As I left Singapore I was confronted with another journey into Indonesia. I had disliked the general atmosphere in Java so much (the tourist stuff was great, I will admit) I wasn’t looking too forward to the trip there. I assumed it would be much of the same here in Western Sumatra, but I turned out to be wrong.
This is far from what the city looked like as a whole, but it happened to be the view outside of my hostel. Here along the southern river in Padang people constructed houses on the hillside you see. Elsewhere it was set up in appearance very similar to cities in Java, but I found it remarkably cleaner, less noisy, and with a little more of a lived-in feeling; a bit more of a community. It surprised me and I immediately felt better about my decision to come and spend time here.
But I didn’t have long. Originally I had planned to go to the Mentawai Islands, the main reason any foreigner stops in Padang, but they’re often cited as a surfers paradise. I’m not a surfer so I decided to change things a bit. The first thing I did in Padang was check out their local cultural museum. See, here in Western Sumatra they have a distinct culture and in the past that was actually a matrilineal culture. The Minangkabau are basically the indigenous inhabitants of Western Sumatra and from one end to the other of that province you’ll hear their language being spoken. They have unique architecture as shown by their museum’s roof above, as well as unique art, customs, and artifacts.
The museum overall was pretty nice. It’s old and not many non-locals pass through Padang long enough to enjoy it so I’ll forgive the slightly unkempt state and lack of English for every aspect of the exhibits. Still, at a price of 2000RP ($
Here you have local Rendang Beef (on the left) in the local Nasi Padang style (on the right). It is a staple of Padang Cuisine, and therefore Indonesian Cuisine as well.
Never heard of Padang Cuisine? Neither had I until I came here. But trust me, it’s good. They make the most amazing coconut curry, and they use all sorts of spices you wouldn’t think go together. It starts with them loading your table with one of everything they have made – as they make all of their food in the morning – and you eating only what you want, leaving the rest to be set back out for future customers. Rendang (a combination of ginger, galangal,
The next day I set out on a motorbike to go down the coast and see what was there. Good views is what I got. Here you can see the other side of the hills from the preview image, as well as the bay that goes with it. The spot was quite nice, though the water a bit too murky for much swimming. You can see the boats in the water, as the capital of Western Sumatra, Padang has a quite a bit of shipping coming through. I stopped for a coffee as I continued on down the coast. I wanted to see how far I could get before the sun set so I wouldn’t return in the dark. If you know anything about how they drive in Indonesia, you wouldn’t want to drive after dark either if you could help it. I made it far enough to enjoy this nice little photo.
This was in a tiny village. Honestly I was looking for a place called Pirate Bar, but that has since moved five minutes south. Had I know that I would have gone to check, but there were no signs set up that told me about it so I just sat and enjoyed the view here. That was, up until a boy came walking along the beach with something on his back.
At the top of the photo, the boy. At the bottom, a Sea Turtle. It’s like half his size. I picked up the turtle later on trying to bring it to the ocean, and my god, if this kid wants a future as a body builder he sure as hell has one. But anyway, the reason he was carrying the turtle was to bring it to what was once Pirate Bar. There they have loads of signs set up regarding turtle conservation, and they allegedly do rehabilitation efforts at other parts of the year. The boy apparently hadn’t gotten the memo, was afraid of the barnacles on the turtle’s back, and brought it over for a check up. He was very confused to find the place abandoned. With my help, and the help of a local woman, we brought the turtle to the sea and let it swim back out to life. So in a way you could say I rescued a Sea Turtle.
I finished my day driving back the way I came. Padang didn’t have much to show in the way of tourist attractions, but it was certainly worth the two nights I stayed there. If I get the chance, I would be happy to take another relaxing few days there by the ocean. And if you find your way into the area, think about giving it the same consideration too.