A lot of police were present at the small rail station in Medan yesterday.  Little else in Medan is small.  No sign of extra security this morning.
  Western franchises are common place and difficult to avoid.  One very large shopping mall is full of them and there are other malls. Medan is moving on.
   The Chinese New Year, I think, is featured and creates a stir in China town.
   We stayed in a pleasant well run Hotel named Karibia Boutique.  Breakfast has an international theme and tasty items are good to try although salty and spicy can be difficult to take before 12.
  It is easy to miss a good cup of tea and we often have the makings of one.  Darn it, will I be in trouble if I pack our powdered milk considering the stress on security!
 We flew to Jakarta today and found a fast bus from the airport which skirted around that city to another destination which we reached by 4 pm.  Jakarta appeared blanketed by heavy smog or something atmospheric which was obvious  long before the plane reach touch down.
It is a plus that we were not stuck in a legendary traffic snarl or in any violence nor arrived while Jakarta is in flood which happens every so often.
 Travel advisories have issued warnings since Christmas time.  On line news from Sydney and Newcastle news papers and others helps keep abreast of a few issues.