After spending one month last year between Java, Bali, and Lombok and falling in love with Indonesia, we’re returning this time to spend six weeks on the island of Sumatra!
Montpellier – D-Day!
Montpellier – Paris at 11:30 AM by train / Paris – Hong Kong at 9:30 PM
Mission accomplished! We’re heading to the station with lighter bags compared to last year, even though we’re going for two weeks longer! Fewer clothes, fewer meds, fewer toiletries. Result: less weight to carry 👍
Plus, I managed to convert Rémi to “organic,” a second small victory. Solid organic toothpaste, clean shampoo, Marseille soap, biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes. We hope to leave as little trace behind as possible.
Day 1 – Kuala Lumpur – Stopover and departure for Banda Aceh
We arrive in Hong Kong at 3 PM local time, after 11 hours and 15 minutes of flight. I didn’t feel like I slept at all during the flight, but Rémi insists that I “snored” with my mouth open, so I guess I did sleep… 😅
In Hong Kong, we decide to take some photos of the city at the far end of the airport, only to realize that our flight isn’t at 4:30 PM but at 3:30 PM! We quickly turn around, run to the gate, and board directly for another 4 hours of flight.
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In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we search for the transit hotel to sleep in “boxes,” but with no luck. Eventually, we are taken to a hotel 10 km from the airport. The driver promises to pick us up at 5 AM the next morning because “Air Asia, very strict, no late.”
The first night in Malaysia feels both long and short. Completely jetlagged, we struggle to fall asleep, and waking up at 4 AM is tough.
At the airport, we end up waiting for an hour before we can board… No late, my foot!
J2 – Iboih – Final destination!
The flight to Banda Aceh (pronounced “Banda Atché”), the northernmost city on the island of Sumatra, goes by quickly.
We’re taken to the port by a very eager driver, clearly excited to have found two easy customers! From there, we board the ferry, “the slow boat,” half the price but half as fast (you have to choose!).
The trip is long, very long… We find a spot on the upper deck, surrounded by Indonesians who are staring at us, some more openly than others. We even suspect a few of taking pictures of us, casually! We return the favor and observe them without shame, as they eat, swing their babies in makeshift hammocks, eat, smoke like chimneys, eat, and throw everything on the floor… An hour and a half of crossing during which we watch endless amounts of trash float around the boat. I manage to pull off the feat of taking a nap.
We arrive on Pulau Weh island, and the drivers practically jump on us – we were expecting it. “Taxi!” “Bus!” “Tuk-tuk!” The first offers 100,000 rps, we decline and try to push through the crowd. The last one offers 520,000 rps! In the end, we escape by hopping into a minibus with some Germans, who take us to Bixio Café, our final destination, for 100,000 rps. Not a bad deal after all…
Our guesthouse is a little slice of paradise at the end of the world. It consists of four bungalows by the beach, under the coconut trees, and an Italian restaurant because the owner is Italian. Paradise must be earned, and we arrive exhausted after 3 days of travel.
After enjoying some real Italian gnocchi, we allow ourselves a 45-minute nap, which we desperately need if we want to make it until the evening.
After that, we take our first swim on our paradisiacal beach in super warm water and relax. The cold shower (you have to pay extra for hot water…) is refreshing and enjoyable, followed by dinner at 7 pm.
Eva, the Italian owner, is very kind. She sings at the top of her lungs all the time and offered us a snorkeling day. We’ll see… By 8:30 pm, we’re in bed!
NB: We spent the meal observing a 🦀 hunting flying ants… It caught them in the blink of an eye, then brought them back to its hole under the coconut tree before going back for more. Fascinating! ^^
![[Indonésie] Sumatra – Cap au Nord à Pulau Weh](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51158407006_c833dac727_k.jpg "[Indonésie] Sumatra – Cap au Nord à Pulau Weh")
J3 – Sunrise & sunset in northern Indonesia!
The next day, Rémi is up at 6 a.m. He takes the opportunity to go take photos of the sunrise.
Just before 9 a.m., we go for our first breakfast on the beach, facing the sea. We still avoid Indonesian dishes (we don’t have fond memories of last year’s meals), so we opt for eggs and omelets! The rest of the day is all about rest and relaxation on the beach, in the shade of the palm trees, although that didn’t stop me from getting a serious sunburn.
Finally, we get motivated at 4 p.m. We borrow a scooter from Eva and head to the nearby village of Iboih. We follow its hillside path overlooking the sea and pass by many guesthouses. We’re glad we found our secluded paradise beach far from the village! On the way to Zero Point, the northernmost point of all Indonesia, we stop at the D&D Restaurant to pick the two huge fish we’ll eat tonight. A big feast ahead 😋!
The sunset at Zero Point is one of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen in Indonesia! It sets directly over the sea, and the view from the top of the cliff with the colors is absolutely incredible!
Back at the restaurant, the fish are just excellent but huge! It’s hard to finish them. Next time (because there will definitely be a next time!), we’ll get one to share. We accompany them with sticky rice, vegetables, and a sauce that’s “very, very spicy, be careful.” We were definitely cautious. We have one last drink facing the sea and then head to bed. !
Day 4 – Tour of the Island by Scooter!
This time, it’s banana pancakes for breakfast. The server is proud to bring Rémi a metal straw, but the effect is ruined when he throws the plastic paper lying on the table on the ground… We chat with Eva to organize our next few days. The plane, or rather the small propeller plane, to Kutacane that we wanted to take on Monday has been canceled. The next one is next Friday, far too late for us. We’re forced to consider taking the bus instead.
Day’s plan: a tour of the island by scooter! First, we stop at Boiling Mud, an underwater volcano near the beach. The view is beautiful, but no activity on the horizon, just a shack that seems abandoned. We meet some Germans, and I take the chance to practice my German 😛. Then, we follow them to Waterfall. The site in the jungle is stunning, and we take the opportunity to cool off in the pool.
Next, we cross the island from north to south through the interior. We stop at Pulau Weh Paradise, where we are greeted by a host who’s overly (too) happy to see us arrive in his paradise, which seems quite empty. We enjoy a great curry while watching the kitten tumble around us. After buying a bottle of fuel on the side of the road, we head towards Warm Spring, but again, there’s nothing. Just some Indonesians surprised to see two white people show up.
So, we decide to visit the island’s “mini volcano.” After some hesitation, we venture on foot down the deserted trail, which ends after just a few meters. We then climb blindly up the slopes of the smoking volcano, which emits a disgusting rotten egg smell we know all too well! The landscape is bleak. On the way back, we stop at several viewpoints and take a selfie with some Indonesians.
Eva has organized a “Delphin tour” for us tomorrow, as well as our trip to Medan. We’ll be leaving on a night bus on Sunday evening. To our surprise, we learned that her brother is a guide in Ketambe, our next stop! Tonight, there’s live music on the beach.
J5 – Dolphins and snorkeling!
Today is snorkeling day! We get up at 6 a.m. for a 6:20 a.m. departure, a bit nervous for me because I’m not very comfortable with snorkeling. My last experience was last year in Indonesia, on the Gili Islands, and I didn’t dare get in the water. I stayed on the boat all day and ended up with seasickness!
We’re going with four Germans and one American, plus an Indonesian captain! The day is barely breaking when we set off towards the open sea on our small boat. Eva had told us, “You’ll see dolphins, 100% sure,” so we’re feeling pretty confident. We race full speed towards Zero Point, the sun about to rise on the horizon, and the colors are amazing. Suddenly, the boat makes a sharp turn and races full speed ahead. We stretch our necks and suddenly see them, right in front of us, among the waves 🐬.
The moment is magical. For a few seconds, they are just a few meters from us, leaping in the waves. There are about ten of them. Then they dive and disappear into the depths, and we lose sight of them. We search everywhere, and suddenly they reappear in the distance, and the boat speeds up to catch up with them. It’s a game of cat and mouse. They’re there, then gone, we search for them, catch up, and they disappear again.
Then suddenly, we see one leap above the waves, do a somersault, and disappear. “Oh!” “Ah!” Then another jumps far away, performs several majestic spins, and elegantly falls back into the water. It’s even more incredible and magical because there are no hoops, no rewards, it’s just nature. Rémi dives the GoPro into the water to film them, the video is going to be amazing! We follow them for almost an hour before, finally tired of the game, they disappear for good.
We return to dry land for a good breakfast. It’s barely 8 AM. The beach is beautiful, it’s our first spot of the day and I’m happy with that: snorkeling in “deep” water, not for me! I swim a bit, we spot plenty of exotic and colorful fish, and even a big octopus whose enormous, flabby head is sticking out of a rock. After that, I let Rémi swim further out and go back to wait for him on the beach.
We do three more spots in the morning, where I don’t set foot in the water. Rémi brings back amazing videos of an underwater volcano bubbling and various types of fish. However, I do get the chance to briefly spot a turtle that came up for air.
At noon, we’re dropped off in the village of Alphafin. We’re seated in a large “canteen” by the water and surrounded by Indonesians on vacation/weekend who watch us arrive, astonished: eight Westerners all at once, a sight never seen before! One of them, bolder than the others, approaches us. He lived in Germany, sits down at our table, and strikes a pose, oblivious to our weary expressions. Thumbs up, he smiles at his wife, who captures the moment on her phone. She tries to catch our attention, and I feel like a monument or a statue, maybe the Mona Lisa! They leave smiling before returning two minutes later: the photo is bad, it’s backlit and you can barely see our European faces. It needs to be retaken. Not deterred by our blasé and uninviting faces (Julia, one of the Germans, turns her back, sunglasses and cap on, the others look grumpy, Rémi and I are still fresh in Sumatra so we smile a little), he strikes the pose again, and his wife takes another photo (I’m sure they’ll take the same photo next to an orangutan).
As for the meal, we’re well-fed! Rice chips, rice, vegetables, and half a fish each. After a brief encounter with enormous monitor lizards and a stop at the dirtiest toilets of the trip (more on that later), we head off.
We visit two spots in the afternoon. The first one is impressive, at the foot of the cliff of a small deserted island. The current is strong, the waves crash against the rocks, and there’s a wall just a few meters away. This is where Rémi finally spots turtles! But no sharks in sight. He gets some amazing footage.
We return around 3 p.m., I’m exhausted (and a bit nauseous) from staying on the boat, while Rémi is tired from swimming all afternoon. For our last night on the island, we move to Apollo Bungalow, the neighboring guesthouse. We treat ourselves to one last Italian meal at Eva’s, and by 9 p.m., we’re in bed.
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We’re sad to leave our paradise beach tomorrow, and even more so when we think about the ordeal ahead to reach our next destination. Departure is scheduled for 12:30…
