Travel Mania

I needed a short holiday and I opted for the cheapest flight I could get at that moment. It was Padang which is located in the province of Sumatra Indonesia. I personally like rural areas of South East Asia. There is more nature, creativity, personalities, emotions, culture and tradition relative to the urban cities. Padang definitely satisfies such tastes but will disappoint anyone who is looking for a urbanized and commecialized tourist attraction.

Other than the cultural and historical museum Museum Adityawarman there is nothing much of a tourist attraction. Padang cuisine is so unique and fascinating that it has successfully spread to much parts of south east asia. Hence I wasnt so disappointed to realize that amongst the few things to do in Padang is to savour its rich cuisine in its authentic state.

There were also other interesting food such as barbaque seafood, murtabak malabar, satay etc.

Much of the places to see lies outside Padang and its worthwhile to spend just about a day or a day and half in Padang unless you are a food maniac.

There is an island called sikuai which is located 45 mins from Padang that offers all beach activities. its worth spending a day and night there. Cubadak island is more secluded and has more diving spots. I didnt have the time to get to these two places and i went to bungus beach within Padang and the beach was aweful as the sand was muddy. i paid a fisherman 50,000 rupiah to paddle me and my mate to the nearest islet that was about 200 metres from the shore in his scarry little boat. the fisherman have safer motor boats and do ask them if you intend to get to such islets.

Tiger Air offers pretty cheap tickets around SGD$100-$150 from singapore changi airport. sometimes it can get as low as SGD$70-$80. The journey is only 55mins to an hour. Padang has a good airport and from the airport a taxi ride costs around 110,000 rupiah to the city centre where there are few really good hotels to stay

Recommended Stays:

1) Pangeran Beach Hotel - the hotel is nice and price is around 600,000 rupiah. no shops within walking distance. the beach behind the hotel is depressing though

2) Ambacang hotel - the hotel is located heart of city and is amazing. the price is only 400,000 rupiah. it has a nice swimming pool too.

To See:

Wikipedia offers good advice

Eat:

1)for an authentic nasi padang, you can go to "Pagi Sore". It is famous for its fried chicken (real kampong chicken) and ask them to give you "nasi ramas" (the gravy and stuff).

2)a good place to find rendang is "Selamat" in Pasar Raya

3)for Murtabak go to "Kubang" or "Malabar" (Near the mosque and Balai Kota) there you can try Martabak Mesir.

4)dont forget Satay Padang, try "Sate Itjap" in front of Telkom Building in Padang Baru or for the spicier try "Sate Laweh".

5) for dessert, try Es Durian "Ganti nan Lamo" found in Pondok Area or Cendol "Patimura".