Pulau Weh

I took a minivan back to Medan. There I got money, did about 30 minutes worth of email, and bought as many alcholol bottles that would fit into my backpack. I then climbed onto another nightbus and headed north to Banda Ache... the nothern tip of Sumatra. This area is recovering from many years of violent conflict between the Indonesian government and the very strick mulim governemnt of Banda Ache. The conflict ended when the tusnami hit the area (the same one that hit western Thailand) and destroyed just about everything.

The ride was about 12 hours and very pleasant compared to the mountainous, no-road climb through central Sumatra. I arrived about 6:30 in the mornign and took a becak (motorbike fitted with a sidecar) to the ferry. I waited through a downpour for the 9:30 departure to Pulau Weh; a small island off the north tip of Sumatra.

It was a Friday, and from what I had heard, accomodation can be limited and more a\expensive, as my NGOs, who live in the area and are helping to rebuild, like to weekend on this remote and quite island. I knew prices would be a bit higher, as the island is remote and NGOs typically have more money and are the majority of tourism in the area. the 45 minute minivan ride from the ferry to Iboh was 50,000 rp!!!! All the westerners on the boat (about 12) shared the same van. We all went to the same Ibioh Beach and scrambled for accomodation once we stopped. I had heard many recomendations that this, of the two main beaches, was the place to stay. There were 4-6 bungalow opperations to choose from, all with pretty rustic accomadation. They were spread out about along a 1-2 km footpath that went up and down along the woods, about 30 meters above the water. In the middle, there was the small beach; it contained a dive shop, the remains of the old dive shop, a restaurant, a snorkle-gear rental hut that also sold surongs and flip-flops, and the town well, which served as the water source and mani (bath) for most of the bungalows in the area.

I kept moving past the beach, up the next hill, and found a bungalow with attached mani at O'ong's. It was run by a brother and sister and overlooked a great piece of water. I was satisfied for the moment and tried to relax into my new, quite, basic surroundings. I snorkeled of the rocks in the afternoon, and set up a pick-up in the morning to dive with the dive shop on Gapang Beach- the beach I did not choose. I had a sunset cocktail (imported Vodka from Medan) in the hammock on the balcony. I really thought I could stay there forever.

The next day I got picked up by motorbike and headed for Gapang. I did 2 dives and got dropped off by boat back on the beach in Ibioh. The dives were pretty good, but more importantly I felt at home 26 meters under the water. It had been so long since my last dive I almost forgot how much I love it. In Ibioh, things were quite. There was no chicken (let alone and meat) to be found on the menu and the one restaurant in town, and a Bintang (the Indonesian beer) was 20,000 rp for a CAN!!! A 22 oz. bottle normally costs between 16-20,000 rp. Things were not looking so good. I spent sunset on the balcony again, and my bar bill ran me 100,000 rp for 5 little beers. That night I got eaten alive. I could not tell if it was mosquitoes or bed bugs, but when I woke up, I packed my bag. The boat picked me up for the first dive and dropped me off at the beach. During the surface interval I got my things and took a motorbike and moved to Gapang.

In Gapang, it was just as quite. Accomadation started at the main road. There were two places with about 25 bungalows along the little road (about 200 meters), then the road stopped and turned to sand at the beach. There were a few restaurants and the dive shop along this longer, more proper beach. In all, there were about 20 westerners all togther the week I was there. The move lightened my mood and I began to really enjoy living on Pulau Weh.

I would walk to the dive shop at about 9:45 for the first dive each morning. I'd get some lunch and shower at the dive shop. At the main road was a local place that server excellent curry and Padang food. I tried to go around 1, right after she had finished cooking. At 2, I'd walk back to the beach for the second dive. Things were quiet and peaceful, but there was no internet (that I was able to use) and sometimes could not get exactly what was on the menu. All in all, life was good.

I needed to buy plane tickets on the internet, so I took a day off diving and took a motorbike into Sebang, the main city. The only trouble was that the shops randomly closed in the afternoon sometime between 11 and 4. Each shop at a different time, for a differnt length of time. Internet, did not turn out to be as easy as I hoped. Consequently, I also drove along the secluded east coast and saw some amazing beaches in complete privacy. When I did get to the internet, it took me 2 hours to make A plane ticket reservation on AirAsia. I could not check email, or post to the blog. Although frustrated, I did complete my mission and saw Pulau Weh to a deeper and fuller extent.

The rest of the week was supposed to be for diving. But a bout of food poisoning left me in bed for a day and a half. Altogether I did 8 dives on Pulau Weh and loved my 7 days there. I was unable to dive the deep wreck, as it was undiveable at the time. I know that I will return to and dive there again.