Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Banda Aceh
We decided to make a shopping trip into Banda Aceh. We were hoping to catch a minibus as we were walking through Lampuuk. However, we had to walk to Lhok Nga, and catch a bus. We boarded a diesel smelling bus (We think some diesel had spilled.). Along the way, a young mother was very protective of her son trying to keep him back off the road until the bus stopped and the road was clear of traffic. The boy was just anxious to get going. We also picked up a lady who was taking a bunch of packages of sponge cakes into the market. Once in Banda Aceh, we stopped at a cell phone store to size our sim card and to get more time put on it. We bought some Crocs for David, a pair of flip flops for Patt, a electric coffee pot and coffee for us. We hired two becaks (motorcycles with sidecars for carrying two people) to take us back to Dian Rama.
I broke the plug on the coffee pot cord, so we walked into Lhok Nga to see if we could find another end for the cord. The people are friendly and if they don't have it, they will point you onto the store that sells the item. Of course, sometimes these owners don't know what they have, so you have to look around. We bought two ends, and David fixed the cord while we had a cold drink.
We are heading to Pulah Wey, an island off the north coast of Sumatra, for snorkelling and a change of scenery with Patt and Craig.
Meeting Friends in Sumatra
Our friends, Patt and Craig let us know where they are staying on Sumatra. They are staying near a small village on the northern end of the island--Lampuuk--out at Dian Rama Bungalows. These are surfers digs as there is surfing waves fairly close when you walk down the beach. The beach is long with white sand. They have spent some time here on another trip.
When we pulled out some money from the banking machine, we were surprised to find that we had become instant muti-millionaires. No! we did not win the 6/49. Our chump change had turned into millions. $200.00 Cdn becomes Rp 1,800,0000. IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) 1,000 equals 10 cents Cdn. David had trouble getting his head around the values. IDR 10,000 equals $1.00.
We spent most of our days resting during the heat of the day, going swimming on a private beach in the morning, and walking the beach later in the day to get fresh coconut drinks from the beachside canteens, and to watch the beautiful sunsets.
This area is Muslim, and so if you are a woman and wish to swim on the main beach, you wear
T-shirts and longer pants into the water. The locals spend time just watching foreigners, so it becomes uncomfortable if you are dressed too scantily. In the afternoons, you would see lots of students--boys and girls--walking along the beach, swimming, or building sandcastles.
A short walk over a headland, and you come to a more private beach. We Canadians can wear our swimsuits. The water is a bit cool to get into, but soon you're used to it, and it feels so great. This beach has a leftover Japanese bunker. Apparently, there are quite a few along the beaches. We spent our time looking for shells on this beach--some to be made into bracelets, some into rings
During our stay at the beach, we got a full moon. The four of us decided to go for a moonlight swim. There were no other people. Getting to the other side of the breaking waves was a bit tricky. I got knocked over on my rear it was so strong. Once you got past the breaking waves, it was a very refreshing swim.
We made a trip into Banda Aceh to go shopping.
When we pulled out some money from the banking machine, we were surprised to find that we had become instant muti-millionaires. No! we did not win the 6/49. Our chump change had turned into millions. $200.00 Cdn becomes Rp 1,800,0000. IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) 1,000 equals 10 cents Cdn. David had trouble getting his head around the values. IDR 10,000 equals $1.00.
We spent most of our days resting during the heat of the day, going swimming on a private beach in the morning, and walking the beach later in the day to get fresh coconut drinks from the beachside canteens, and to watch the beautiful sunsets.
This area is Muslim, and so if you are a woman and wish to swim on the main beach, you wear
T-shirts and longer pants into the water. The locals spend time just watching foreigners, so it becomes uncomfortable if you are dressed too scantily. In the afternoons, you would see lots of students--boys and girls--walking along the beach, swimming, or building sandcastles.
A short walk over a headland, and you come to a more private beach. We Canadians can wear our swimsuits. The water is a bit cool to get into, but soon you're used to it, and it feels so great. This beach has a leftover Japanese bunker. Apparently, there are quite a few along the beaches. We spent our time looking for shells on this beach--some to be made into bracelets, some into rings
During our stay at the beach, we got a full moon. The four of us decided to go for a moonlight swim. There were no other people. Getting to the other side of the breaking waves was a bit tricky. I got knocked over on my rear it was so strong. Once you got past the breaking waves, it was a very refreshing swim.
We made a trip into Banda Aceh to go shopping.
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