Medan, 50km south of port of Belawan was or our first destination in Sumatra. There was very little to interest us here but to stop for the night after the day spent at Belawan getting the bike. Medan is the capital of Sumatra and the commercial centre.



Next move is to head noert west towards the province of Ache.
The North Sumatra Highway runs more or less along the coast, Andaman Sea to the north and rice fields to the south (images). The quality of the road so far so god, sealed and only a few pot holes.
The scenery along the way, small motorbikes are the best means of transport. Ache is a conservative Muslim state, and there is separate school buses for the boys and girls. Since the 2004 Tsunami, things in Ache sre quiet but there had been a 30 year old civil war taking place up to then and we were advice not to travel at night.
And so far (having been in Malaysia and Thailand previously) finding decent accommodation has been difficult. There is very little or no international tourism in this part of Indonesia. So far accommodation at twice the rate of Malaysia and Thailand, has not included a toilet seat or a shower. but the food is good.