Entertainment Guide For Sumatra Traveller

Sumatrans, like most other Indonesians, like to eat, and you can usually find good local food in various eateries across the island. Among the most popular local cuisines is Padang food- a style of cooking which originated in Sumatra and is characterised by hot, spicy food. Chinese food is also available in a number of places; Medan, for instance, has a lot of good food stalls particularly in the Jalan Semarang area, which sell Indonesian and Chinese dishes at fairly reasonable rates. In Medan and at some of the more popular tourist destinations, you’ll usually find a varied selection of cuisines, both Asian and Continental, but the balance is generally tilted towards local food.

As far as entertainment is concerned, don’t expect anything spectacular in Sumatra. The better-known tourist destinations such as Medan, Berastagi and Parapat do offer some entertainment, in the way of movies or cultural performances (the Taman Budaya in Medan is one venue where you can see traditional Sumatran performing arts), but other than that, there’s little to do. The traditional gamelan orchestras of southern Sumatra are pretty good, and the Bataks of North Sumatra form excellent singing groups, which you can sometimes, find performing at venues, including hotels. If you’re interested in culture, you should definitely try to time your trip to coincide with traditional festivals, when you can get to see some good parades and dances.