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Sikuai Island, West Sumatera, Indonesia



Some friends were a bit skeptical when I told about our plan to Sikuai Island. What worried them was logical since many earthquakes hit West Sumatera and tsunami warnings were announced for the past weeks. However, Fransiska and I were hard-headed and kept our plan going. At the last minutes, 2 others friends, Era and Fajar joined our trip to Sikuai Island which located in Padang, West Sumatera.

A 7 hour car ride from Pekanbaru to Padang was enjoyable. Some “dangdut” songs from the radio accompanied our journey. The most memorable song was AKU BUKAN PENGEMIS CINTA (I’m not a love beggar) by Joni Iskandar!! A lot of stories, jokes, laugh and snores entertained our trip and it was whole lot of fun!

At 2:30 in the morning we stopped in Lubuk Bangko and had our very early breakfast at Terang Bulan Restaurant (it screwed my diet :D) I tried the famous spicy PADANGNESE food and drank TEH TALUA (Egg tea). The taste was really yummy!

We arrived in Padang at 4:30 in the morning and crashed at our friend’s house for awhile and then at 9:30 we headed to Muaro bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari). It took only 15 minutes by speedboat from Padang to Sikuai Island.

Enjoyment of this trip continues as soon as we arrived on this island. We saw a white and soft sandy beach and gentle waves with crystal clear water decorating the whole island. When we entered the resort, we were welcomed by friendly resort staffs and fresh coconut drinks. We stayed at the only resort on the island named SIKUAI ISLAND RESORT. Two nice bungalows right on the beach with sea view already prepared for us.

Can’t resist of the beautiful nature surround us, we decided to explore the whole island by foot. Every minute we stopped to take pictures. This photo session was full of joy and laughter. Besides taking pictures, we also saw monkey, an eel that was trapped on the reef, a sea snake and different kind of tropical fishes.

After photo session we headed to snorkeling point and had a really good time there. Different kind of tropical fishes such as blue trigger fish, Picasso trigger fish, angel fish, dog puffer fish and trumpet fish are easily found. Surprisingly, I saw a beautiful spotted eagle ray! Amazing, isn’t it?
I don’t know how many gallons of water that Ffransiska and Era drank because the snorkel seemed so big for their mouths. However, they were still had fun to see starfish and sea urchins down there!

Tired and hungry, we went to the restaurant for our dinner. The food wasn’t that great, but the fact that we were starving made the food tasted delicious. Then, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful full moon and watched people fishing. We headed back to our bungalow, turned off the light and zonked like a baby. We were very fortunate to sleep accompanied by the sound of the waves for our lullabies.

The sound of alarm clock awakens us at 5:00 in the morning. We hiked up to the top of the island, a place named Plaza Sunset. Breathtaking scenery accompanied our hiking activities. When we reached this place, we were a bit disappointed to find out that this place is not good for taking sunrise pictures but we still had more pleasure to see Teluk Bayur Bay and small islands nearby like Snake Island and Cubadak Island.

We spent the rest of the day by playing in the water, taking more pictures, snorkeling and packing! More jokes, more laughs and more fun happened and filled our hearts with excitement and joy. We hoped that the fun wouldn’t end. However, we still have to leave this beautiful island. This time we took a big boat instead of speedboat. It was raining so hard when we were leaving, but when the rain stopped we took pictures and just chilled out at the deck of the boat. It was so neat!

It was already dark when we arrived in Padang, so we went to Simpang Kinol right away to taste the best PADANGESE SATAY. Besides we also ordered friend rice, gado-gado, sate jawa (we were starving..). Afterwards, we stopped by at Silungkang, a souvenir place for a bit then headed back home to Pekanbaru. Thought the fun ended, but the car had a mini TV for us to karaoke with choices of Oldies Indonesian Songs.

Heavy-eyed, worn-out when we arrived in Pekanbaru around 4:00 in the morning, however we were happy to make this trip!!


*More information about Sikuai Island can be read below....





Sikuai Island, is a small secluded island located in Padang, West Sumatera. An enjoyable 15 minute speedboat ride from Muara Bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari) would take you to this beautiful island. As soon as you arrive on this island, you will see a white and soft sandy beach and gentle waves with crystal clear water decorating the whole island.

Get in touch with the nature by exploring the whole island on foot or by beach bike. A nice connecting bridge as well as a cement pedestrian walk is provided for you to make the exploration more fun. A combination of views like white sand, light blue ocean water, green coconut trees, big rocks, colorful wild flowers, all different kinds of wild trees and curious monkeys will certainly entertain your eyes and fill your heart with amusement.

Snorkeling is a must activity to do here. Many different kinds of tropical fishes such as blue trigger fish, Picasso trigger fish, angel fish, dog puffer fish and trumpet fish are easily found. When you are lucky (like me) you would even see a spotted eagle ray!! Amazing, isn’t it?

Enjoy sunset and sunrise at Sunset Plaza which is located on the top of the island. Breathtaking scenery will accompany your hiking activity to reach Sunset Plaza. Take pleasure in the swimming pool while you enjoy the sunset and sunrise views. Beside that, from this point you would be able to see Teluk Bayur Bay and small, beautiful islands nearby like Snake Island and Cubadak Island.

Indulge yourself on this private island. Sleeping in a comfortable bungalow and listening to the soft, soothing sound of the surf for your lullaby will complete your stay on this beautiful island.

Information:
Sikuai Island Resort
Sea view : Rp. 1,500,000
Garden view : Rp. 1,300,000
Include 21% government tax, breakfast for 2 and transportation from Muaro Bay-Sikuai Island-Muaro Bay

Activities:
Snorkeling : Rp. 50,000 per 2 hours for rental equipment
Diving : Rp. 1,250,000 – include diving equipment, snack box, dive instructor and boat transfer to diving areas.
Beach Bike : Rp. 100,000 per hour
ATV : Rp. 500,000 per hour

Once you arrive in Padang, head to Muaro Bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari) where the boat to Sikuai Island is normally stand-by. You could also take a day trip to this island which will cost Rp. 250,000 per person.

Boat Schedule:
Muaro Bay - Sikuai Island : 10.00 AM and 2.00 PM
Sikuai Island - Muaro Bay : 11.00 AM and 4.00 PM

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow sis, what a fun-filled day of adventure you had. Nice place and very informative. :)

Btw, thanks for the comment about Guang Hua Digital Plaza in Taipei, Taiwan. Have a great day. :)

Anonymous said...

wah..bagus banget kapan ya ke sana....

met kenal

Poppus said...

Nyoong, mahal kali trip mu ituuu. Kau harus datang ke kampung nenekku di Solok, dan kita makan ikan biliah (bilis) di atas danau singkarak, terus ke bukit tinggi, terus ke ngarai sianok, terus ke gw jepang, terus kesana kesini kesana kesini

Isabones said...

Hey, I found you here! :D Great blog so far, keep it up and see you on the other side soon! :)

Anonymous said...

Wessss....indah betul pemandangannya... serasa ikut ada di sana. BTW, kok lagunya Joni Iskandar yak?... Nggak ada yang lebih enggg...lebih... *lirik kiri-kanan sebelum ada yang lempar sendal jepit* lebih bisa diterima oleh telinga saya (yeee, nggak nyambung yak). Kaburrr...

Anonymous said...

rint, what does RP mean?? i check the currency converter and Indonesian Rupiah means IDR.. i love your currency.. with only about 4,500 pesos i'm a millionaire already in indonesia.. weeee.. i really to see your country soon too and have a picture of me with my millions.. ahahaahahh.. may i ask how much is a one chicken meal cost in mcdonald or KFC?? fastfood is a good basis for cost of commodities in different countries. thanks again.

Anonymous said...

fotonya keren2 banget...
bisa kebayang dari foto2nya betapa kalian menikmati banget liburan di Sikuai...
semoga pulau sikuai tetep terjaga keindahannya yah...

mencobahidup said...

sepertinya pantainya gak banyak yang
ngunjungin yah, belum pada tahu mungkin. Tapi justru ini yang harus segera didatangi sebelum rusak pemandangannya

escape said...

there's a lot to see there. sumatra will definitely on my list to see places outside the philippines.

looks like you really had a great time there. some of the pose are really funny. you've got some good buddies.

you know what? that place is perfect for kayaking.

Rintjez said...

# asian traveler:
Yeah, it was one of the memorable weekend getaways with good friends :)

# faishal arif:
Salam kenal juga!! Makasih ya udah mampir :) Ayooo nabung biar bisa kesana :)

# brokoli sehat:
baiklahhhh nyooonngg...ayo kita ke solok dan menikmati indahnya danau singkarak, ngarai sianok dan gua jepang yang terkenal itu!! Kapan-kapan????

# isabetblog:
Haha, couldn't believe you found me here!!! Will visit your blog as well and see you on TB!!

# felicity:
Hahaha, itu lagu dangdut kesayangan!!! wakakaka... Jangan kabuuurrr!! gw kejerrr!! hihihi..
you can run but you can't hide!!

# carlota:
Rp and IDR are the same :) Haha, yeah, you are definitely could be a millionaire when you are in Indo! Once chicken meal in KFC cost you $2.50

# caroline sutrisno:
Sikuai ga terlalu touristy mbak. Jarang ada yang dateng :) Iya, mudah-mudahan terjaga terus keindahannya ya...

# mencobahidup:
makanya nabuuunngg...biar bisa jalan-jalan sebelum semuanya rusak..tapi gw berharap supaya orang Indonesia bisa selalu menjaga keindahan alamnya..amin!

# the dong:
Haha, they are my best buddies and we do crazy things a lot :)

You got it right! That's place would be awesome for kayaking! But I didn't try :( Maybe next time :)

Daniel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cipu Suaib said...

Hai Rintjez, cool. The funniest part is that u still recognize "I am not a love beggar". What surprised me was that u still even remembered the singer i.e. Johnny ISkandar,HAhahahaha.
Wish I could visit the island as well, it looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing the info...

Anonymous said...

fotonya bikin iriiiiiiiiiiiii

mau ke sana dong :)

Rintjez said...

# daniel:
thank you. glad you enjoyed it.

# cipu:
bukannya itu lagu DANGDUT yang WAJIB diinget sepanjang masa? Hihi, iya kok gw masih bisa inget penyanyinya ya?? wekekeke....

# elys welt:
Ntar kalo sempet maen2 ke indonesia, mampir-mampir mbak :) worth visiting kok :)

Ivana said...

gilaaa!!!keren amat pantainya!!!

Anonymous said...

waaaahhhhhh..........
bikin ngiriiiiiiii...............
mau dunx kesanaaaaaa :)

Anonymous said...

senengnya kalo isa jalan2 terus kaya kamu ya hehehe

kapan2 boleh tuh mampir kejogja juga :)


dunianyawira

Anonymous said...

hm.....as always, you make me wanna pack my bag and go 'outside'..LOL...I just know that you are as old as me...glad to know, hehe..take care

ipam nugroho said...

wow..beautiful beach, jadi pingin kesana

mencobahidup said...

hallo lagi di belantara mana sekarang?

Rika The Lost Wanderer said...

wew mahal jg ya disana..

explorepadang said...

Main lagi ke padang...
Aku tunggu da bawa kamu ke sebuah desa,di sana masih ada gibbon dan air terjun yg keren abis!!!
email aku nih:junaldi@yahoo.com
masih banyak pulau2 lain yg bagus dan kamu bisa datangi dgn harga yg lebih murah...
Sikuai buat gue kurang asik!!!

nasrudin ansori said...

aduhhhh pinginnya gw kesono.gila keren bgt tempatnya...!
salam kenal aja ya..:-)

Rintjez said...

# ivana:
Iya emang pantainya keren banget..pasir putih udah gitu lembut banget :)

# ria:
yuks yuks kesana say :)

# dunianyawira:
lha..aku wong yogjo, rumahnya di Seturan..hahaha!

# nate:
aduh say..we're old! hahaha!

# papapam traffic:
worth visiting lho tempatnya..hayo nabung kesana :)

# mencobahidup:
sedang di belantara sumatera :)

# rika safrina:
iya say, emang rada mahal tapi ga nyesel kok :)

# explorepadang:
mau mau mau mau..nanti kalo aku mo ke Sumbar aku kabarin kamu ya.. Tour guide gratisan kan?? hahah!

# nasrudin ansori:
salam kenal juga! iya..ternyata Indonesia menyimpan banyak tempat indah..tempat ini emang keren!!!

explorepadang said...

Iya mbak,bener nih?
Saya tunggu kalo mau ke padang ya...
Nih email saya:junaldi@yahoo.com
or my mobile:+62 812 66 543 629
Kontak aja,atau kalau ada yg butuh info jgn sungkan2,ok??

awi said...

woww asik banget, bisa rafting ama temen2, jadi pengen ikutan

explorepadang said...

tuh aku paste dari blog orang mbak,aku ngga mau bohong...'moga2 tips itu ada manfaatnya...
aku baru belajar bikin blog,mau bantu aku khan?
Jgn jd TL,aku sahabat buat semua orang yg mau ke Padang,jd kalo mau nanya info dan butuh panduan kontak aja aku,ok?
Have great trip Senorita!!!

Anonymous said...

mm...the right pic below the title seemed scary...

Anonymous said...

In my humble opinion, there is a potential in Sikuai but it needs a lot of efforts in terms of cleanliness. I found some trashes on the beach and the room is not well maintained. Too bad.