Padang: A gateway to the wonders of W. Sumatra

By Dorothy Aksamit

PADANG, West Sumatra (JP): I had been to Padang before but my memories were fuzzy. After an exhausting two night third-class voyage from Jakarta, I had spent another sleepless night in the hotel that hosted Padang's first disco, so by the time I boarded a morning bus to Bukittingi, I was comatose.

Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, the largest island in the Indonesian archipelago and the fourth largest island in the world, has traditionally been a transit stop on the way to the ethereal cloud-brushed hills and emerald valleys of the Minangkabau.

Here, in fairy tale houses with multiple horn-shaped roofs, vividly illustrating the legend of both their origin and their matrilineal society, women weave cloths of gold with impossibly intricate patterns and on ceremonial occasions become goddesses in shimmering golden headdresses.

It's no wonder that travelers rush through Padang. On this second trip -- after a 45 minute Silk Air flight from Singapore -- I again expected to stay one night.

However, at the Bumi Minang Hotel I felt at home right away as everyone from the bellhop to the waitress greeted me in English. The lobby had a holiday air as some guests watched a young woman weaving golden songket cloth beside the gift shop. Beyond the patio, bronzed surfers were having a last swim before their trip to Siberut in search of the big wave. How things had changed since my last trip a few years ago. I contemplated a two-night stay.

On the way to my room I stopped by the desk of Rimbun Tours to ask about bus schedules. Iwan gave me a brochure listing several intriguing tours. Since I wanted to take pictures I decided to give up busses, take a two-day tour and return to visit Padang's off-shore islands.

The intensively cultivated highlands were more lush than I remembered. Rolling hills were covered with manicured tea plantations; clove and red-tipped cinnamon trees and spreading coffee bushes were shaded by tall trees. Valleys were a terraced patchwork of rice in every stage of growth with graceful volcanoes as a backdrop.

I stayed at the Nuansa Maninjau Resort, which is high on a bluff overlooking Lake Maninjau. The hotel's quiet elegant rooms and cottages surround a central meeting and restaurant complex. The restaurants and heated pool overlook the lake. At dinner that night, earnest young men dressed in black entertained visitors with a martial arts demonstration. Pencak silat martial art was a dying art until it was revived for tourists. A party in a private dining room was seated Minang style around a floor mat filled with myriad dishes, including a huge golden carp traditionally eaten only by the king.

In Bukittinggi we made a quick round of the sights, the fort, the zoo, the mini-grand canyon and the Japanese tunnel. But what Iwan wanted me to see was the Novotel Hotel, which is built like a Moorish castle. I had to admit I felt like I'd fallen off a Persian carpet as we entered a three-story lobby with a bubbling fountain. We had lunch on an expansive terraced garden leading to a pool and gazed at the town through keyhole windows.

Back in Padang, Iwan surprised me by stopping at a large two- story white building with a discrete plaque reading "Padangsche Spaarbank". Inside we found Norma Dulfer from Germany. Norma has been restoring the bank building for four years and has now opened a charming colonial hotel with six rooms and six suites. Meals are served on the veranda as colorful fishing boats glide down the Batang Arau River.

Sipping campari on a veranda that harked back to Raffles's era with its tile floors, antique furniture, potted palms, stained glass windows and kerosene lamps, it was easy to get caught up in Norma's enthusiasm. After a second campari I could almost see the first sailing ships as they brought the red lacquer, brass urns, delicately carved roof ornaments, incense and joss sticks for the Chinese temple, the finest building in the Old Town. I could see the sails unfurl as the ships left loaded with gold and pepper. Norma swears there are other former Dutch merchants' houses as fine as the Batang Arau Hotel, and her dream is that other investors will restore the area to its former splendor.

Donning rose-colored glasses, I followed Norma as she stepped over piles of nutmeg drying in the street. Her historical tidbits seemed to touch the sagging storefronts with a magic wand: she found her billiard table in that house, and in the next one was a room with safes, pens and inkwells untouched for a century.

The eight-sided building was a Japanese checkpoint, and Norma pointed out the details in the building, both Indian and Arabic. She showed me the antique shops and the jewelry shop where I could order an eagle pendant, cast in gold just like hers. Although Norma hasn't yet convinced any other hopeless romantics or history buffs to join her restoration efforts, she is encouraged by the newly formed Sumatra Heritage Trust, whose goal is to preserve the natural, cultural and architectural heritage of Sumatra.

I had planned to leave the next day but on Norma's veranda I met Rob, the Australian captain of the Sans Souci yacht. Rob invited me to join his passengers on a visit to two getaway islands, each of which had only one resort.

Cruising from Teluk Bayur, the principal port of Padang, we seemed to be on an enormous lake in a ring of islands. First stop was Sikuai Paradise Resort for refreshing coconut drinks and a swim in a large pool built right beside the sea. I could have happily settled into one of their thatched roof rooms, four to a bungalow, with all the comforts of home: AC, hot water, telephone, video and mini-bar.

Next stop was Cubadak, a rustic resort with Italian flair. Here, a sumptuous seafood brunch miraculously materialized while we swam and snorkeled in a sea that was more than bathtub-warm. At Cubadak, swaying palms separate wooden bungalows with thatched roofs just steps from the sea...and windsurfing and a certified dive course.

Half of our group preferred Sikuai Island with all its modcons and half preferred the rustic simplicity of Cubadak, but we were all mesmerized by the Indian Ocean sunset. Ribbons of soft salmon brushed across a dusky blue world of islands, sea and sky, while fishing boats with neon light arcs floated across our bow like jumbo fireflies.

I stayed on one more day exploring Padang by bendi, horse- drawn carts that waited while I took a quick look at the museum, the well-stocked malls and intriguing markets. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are sold by the kilo instead of the ounce and men sit polishing good-luck stones for brass rings. I sampled what must rank as the world's best Chili Crab at Simpang Enam restaurant.

The sign of a great trip is that even before you leave you long to return. I needed two more days to sample more spicy Padang food and to explore Carolina Beach where there it's rumored that Aim Zein will drop you off at a Robinson Crusoe Island which has thatched huts and where you can swim with turtles. And if I had another week, I could have sailed across the Indian Ocean and paid a visit to the medicine men of Siberut.

Padang, yesterday's transit stop, is definitely today's gateway to the wonders of West Sumatra.

-- For more information contact the West Sumatra Tourism Forum at wsumatra@indosat.net.id