also arrived.

This is my Medan trip report for my visit in 2023.

Airport train

I arrived at Kualanamu International Airport, which is the airport that serves Medan. KNO Airport is part of an elite club of airports that have railways in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has the most airport railways by far, and arriving by airport train makes a great first impression of a city.

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