A Roadtrip to West Sumatera - Part 2

Continuing from my previous post on Padang here... We just left Bukittinggi and headed to Batu Sangkar to visit the iconic Pagaruyung Palace.

My travelmates in front of the grandest Mingakabau palace - the Pagaruyuang.

Pagaruyung Palace

Rumah gadang, or also known as a grand palace is an icon of West Sumatera and can be found in many parts of the province. They are solid wooden structures, beautifully carved and has sweeping roofs with pointed ends. This is also known as the Minangkabau style.

Read more »

A Roadtrip to West Sumatera - Part 1

I woke up around 3:30 am, miraculously still being able to feel my feet after all the hiking and climbing the day before. My small group of friends have planned to start early today for Sumbar roadtrip. Yayan purposely rented a car for us and he'll be driving.

We enjoyed sunrise from the car as we rode into an orange horizon lit day. Having to navigate around West Sumatera depending wholly on Yayan's mental map, all we could do was enjoy the view! Haha! Our first stop that day was Puncak Lawang. A famous viewpoint where we can see a panoramic view of Maninjau Lake. To get there, we had to go up 44 road turns that was unbelievably nerve-wrecking! This part of the journey is called Kelok 44.

Kelok 44

To get to Bukittinggi from Padang, one has to go through the famous Kelok 44. Why is it called that way? Well, because there are exactly 44 road turns with splendid view of the lake. Each turning point will be denoted with a signboard stating the current number of the turns.

How Kelok 44 looks from above. Pic taken from here. 

We actually made a short stop while going up Kelok 44. Guess where?

Read more »

Padang, an Earth-quake and Tsunami Prone Town

Just finished a working paper on a RM7.5 mill project. Right after I emailed it to my boss, I inserted the original soundtrack of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty onto my PC rom and started to blog away. :)

Padang... a town of a thousand tremors. Tremors why? Yayan (our host) said that he has experienced more than two hundred small earth quakes since he last moved there last October. Surrounded by active volcanoes and mountains, and also so close to the Indian ocean, I now could see why Padang is prone to earthquakes.

Padang, big wide ocean on one side and mountains on the other side. Earthquake and tsunami prone!

I suddenly remembered the headlines in 2009, where more than 1000 people died in Sumatera due to a massive earthquake. Having a local recalling the events in detail to me was horrifying. Yayan showed me the part of Padang which is now known as 'kota mati', translated as dead town. Buildings were left empty as they shifted to higher ground, inland. Yayan also showed me the hotels that were greatly devastated by the earthquake, claiming more lives of tourists than locals during that fateful day. Some of the hotels were quickly rebuilt and changed names to bury the dreadful past, but the locals will always remember.

Read more »

My First Unforgettable Day in Padang, Indonesia

Yayan, a guy I met during my trip to India in May last year has been transferred to Padang (which is actually his hometown) from Batam just last October. Us, having the same hobby which is traveling, have often kept contact since then to share itineraries or interesting places to visit. I was supposed to visit Sumatera last year during the fasting month but had to cancel my plans due to work restrictions.

Only just recently I was able to visit Padang which was during the Wesak holidays. YES!

FINALLY!

Dream come true!!

Having met Yayan on the few accounts in India and at the airport in KL, I was surprised that he offered to host me during my visit to Padang. (I actually don't know him that much! Haha!) Letting me stay at his sister's room at his parents' home. Wow! Thanks Yayan! He even allowed me to bring one of my girl friends with me! Now that's what I call hospitality at its finest! :P

Discussing our plans in Padang via FB chat, we actually didn't work out a solid itinerary. In the end it was going with the flow. The plan was my friend and I will fly into Padang on a Saturday afternoon, explore Padang ourselves on Sunday as Yayan was busy with his school exams and rent a car to Bukittinggi on Monday. The thing is, this kind-hearted host of ours had taken leave from work just to spend Monday with us!!! *terharu mau nangis*

So what happened when I first stepped my foot on Sumbar land? (Sumbar stands for Sumatera Barat as in West Sumatera). After I passed through the immigration and the customs, I was greeted by a guy in uniform, "Hey Jard, where's Siti Nur?". I looked up and was shocked to see that Yayan has grown slimmer than the last time we met!!

Want to see the difference?

Last year in India. Yayan is on the far left, looking chubby. Hehe. From the left is Mukhlis, Suntea and Alid.

Read more »

The Unnamed Hill in Danau Singkarak

I'm still in the post-travel depression mode. Haha.

I was asked an interesting question during my most recent to Indonesia. I was asked which place in Indonesia that I've visited has moved me the most? The one place that gave me the deepest, long lasting impression (what-ever that means. Haha!) My first answer was Papuma Beach but after finishing my West Sumatera trip, I suddenly had a change of heart. :)

I flew to Padang without any itinerary in mind. Accommodation was settled and I was open to anything my Indonesians friends had in mind. This time, my friend from Palembang, Siti Nur was joining me.

Fast forward to the end of our third day there....

After an early ride to Kelok 44 (started our day at 4am in the morning!)...
... from there to Puncak Lawang.....
... and then to Danau Maninjau
....to Jam Gadang at Bukittinggi
... to Ngarai Sianok..
... to Istana Pagaruyuang...
... and ended our roadtrip at Danau Singkarak to enjoy a sunset.

The funny thing about this spot we have chosen is that there's no permanent trail to get there. Yayan (our host in Padang) had specifically researched this place and there was only one other group who has been here. We would be the second group. :P

A no man's land. We were attempting to climb this small hill to view sunset over Singkarak Lake.

Yayan had to ask at a road side stall selling noodle cups on where to start the climb. Later he led us the way, followed by me, then Siti Nur and last by Syahrial (Yayan's friend).

Read more »