3RD KL VISITS MEDAN
SATURDAY-THURSDAY, December 15-20, 2007

Day 1 December 15, 2007 (Saturday)
Sgt Hooi Chin Gian reports...

“Ladies and Gents, welcome to Medan…” The captain’s voice signaled we had crossed the Straits of Malacca safely and reached Indonesia. A big smile greeted us at the gates of the airport, our very first hint of the Indonesian hospitality that would compliment a great trip! We were quickly transferred to the 12th company parade ground, a Methodist church. Our very first impression of the company was, “WOW! They have GIRLS!”

A quick tour around the parade ground showcased their adjoining main sanctuary and school buildings. The 12th company parade ground was geographically compact, with quite a few buildings and narrow passages being its hallmark. After that, it was time to polish our uniform and get transferred to the 5th Tanjong Morawa company. Take a shot at our first impression of the 5th Tanjong Morawa company?

NO, it did not involve GIRLS! However, we were greeted by their corps band that was reminiscent of the DCI bands in the States! The number of girls present only crept into our minds after the stunning performance by their band! We ran through our presentations quickly with the band members borrowing their band instruments. It was a bit of a culture shock as we feasted upon the different types of instruments they used for the same purpose-making music.

Come evening was a gathering of a few Indonesian companies from around Medan along with their Malaysian counterparts. We started with worship and God’s grace rained down on us, literally! With the ground being flooded, all we could do was to sing even harder. Thereafter, it was indeed a splendor of performances, ranging from dance to theatre and of course the 5th Tanjong Morawa band. We wrapped up the show with performances of the band, duet and choir. After that was another round of good food and even better fellowship!

After bidding farewell unwillingly to our new found friends, we headed toward the Merdeka Square, a street not too different to our very own Petaling Street! Another round of feasting and fellowship followed as we met some of our Indonesian friends there. Come 12 pm, it was bedtime as tomorrow would be another long day. However, it wasn’t to be so for a few adventurous souls. Bapak Petrus, the President of BBI and his wife were to bring us out for supper, ala street food! Indeed the night life there was no less quieter than KL’s! We had quite a surprise in finding pork satay and open-style karaoke (as opposed to the confined-room concept) right in the heart of Indonesia, a predominantly-Muslim country. We were to find out later in the trip that the Indonesian government (the current one, at least) was quite tolerant with its non-Muslim citizens and their culture and practices. The night ended on a high note with us singing “Happy Birthday” in different languages for Ibu Petrus!

Back at the church of the 12th company, I was personally touched by the action of a few officers and boys of BBI who could be seen refilling cups and water for tomorrow, stock counting the awards brought over by us and sleeping on the church table to stay guard at the door. It was this dedication that warmed me in my sleep throughout the cold night.

Day 2 December 16, 2007 (Sunday)
Pte Sean Au reports...

On 16 December 2007, we started our memorable Sunday with some photographs as soon as we reached 5th Coy, holding the banner ‘HELLO INDONESIA’. We had our Sunday Service at Gereja Methodist Indonesia,about ‘Kehidupan Orang Benar’. And definately ending with few memorable pictures, our ‘tradition’.

In the afternoon, the 3rd KL band impressed the 5th Coy band by their Aku Cinta Padamu while the 5th Coy band present their Kekasih Gelapku. We had a band clinic and we exchange a song of our choice which we chose Aku Cinta Padamu. The result was as good as Siti Nurhaliza’s singing when the two bands combined. The same goes to the song Kekasih Gelapku which they taught the 3rd KL band. After that, we had dinner with 9th Coy who was the host. We were entertained by their band and they were also entertained by our band. We had fellowship activities with them and we presented our theme song for the year, Can’t Stop the Music.

On the way to Niagara Hotel, we had a Karaoke Session in the bus. All of us broke our voice with songs like Tong Hua, Kenangan Terindah, Bleed It Out, and many more songs. But it’s a waste the officers were not there to join in the fun. At last, it’s a dream come true to arrive at Niagara Hotel. We called it a day and of course not forgetting it’s Mr. Ng’s birthday the next day. After giving him his surprise, we went to bed.

Day 3 December 17, 2007 (Monday)
Sgt Darryn Chiew reports...

After a refreshing sleep at Niagara Hotel, we were ready for our sightseeing today. We rode the ferry across Danau Toba to Samosir Island. Along the journey we had interesting sights to see. It was a pleasant, windy journey and there was a serene feeling as we surveyed the crystal clear waters of this gigantic lake. On the ferry, we sang some traditional Indonesian songs, namely “Tilo-tilo” and “Sing, Sing, So”.

Upon our arrival at Samosir Island, we walked through a Batak village to learn more about the Indonesian Batak culture, their way of life and their traditions. In Indonesia, the largest Christian denomination is the HKBP (pronounced as ha-ka-bay-pay) which is the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, or the Batak Church. Another particular interesting information about the batak culture is their elaborate wooden houses and their practice of having family tombs within their house compound. We also witnessed a series of traditional Batak dances at the village. Then, we adjourned by ferry to the Toledo Inn Restaurant for lunch. Lunch was a simple yet hearty meal of rice with some Indonesian dishes.

After our lunch, we cruised around the lake, and viewed the “Batu Gantung”, which is a natural rock formation that takes the form of a woman and a dog hanging from the cliff. Of course, there is a myth attached to the phenomenon. According to the myth, once upon a time in Parapat (a small town on the border of Danau Toba), there lived an old couple with a beautiful daughter named Seruni. Seruni was not only known for her good looks, but also for the fact that she was a hardworking and helpful girl. Every day, Seruni and her parents would go to work on the fields belonging to the family. One day, Seruni had to go to the fields alone as her parents were both ill. She went to the fields with her dog, Si Toki. When she arrived at the field, she did not start working, but sat down and contemplated the breathtakingly magnificent view of Danau Toba, lost in her own thoughts. Seruni was actually facing a dilemma. Her parents had arranged to marry her to one of her cousins, while she was already in love with someone else. She didn’t want to shame her parents and neither did she want to disappoint the man she loved. Anyway, to cut the story short, she decided to walk to the edge of the cliff, but fell into a deep crevice on the way. Her dog tried all means to save her but failed. Hence, they say that the figure seen on the rocks is that of the unlucky girl and her faithful dog.

After that, we returned to the hotel for a free and easy session. Some of the boys used the swimming pool, while the others walked around the hotel and some also played pool. Then, we had our dinner, followed by an evaluation and motivational session led by the officers. After that, we went back to our rooms quietly. We had actually planned a surprise birthday celebration for Lt. Ng Yee Khai. We gathered in his room and sang the birthday song for him. Then we went back to our rooms to rest for the next day.

Day 4 December 18, 2007 (Tuesday)
Cpl Ng Jie Han reports...

After a nice comfortable overnight rest at the Niagara Hotel, we went down to have breakfast at the restaurant. Amongst the opitions provided in the menu were porridge, nasi lemak, variety of fruits, etc. It’s probably the best breakfast that I’ve ever had and perhaps the rest of us as well.

After we had a full morning delight, we checked-out of the Niagara Hotel and onto our next destination, Sipiso-piso Waterfall. It took us about 3 hours to get to the waterfall and we had to make a few stops while we were on the way. I still remember that one of the stops we made was a small restaurant which serves fried bananas and the locally well-known spiced drink which contains lemongrass, cinnamon stick, ‘bunga cengkih’, etc. It can either be drunk just like that or added with some fresh milk to suit your taste. After a short rest, we continued our journey up to the Sipiso-piso waterfall.

Finally, we’ve arrived at the place with the most breathtaking view. The scenery is unbelievable and the creation of mother nature is definitely amazing. As we enjoyed the wonderful view, the windy breeze blew onto my face and I felt like a tone of weight has lifted off my shoulders. It’s was very relaxing despite of the cool weather. We managed to take some photos and we walk down on a small trail to get a closer view of the waterfall. Some of us even went all the way down to the bottom.

After about 2 hours of sightseeing, we proceeded to the Asia Restaurant. Located at Brastagi, this restaurant is sort of a relief to us since almost all the food we had for the past 3 days were very very spicy!!! For once, we can enjoy food that suits our taste buds and above all, we get to treat our taste buds with some sweet mango. Mmm……!

After our lunch, we went to the cow farm for a study tour. For us, this would be a great learning experience as we get to know more about the cows’ habitats and the process of how cow milk is produced at the beginning stage. Before we started the tour, we were given a taste of some unpasteurized cow's milk which comes in vanilla and strawberry flavour. It taste very delicious especially when you drink it cold. Then the farm tour begins with the explanation by the farm manager on the types of food given to the cows and cubs. We also had the opportunity to get a closer look at those cute cubs. Besides the cow farm, the manager also manages a large area of orchard farm which spans across the farm and around it. One of the most interesting events we’ve seen was the extraction process of the milk from the cows. It’s hard to believe at first that the cow will move to its station all by itself just by listening to some classical music pieces such as Beethoven. Wow……even cows also have a sense of music!

After the educational experience, we continued our way to the Wisma Samadi Maranatha where we’ll spend the night before hiking Mount Sibayak. Dinner was served to us at about 7pm and after we finished our meal, we’re required to wash plates, utensils and cups that we’ve used. It’s their rule of washing your own dishes after usage and this will help train the boys to be a responsible person as well. Last but not least, all of us went to bed by 8pm to ensure that we had a good night's rest because it’s going to be a long, tough day ahead of us. Until then, Zzzzz……

Day 5 December 18, 2007 (Wednesday)
Pte Ernest Chiew reports...

Day five began very early as we had to make it to the peak of Mt.Sibayak in time to see the sun rise.

We left Wisma Samadi Maranatha at 2 o'clock in the morning to transfer to the mountain. It was cold and slippery due to the rain, but thankfully, all of the boys made it to the peak without any mishaps.

We managed to enjoy the view of the sun rising. After around 20 minutes, we began to descend the mountain. We then took the bus back to Wisma Samadi Maranatha.

Back at Wisma Samadi Maranatha, some of the boys had breakfast, some rested and some packed their bags. At noon, we had lunch before leaving Wisma Samadi Maranatha.

At around two o'clock in the afternoon, we had the opportunity to relieve our tired muscles at the Spring Water Lau Debu Debu. We remained there approximately two hours before journeying back to the 12th coy. For once, the bus journey was quiet as most of us needed to catch up on our sleep. We had dinner at the 12th coy at around 8 o'clock. We were allowed to go the sleep early today..

Day 6 December 19, 2007 (Thursday)
Sgt Lim Han Sheng reports...

No more Fitria. No more Fenni. No more Anlie. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWW~~!!!! It’s the last day of our Medan Trip. But. Money ready. Why? Chill we are just heading for breakfast. We had nasi lemak for breakfast Medan style (similar to Malaysia’s in terms of ingredients but Medan style includes cholesterol pill aka fried pork fat – chu yau zha). Along with breakfast we had our small farewell ceremony as we will vacate the school grounds which we had lodge during the trip. It was quite a short ceremony and both KL and Medan wished one another well.

The one program separating us from the climax of the day was a visit to the Rachmat Wildlife Gallery. I did expect it to be around half the size of our Muzium Negara or bigger as most of those which we had visited before this trip were around that size. “My young brother, we are outside Rachmat Wildlife Gallery,” said Mr. M.. The first thing we saw was a huge elephant head which we were later told that the Wildlife Gallery bought from Sunway Lagoon. Most of us were surprised as it was off the main road housed within a double-storey shop office. As usual we did walk and look around. It didn’t really take much of our time to complete touring the place as it was quite small and clearly everyone were more geared for our climax. About an hour and a half later, we were back in the bus this time heading for the gigantic and majestic Sun Plaza.

Sun Plaza is the largest shopping complex in Medan, it has quite a modern look from the outside. The moment has come. It is time we SPEND together. ~laughs~ hahaha. We were all given around 2-3 hours to shop and have our luncheon. We basically split into small groups as we had different interests. The officers dined at J. Co as soon as everyone were off exploring. Well the rest or should I say majority of the rest terrorized the video arcade. One thing different about the arcade compared to those in Malaysia, in Medan they don’t use coins. Instead, you get a card, something like a Touch N Go system, u simply let the machine read your card and points will be deducted. About 50% of us got the card and played. Most of us had only a quick bite for lunch and it was back to shopping. I spend a bulk of my money on CDs. In Medan, there are shops which sells Christian worship CDs within a shopping mall. That is one thing we might not be able to find back home in Malaysia. Soon after I got my CDs, a shocking news. Our flight got delayed. The good thing is that we get to shop longer but the bad news is that we needed to get the news across to everyone and also our parents but it all did went well. We met up at our meeting point as it was pre-set and waited for the rest to arrive. We were all comparing what we bought and some were still talking about the games they played in the arcade.

What next? Since our flight got delayed. MORE SHOPPING OF COURSE. But we were debating as whether to stay in the same shopping mall or move to another. Decision made, we moved. Our next shopping complex was around the size of Pearl Point but with more levels. ARCADE, that was the first thing we asked Mr. Steven. Some of us had a short chat with Mr. Steven as we saw a small shop selling air guns. He told us that in Jakarta, there are shops and clubs which would book/rent an entire shopping complex after opening hours and turn it into a shooting competition ground, something like playing Counter-Strike but in real-life mode. That is of course you won’t die if you get hit, it’s just paint. Dinner was our next program. We were hosted by BBI with officers from various company and some members from the 9th Company. We did our chat, exchanged e-mails once again and head towards the airport.

On the bus, we found out suddenly that someone was missing. Well, not missing as in kidnap but we left him in the toilet. The scenario was that we were actually running late so we had to quickly get ourselves to the airport (FYI – group check-in takes a longer time). Fortunately we were all safely gathered at the airport (including the 1 that was left behind). Then it was all the way back to KL. P/S : A few of the guys actually had extra Rupiah, instead of being a typical person and exchanging it back to RM they actually bought donuts for those whom sent us off.

In the Press

Page Created: 25th December 2007
Last Update: 25th December 2007