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Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Clockwise: green hills, Great Mosque, Sampan at Ulele Harbor, Flipped over, sunset at Lhouk Nga, cute baby

Banda Aceh is located on the west tip of the island of Sumatera. It is well-known when the most devastating tsunami in history hit this place back in December 26, 2004. Since then, a lot of people from around the world, mostly foreigners who work for International Humanitarian Aid agencies, packed this place.

My previous job at an international NGO (Non-Government Organization) brought me to this place to help the local people rebuild their hometown and their lives, the same mission and vision like the other NGO workers. The first time I touched down on the land of Banda Aceh, I was really amazed by its nature. The view of green pasture and rice fields with farmers were entertained my eyes along the way to the town. I never imagined that this place could be so spectacular.

When I reached the town, Great Mosque is still standing strong even there was some damage shown on the building. The Tsunami was not able to tear it down. People in Banda Aceh believe that God is protecting His holy place.

My journey continued to Ulele Harbor. Sight of people fishing, children swimming and young people just chilling out could easily found here. Colored sampan - traditional boats are also decorated the harbor.

Not too far from the harbor, beautiful beaches are also accessible. The most prominent beaches are Lhouk Nga and Lampu’u beach. Golden sand and coconut trees ornament these awesome sites. These beaches are always full with young kids playing soccer on the beach, swimming and learning how to surf. These juvenile surfers try really hard to overcome the waves. They flipped over so many times but never give up. The sunset view is spectacular from these beaches.

I purposely stopped by at the prominent Kedai Kopi Ulee Kareng (traditional coffee shop). Rumor has said that the coffee is mixed with marijuana. I don’t care if this is true or not. The only thing I know is that was the BEST COFFEE I’ve ever tasted in my life. Though everything was a bit blurred after I drank one. Haha!

I stopped by at Rumah Makan Aceh Rayeuk to try the famous local delicacy, Ayam Tangkap (literally means Catching Chicken). It’s basically a fried chicken but they cook it with green chili and curry leaves. Great taste!

Banda Aceh in general is a secluded place for you who love to travel to serene locations. You will feel the strong Malay and Islamic culture in this place but the people there still respect people with other religions as well.

Weh Island (Sabang)

For your information,
AirAsia flies from Kuala Lumpur to Banda Aceh directly. For those of you who loves snorkeling and scuba diving, a 2 hour boat ride from Banda Aceh will take you to Weh Island (Sabang) which famous for its breathtaking underwater world and serene beach. Lumba-Lumba Diving Center which located in Gapang Beach and owns by a friendly Dutch can cater your diving desires there. The rate stated there is in Euro, but you can still pay in Rupiah or American Dollar.

When you visit Weh Island (Sabang), do not miss KILOMETER ZERO (Kilometer nol) of Indonesia. Isn’t that cool that Indonesia actually has KILOMETER ZERO? I was so proud that I’ve been there :)


Clockwise : Me going scuba diving, gapang beach in the morning, playing around, view on the way to kilometer zero, kilometer zero, sunset at Pantai Kasih

19 comments:

Poppus said...

Monyooong, lu bikin gw ngiler aja kalo baca cerita lu dan ngeliat foto-foto lu. Eh btw, gw punya temen di aceh, temen nge-blog juga siih, lu berencana kesana kapan lagi?

Rintjez said...

Popi:
Makanya jalan-jalan ama gw yuukk.. ditanggung asik! Hahaha......

Waduh, gw ga tau deh kapan ke Banda Aceh lagi....

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm kinda intrigued with that coffee in Kedai Kopi Ulee Kareng. Could you please send me one? haha just kidding.

Enno said...

udah lama pengen ke pulau weh... kamu bikin aku ngiri!!! hiks

Rintjez said...

Asian Traveler:
Haha, I will bring one for you when I go to Manila :)

Enno:
Hiikksss... jangan ngiri.. hayo kesana bareng!! Sama si Popi!! Hihi...

原味.风铃 said...

i very like ur picture!
take more picture let me see ya~
fighting~

Anonymous said...

Blognya bagus euy...

Mengundangmu jalan-jalan ke blog saya: "Indonesian Womenfolk Blogger"

http://islamexpose.blogspot.com

Rintjez said...

原味.风铃:
I'm glad you enjoyed my pictures :) I surely will let you know when I put some more pictures :)

Anonymous:
Aku visit sekarang blog-nya... :)

Anonymous said...

beautiful pictures.. weee

Daniel said...

The kid at the beach, the boats, the sunset - beautiful pics Miss Flip-Flop :D

And Sabang... when I go there you join me, okay?

Ivana said...

hohoho...ternyata, sekalian dengan wista kuliner...

Rintjez said...

Carlota:
Thanks my dear :)

Daniel:
Thanks :) But I know you would take better pictures when you were there!
I will surely go with you to Sabang! I'll be a good tour guide :D

Ivana:
Hihi, iya aji mumpung say :) Enak banget euy kopi dan ayam tangkapnya.. wajib dicoba :D

Jason, 汪德新 said...

oho, so beautiful pictures there are~ you should be really very happy at that time :)



===by:
The reason of every thing

Rintjez said...

Aaron:
Thanks for dropping by :) Yeah, I was really happy around beautiful nature in Indonesia :)

ucan said...

ACEH my dream Island... mau banget beribadah di masjid yang gede disana.. kapan yah ???

Rintjez said...

Ireng:
Aku doakan semoga mimpi kamu untuk beribada di Banda Aceh terwujud. Amin.

gfgf said...

pemandangannya indah juga diaceh uey.

Rintjez said...

manusia biasa:
iya euy..indah banget :)
ga nyangka kan???

Rika The Lost Wanderer said...

Rinceeeee... gw lg di banda aceh skrg, I'm going to visit those places you said above ;)