Padang, Indonesia Jan 2009

Kak Mus (my colleague) invited me and the other 'anak2 dara' at the office to go to Padang, Indonesia with her in January 2009 (Less than a year before a huge earthquake befall Padang). In the end, there were only 6 people agreed to joint Kak Mus to Padang for 3 days and 2 nights. We decided against using any traveling agencies to save budget. We only paid for the flight ticket in advanced. I was quite nervous since this is the first time in my life I will be boarding a flight. My feelings was like a rojak, happy, nervous, scared, sad but excited. I sat beside Kak Ram and she was so kind to me and let me sat by the window.

We arrived at the Minangkabau International Airport around 3 pm. There were several taxi drivers calling for customers awaiting in front of the exit door. After a little bit of bargaining we agreed to ride a taxi driven by Pak Ujang to Bukit Tinggi, a journey that took about 2 hours. Pak Ujang was friendly and happily be our unofficial tourist guide. Along the journey he told us stories about Padang and show us the the must-see attractions along the road.

Minangkabau International Airport

We ate Sate Padang for a late lunch

 Along the way, we saw many paddy fields and vegetables crops

We asked Pak Ujang to stop at Pandai Sikek, a place where many artisan producing and selling their products. Padang was famous for its embroidery and carpentry.

One of the shop at Pandai Sikek

Most of Padang's citizen are Muslim, so we can see many mosques there

We arrived at Bukit Tinggi at dusk and Pak Ujang help us find a budget hotel. The cost was so cheap about RM30/person for 3D2N! The accommodations was so-so (you cannot expect to be serve like at the 5 star hotel if you only pay peanuts for it). We went out to find dinner and ended up touring the places nearby.

KFC...But we didn't eat here

Gadang Clock Tower

Kereta kuda

Tomorrow morning, we were ready to begin our shopping expedition. We walked from our hotel to the famous market, Pasar Atas. Since we arrive too early (cannot wait anymore), we had to wait almost an hour until the market opened. We had our lunch at a nearby restaurant before went back to the hotel. In the afternoon, we asked the hotel worker to arrange a taxi to take us sightseeing. On the way back we stopped at Pandai Sikek (again!) to spend more money. Before we went out to dinner that night, our hotel's worker told us that there will be a traditional performances held at the nearby hall, so we changed our plan and went there to see those performances.

Shopping...

The view was fantastic

Farming is the main industry there

Cinnamon stick

After taking the skin, the inside was used as a firewood

Pagar Ruyung Palace

A coconut tree with curved trunk

Tabek Patah, famous for its coffee

Traditional perfomances

Since we already made an arrangement with Pak Ujang, he came to our hotel, early in the morning and took us sightseeing before our flight in the afternoon. We stopped at Information Center and Lembah Anai waterfall. Then, he took us around the Padang City before we stopped to have our lunch. After that, we made one last stop to buy various chips and snacks.

Parade of children that participated in a 'khatam Al-Quran' event

Documentation & Information Center

My friend, Yana, with a traditional wedding costumes

Lembah Anai

Padang Beach

Padang City

Impressive, he lifted 11 dishes all at once

Tip for those who never eat Nasi Padang, you don't have to order dishes, only drinks. The restaurant's worker will take out all of the dishes served at the restaurant. Like the above picture. You only touch dishes that you want and set aside that you don't want. Once you touch a dishes, you have to pay for it. Depending on the restaurant, the dishes vary from ordinary like fried chicken to exotic like goose brain or cow tongue.