After finishing up briefly at the beach I headed into the mountains. Bukittinggi is the other reason many people go to Padang, as the seaside city has the only airport in the area. Once, in the 80’s and 90’s Bukittinggi was a popular destination with backpackers, and the economic ties between it and Padang are strong so buses head up there hourly. It was okay, and a nice exposure to climbing mountains in a car. But we broke down around 3/4th of the way up there just as it began to rain lightly.
I didn’t much mind. We had another bus in around 10 minutes, and the cool mountain sprinkles felt good. Soon enough I was in town, but for
Not ideal, but it was my first experience, and in all honesty it was very nice. I didn’t wake up once to the Call to Prayer in my three nights sleeping there. I also happened to spend my second day entirely inside the capsule, so some part of me deep down must have really liked it; though it also may have had to do with the fact that I was a tad bit ill. And the owner of the place Jing, was so nice and friendly. I was a bit standoffish when I first arrived, mostly due to being tired, but I really grew to enjoy her company between the different activities in the area. So in time I forgave their insistence on booking a Capsule over a dorm. It worked out in the end.
I then went to find dinner, a search I ultimately succeeded in. This is Nasi Kapau, the local variety of food in Bukittinggi! I’m told that it’s different from Nasi Padang, but honestly I couldn’t really tell you how. Seems as though the greatest difference is what types of items they offer. For example, the curry-fried chicken sausage on my plate doesn’t exist in Padang. Otherwise, I’m stumped, as many of the flavors seem the same to me. Maybe it’s one of those things where you need to be a local in order to get it? Delicious anyway.
The next day was spent on a Scooter to explore Lake Maninjau. I wanted to get a feel for the area, and this was one of the highlights for the area. Even in
As I mentioned before, Western Sumatra has a unique culture in Indonesia with the Minangkabau people. And famously, nearby Bukittinggi is the palace of a king who ruled in the area 300 years ago or so. The style of building is the same as in Padang because the two peoples are very similar, but this palace is unique in that it has three stories.
As far as I can tell the first floor was for audiences and royal posing. There wasn’t a lot of English here available, and two groups of school students were enjoying a field trip so there wasn’t much in the way of guides to help me. The kids, by the way, loved seeing me! So much so that later the boys were reminded of what little English they know during some play fighting. In the distance, I heard running accompanied by several casually shouted “Fuck YOU” taunts. A nice reminder of the effect I have on locals. But beyond that, the palace’s second floor was for keeping a princess until her marriage to ensure she was not deflowered before the right time, and the third floor held palace treasures such as the King’s crown. There was also a small house in the back for a
The last day I was scrounging for things to do. I considered the Japanese Caves but decided against it. I was also left with only about an hour before my bus to my next destination due to an intense but lengthy search for sunscreen, so it had to be quick and simple. Nearby was Fort De Kock, the original Dutch stronghold when they came into the area during the Padri War. I used to work at a fort so I thought it would be kind of nice. But speaking frankly, it was not. What’s left of the fort, at least to my eyes, are the trenches circling the
The real reason I went here was to get to this bridge. It sits between two hills, one with De Kock, the other with the zoo. It dominates the view of downtown and I spent most other days searching for access before realizing the only way to traverse it was by paying for admission. I walked to the middle, looked around while appreciating the view, and promptly went back to the exist for the fort. I had no interest in the zoo based on how well they kept the caged birds at Fort De Kock Park. The park also seemed to be in a severe state of disrepair. They converted it sometime in the 2000’s to a public space with gazebos overlooking the city, but even half of these had the look of being blown apart by artillery fire. For the first time since I arrived in Indonesia I found myself disappointed at an attraction and regretted the 20000RP ($1.42) ticket price.
At some
