padang

padang is very very boring, but i didn't know this when i booked three nights there. if you're planning on going to sumatra and your flight lands in padang, make sure you're on a bus to bukittinggi asap! i stayed at a very nice homestay though, called maranatha homestay. i only had one roommate in my dorm, a guy called scotty, around 40 something and owns an island near padang. he was there on business and i actually sat next to him on the plane from singapore during take-of, since the stewardess had asked me to sit next to the emergency exit just in case (apparently two people have to sit there). i wandered around town on day one, not knowing what the hell to do (i didn't bring a lonely planet with me) and just taking pictures.


old guy sleeping at the market, street, playing domino

peeling shrimp (udang), street food, very loud and flashy public transportation busses, you just jump on and pay afterwords, the drivers always know exactly who got on where and how much they need to pay while driving, texting, smoking and counting their money all at once...

the next day was beach day (carolina beach) and i felt a little bit weird about wearing a bikini, since padang is very islamic and girls swim with clothes on. i tried to stay as far away from the locals as possible but still managed to get noticed by a group of youngsters who sat down next to me, going through my stuff, being fascinated by my sunglasses and talking in indonesian while i just responded with glares of confusion and laughing. then a girl (about 12 yrs old) who spoke a little bit english and tried to talk to me in dutch by using my indonesian phrasebook, was convincing me that i should believe in allah and become muslim. right...

minankabau style entrance on the way to the beach, locals swimming

kids

on day three i took a ferry to sikuai island, a very expensive island resort, but if you do a daytrip, it's not that expensive. on the ferry i met this guy called mr. gama (his name is actually just gama, but he teaches english and is called mr. gama by his students). he sat down next to me, because he wanted to practise his english and he invited me to hang out with him and his friends on the beach the rest of the day. had a really, really nice time. they gave me some very spicy lunch and we swam, chilled, talked, snorkelled, danced, sang songs and went on a banana boat. the island was really gorgeous, white beach, clear blue water and palmtrees, like an island should be. gama is an awesome guy, he is very intelligent and open and wants to study creative writing in rotterdam. he teaches english by just talking to his students about whatever they want to talk about and i was talking to him about being gay in indonesia, because i'm always interested in gay culture around the world. he told me that it's hard to be openly gay if you're in the cities but there are some places where you can just be gay without having to worry. i can't imagine not being able to express myself whenever i feel like it. it made me realize how lucky i am for growing up in a place like holland. i mean not everybody there accepts gay people, but i still feel free to be who i am without worrying.

smoke from ferry, sikuai island seen from ferry, other island

pics at sikuai


lunch: rice, rendang (brown stuff), chilli (red stuff), fried tofu and soy beans and those tiny dried salty fishies (other stuff) ate it with my hands, best way to eat ever and pic on the right is the people i hung out with, the guy with the pink shirt is gama.