Explore Kesawan : Old Town in Medan City, Indonesia (Car Free Day Edition)

Hi hivers. How are you? Today, I will share my experience taking a healthy walk through the Old Town of Medan.

Medan City is one of the cities in Indonesia located on the island of Sumatra. It is the capital of North Sumatra Province.
Every Sunday, the city center streets are closed for Car Free Day. The purpose of this event is to reduce air pollution and provide a forum for the surrounding community to participate in activities. Some activities include running and cycling, while others involve selling goods to support the local economy.

This car-free day takes place in Kesawan. Kesawan is an old part of the city of Medan. It has many historical buildings dating back to before our country's independence. Located in the city center, it is easily accessible.

This area is a tourist destination because of the many European, Chinese, and Melayu style buildings.

I personally use Car Free Day as an opportunity for leisurely exercise with a nice view of the old city. There are old buildings with their own stories along this road. One field in particular has become an icon in this area : Merdeka Square (Merdeka Walk), which has been revitalized to maximize its function. From every corner of the square, you can see tall office buildings. Get some exercise while traveling.

Not far from the square is a museum called Rumah Tjong A Fie/ Tjong A Fie House, which is one of the places you can visit. It is a heritage house of someone who contributed to the economy at that time. I will visit this museum next time.

After we exercised, my friends and I took the train to another place. The train station is close to Lapangan Merdeka, which is located next to a field. We took the airport train to Bandar Khalifa because we wanted to buy rujak (fruit salad) at the Simpang Jodoh. The ticket price was only 5,000 rupiah ($0.40) and it's only 10 minutes.

It's one of the city's best-known fruit salad place. On that hot day, the sour, sweet, and spicy salad was perfect.

After buying the salad, we took the trolley bus back to the city center. It was my first time riding an electric bus, which the government recently inaugurated as public transportation in Medan. The fare was also 5k rupiah, just like the train.

There are many forms of public transportation that can be used to travel around the city.

This is one of the most fun activities. It's benefical and fun. Thank you for reading my experience this time! ☺️