Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. It is also the largest city outside of Java Island. The population of Medan city is about 2 million people (according to census in year 2000).Medan is recognized for its multi-cultural society that lives in harmony, creating a unique culture blend. The population is mainly made up of Batak, Javanese, Chinese, Indian, Minang, Acehnese and other ethnic minorities such as Sundanese and Madurese.Each ethnic group contributes to thousands of tasty, mouth-watering dishes found in every corner of Medan. They offer to locals and tourists alike dozens of food streets and hawker centres to suit their appetite at any time of the day. From the sweet Javanese cuisine, to delicious Batak grilled pork, to hot Padang dishes, from savoury Chinese noodles, to spicy Indian curry, this varied cuisine is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. It is obvious why the locals are so into food. The city itself is quite well known for "food-tourism", especially amongst other Indonesians.It's interesting to contrast the old, Dutch style green areas, with parks, lawns, and huge old Dutch houses (now turned into government offices or commercial business) and the hundreds and hundreds of newer, shoddy shophouses sprawled together by the hundreds in the commercial areas along with a few modern style malls. Look out for the motor becaks! A sort of motorized rickshaw, they are a common site throughout Medan, spewing black smoke everywhere.Overall, Medan isn't really a tourist destination, but it's a convenient stepping stone to other places like the 'weekend getaway' Brastagi, the island of Penang, Malaysia and, of course the ever popular, beautiful crater lake Lake Toba. http://wikitravel.org/en/Medan