“Maiden” flight
I woke at 0430 in order to make my 0750 flight to Padang comfortably. While checking-in, I checked out my fellow passengers. It was largely a a maid-and-worker flight. There were a few couples helping their maids with the process eg. making sure they weren’t pinged with baggage charges unnecessarily. It felt good to see people taking the time to be kind to their helpers at this time in the morning. We too often hear of workers being abused by psychopathic housewives.
There was only one white face on this “maiden” flight (flight full of maids, I guess). He looked like a surfie off to the Mentawai islands off Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. Supposedly the best surfing in the world but you gotta be good or you scrape yourself badly on the reef, I’ve been told.
As for my destination, Padang. The city is the heart of a cuisine that spans an archipelago across four countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and of course Indonesia) and more. The famous nasi padang and of course the most famous component of it (rendang) originates from here! What is nasi padang? Well, various spicy dishes stacked in a window which you can choose from and eat with rice. It is served at room temperature and not reheated 🙁
High Hill
The flight to Padang took under an hour but the scheduled time was 1h10, arriving at 0800 (due to one hour time difference).
At Padang airport I couldn’t swallow the price of a taxi to Bukittinggi (literally High Hill), as I couldn’t find people to share with. So for a fraction of the price I took the bus to Padang city and then a shared minibus to Bukittinggi, adding about an hour to the journey including some waiting.
Bukittinggi is a pleasant 2 hour drive from Padang, going through a varied countryside. I loved the gushing cascades on the side of the road best. As we climbed to Bukittinggi’s altitude of 930m, we arrived at a kinder temperature. Upon arrival, being Ramadhan, I couldn’t find anywhere to eat (not even KFC) until I found the forlorn Canyon Cafe. This is a devoutly Muslim area and the public and businesses do observe the fasting requirements. The waitress at the Canyon Cafe pulled the metal doors closed and turned on the lights for me as I sat down for my mi goreng.
There isn’t much to do inside Bukittinggi itself. It is more of a pleasant base for excursions but I did fit in:
- A walk up to Fort de Kock which is a former fort which now houses a park, zoo and a Minangkabau cultural museum (but strangely has a collection of mutant animals with two heads, two faces, six legs etc).
- A wander around town, somewhat to the amusement of the few Chinese shopkeepers around. They stare at me seemingly thinking “There’s a new Chinese in town” but are never curious enough to talk to me. On the other hand the Minangkabau people seem to be more forthcoming in starting a conversation.
Bombing attempt
It was only a few months ago I recall the international media reporting that local police foiled a bombing attempt targeted at a Western cafe. I asked the Canyon Cafe (very near my guesthouse) where the targeted cafe was … his finger pointed to the Bedudal on the main road … I should pose the same question to the Bedudal and see if I get the opposite answer! Bear in mind that Bukittinggi hardly has any backpackers and Westerners so the terrorists involved must have been really desperate.
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- Jam Gadang (big clock in Minang language) is the icon for Bukittinggi.
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- View from my hotel / guesthouse room. Yes, I have my personal alarm clock at 4am every morning but I sleep through it.
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- Main road in Bukittinggi.
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- Fort de Kock is a fort that no longer exists. It used to sit on the top of a hill in Bukittinggi but is now a park.
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- Minangkabau style roof … also seen in women’s headress.
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- Main road in Bukittinggi.
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- Rumah Adat Baanjuang (cultural museum). Minangkabau style roof.
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- Intricate Minangkabau design on the side of a traditional house.
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- Dinner of Martabak.
