Pematangsiantar or Pematang Siantar is a city in North Sumatra. With The center of the town has two main roads where you can find almost everything you need. The food market is located between these streets. There is one "shopping mall" including a very small cinema. The habitats of Siantar are mostly Bataks. Also many Chinese and Javanese live here. In contrast to the rest of Indonesia the majority are Christians and not Muslims.
So there is no problem to drink a beer on the street or find some pork at the meat market which is worth visiting. There are also numerous flights from Jakarta and other major cities of Indonesia. From Medan you can easily get shared taxis to Pematangsiantar that cost around 40, - 50, IDR per person.
The journey takes roughly 3 hours. The other option is by train A large bus from Medan the bus station is called Amplas costs about The easiest way to get around is by becak pronounced bay-chuk. It's worth the experience and you can find these old bikes only in Siantar.
They are old BSAs made in England and have a special sound and a special look. Every becak is unique with lovely modifications. The cost is about A cheap way is to go by minibus , which cost only Rp for the same distance, but without help you will probably not find your way as there are no bus schedules. The only obvious place to rent a motorbike is the Siantar Guesthouse. You can rent cc Classic Vespa for about There is a zoo worth visiting that is aptly named Taman Hewan Pematangsiantar - animal garden of Pematangsiantar usually a zoo is Kebun Binatang in Indonesian.
It has a good collection of Indonesian native animals, most notably birds, tigers and apes. The zoo itself boasts abundant tropical trees and plants, some of which are quite old. The location is surprisingly close to the main roads of the city within walking distance. Ticket price April is 15, IDR.
