Padang

Padang is the capital of West Sumatra province, with a population of over 900,000 people in West Sumatra in the Indian Ocean coast. Padang is widely used by travelers as a point of access to Bungus Bay, surfing sites in the Mentawai Islands, inland hills of Bukittinggi, and Kerinci Seblat National Park. The city is very pleasant with good promanade throughout the architecture, distinctive Padang beach and the people very friendly. The city is also the home of delicious Padang food and the city is full of restaurants and street stalls.

Padang, West Sumatra Map

At first a merchant port for gold, spices and wood. With a lot of trade with China, many Chinese immigrated into the field so that the city has a China Town is amazing with many restaurants and shops of spices.

Off the coast of Padang is a beautiful island that can be visited for snorkeling, fishing or just relax on white sandy beaches. A ferry can be caught to the island of Pulau Cubadak Cubadak or or to the Mentawai Islands including the island of Siberut. Surfing Holidays start and finish of Padang with a number of different companies that operate tours.

Monday, October 25, 2010 A 7.7 earthquake occurred at 9:42 local time, off the west coast of Sumatra Tsunami warning raised. Mentawai Islands earthquake epicenter was 280km south region 240km west of Padang and Bengkulu. 3m high wave struck the island of Pagai, surfing hotspot of the Mentawai islands. Some surfers were forced down from their ships and swept 200m inland to the island and then had to climb a tree on the island to escape the waves. Up to 10 villages have been swept away with more than 300 people are confirmed dead and hundreds more missing.

Remoteness of the island is proving difficult to get a rescue team to the islands to look for the missing. 9 in Australia despite being lost in the surf boat The Southern Cross has been contacted and safe. There the boat farther out to sea and did not realize the tsunami. Padang earthquake hit twice in 2007, on March 6, 2007 by an earthquake measuring 6.3 and on 12 September 2007 by an earthquake measuring 8.4. Although the earthquake and business life that occurred in Padang. On 30 September, and October 1, 2009, two major earthquakes struck Padang within 16 hours of each other, the first of the quake was magnitude 7.6 and 6.8 seconds. It is believed to have died in the 1100 earthquake is well under collapsed buildings or landslides in villages surrounding the Padang. Construction has already begun to rebuild the city of Padang.

How to get there ?

Minangkabau International Airport (Minangkabau International Airport – BIM) (PDG), which is located 23 km north-west of Padang, is the main gateway to West Sumatra, Padang Airport is one of four international airports in Sumatra, with direct flights from Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and other airports in Sumatra, including Medan and Banda Aceh. You can also fly there from Batam.

Water Mandala Mandala able to Padang on the Water from Balikpapan, Batam, Denpasar, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Kupang, Medan, Padang, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, Semarang, Surabaya and Tarakan. www.mandalaair.com. Lion Air has direct flights to Jakarta with connecting flights to over 30 destinations in Indonesia and Penang and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Singapore. www.lionair.co.id, Batavia Air has direct flights from Padang to Batam, Jakarta and Medan.

www.batavia-air.co.id, Sriwijaya Air has direct flights from Padang to Jakarta. www.sriwijayaair-online.com, Air Asia fly directly to Padang from Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. www.airasia.com.Tiger Airways is a low-cost airline with cheap direct flights from Padang to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. www.tigerairways.com. Firefly is Malaysia’s new budget airline flying between Malaysia and Sumatra. Firefly has a direct flight from Padang to the Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.fireflyz.com.my.

A departure tax of Rp 100,000 levied on outbound international flights and Rp 35,000 on domestic flights.

Taxis from the airport to downtown Padang Padang standardized at Rp 85,000 which is about 30 minutes taxi ride.

Buses Bus from Padang to Lake Maninjau take 2 hours or 2.5 hours. Bus from Padang to Bukittinggi take 3 hours.

Ferry Padang also has one of the 4 ports in Sumatra, is the main gateway to the Mentawai islands, including noisy, and Pegei Sipors Seletan. The ferry can also be captured from Padang to Jakarta and to Sibolga.

Get around

Angkots ran along two main roads. Prices for travel around Rp 3.000. You can get a taxi from the Minangkabau International Airport to the city of less than Rp 50,000 if you speak the language. There are several alternatives that you can choose to transport in Padang, such as city buses (city bus for transportation), TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT inland city (for transport in cities), taxis and rental cars. Most public transport is very safe and clean compared to international standards. During peak hours, you can see the crowded buses. Be careful with your valuables because sometimes there are pickpockets and thieves take advantage while riding on public transportation, although this is rare.

What Will You See

Adityawarman Museum, Jl. Diponegoro (Monument Square), +62,752 31 523, 39 587, TuS 8:00 to 4:00

Safe Culture (Culture Park).

Bung Hatta Nature Reserve is 18km east of Padang at an elevation of 400-1300m about sea level. Around 2400 hectares it’s topography has high cliffs and valleys with temperatures of 13-26 degrees Celsius. With diverse flora and fauna including a few Sumatran Tigers, Black gibbons, wild goats, tapirs, bears, hornbill birds and Raflesia Gaduansi, Balangphora, Amorphopalus (corpse flower). From the heights of the reserve there are some excellent views to Padang and the Indian Ocean.

Fishing, Along the coast and the various islands close to Padang are some excellent reef and open water fishing spots. Recent times has also seen an increase in the sport of free-diving spear fishing. Fish vary from Trevally, Mangrove Jack, Spanish Mackerel and huge dogfish tuna. It’s fairly easy to arrange a boat to charter within the port at Padang or you can contact this Sumatra based charted company – www.nomadsurfers.com.

Air Manis Beach, Sweet Water Beach is located 10kms south of Padang. It is has brown-white sand. When the tide is low, Pulau Pisang Ketek (Small Banana Island) which is 200m of the shore of the beach can be reached by foot. There are many rock formations which the legend Malin Kundan Stone formations are found which resemble ship wrecks. The legend of Malin Kundan states that he was cursed for the denial of his own mother. It is most famous for its stone Kundang Malin (Malin Kundang Stone), a rock shaped like a bow.

According to local legend, this stone is Malin Kundang, ungrateful child who does not recognize a bad mother after returning from his journey as a rich man. His mother cursed him to stone, as well as the remains of his ship, which can also be seen near the stone. There is a tidal island from the beach here, with a nice clean (by Indonesian standards) of water and sand. Air Manis Beach is a perfect place to learn to surf. Air Manis Beach is within a secluded bay surrounded by forested hills. It only takes 30 minutes to get to from Padang . Here the waves break over soft sand rather than coral like in other locations so safer to learn. The wave height is around 0.5m to 1.5 meters. The water is clean though not always clear due to the fine sand that gets churned up by the waves. The surfing season at Air Manis Beach is from February to October when you can surf all day.

Air Manis Beach, Padang, West Sumatra

Pasir Jambak Beach (Pantai) is situated 20kms north of Padang on the way to Bukittinggi. At 14kms turn left to get to the beach. With white sandy beaches and calm water it is ideal for swimming and relaxing in the water. Home stays are available close to the beach.

Coast of Padang (Padang Beach). You can ride Bendi (a carriage) along the coast, and stopped at a row of shops to eat salad for a while you see the waves.

Bungus Bay is located 25kms south of Padang and can be reached by mini bus in 45 minutes. Bungus Beach is on a beautiful calm bay with white sandy beaches. From here visitors can hire a boat to the nearby islands.The islands close by have some excellent coral reefs for snorkeling or diving. There are boat excursions out to these islands which cost around Rp 250,000 including lunch. There are a few small hotels in Bungus Bay with bungalows on the beach and Adirondack gliders where you can relax while enjoying the sun. The best place to stay is Carlo’s which have cabins on the beach for around Rp 200,000 per nigh.

Bungus Bay, Padang, West Sumatra

You go to the southern Gulf of Bayur, over and over steep hills (do not try to ride the bus, there is a (public transportation) which goes all the way).

Padang Old Town, or Padang Lama, is the old part of Padang lined with colonial Dutch buildings that are still intact along Batang Arau River. The harbour along the river was once a very important port until the 19th century. Across the river is Padang Hill, the first settlement before Padang developed into a town. Just east is Pasar Batipuh and Pasa Gadung which was formally the market place. The buildings now are used for warehouses for spices. A little west is China town with the main street being Pondok, also with old buildings including an old Buddhist temple with Chinese architecture, over 200 years old.

Padang Hill and Siti Nurbaya Park, Across from the Arau River is the Siti Nurbaya Park which can reached by bridge or boat. There are still remains of Japanese canons and bunkers from World War II. There are great views back over Padang city, Arau River and the Indian ocean. the bridge is beautiful especially at night. Sitti Nurbaya the eponymous character in a novel of literary classics.

The Three Level Waterfall, or Air Terjun Tiga Tingkat is located at Koto Lubuk Hitam village, Cindakia bungus, Teluk Kabung Prefecture, 25kms south of Padang. At an altitude of 600m above sea level.

The Best Accommodation in Padang, Just Click the Hotel Name’s For More Ditel & Booking :

1. Premier Basko Hotel, $67. Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka No. 2A, Padang Timur, Padang, Indonesia 25132
2. Hotel Pangeran Beach, $55. Jalan Ir H Juanda 79, Padang Utara, Padang, Indonesia
3. Hotel Hangtuah,$22. Jl. Pemuda No. 1, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
4. Savali Hotel, $48. Jalan Hayam Wuruk No 31-33, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
5. Rocky Plaza Hotel, $47. Jl. Permindo 40, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
6. Mariani International Hotel, $26. Jalan Bundo Kanduang No 35, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
7. Bunda Hotel, $36. Jalan Bundo Kanduang No 19, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
8. The Alana Hotel, Jalan. Bundo Kandung No.14-16, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
9. The Sriwijaya Hotel, $26. Jl. Veteran 26, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
10. HW Hotel Padang, $48. Jl Hayam Wuruk No 16, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
11. edOTEL Bundo Kandung, $29. Jl. Bundo Kandung No. 18, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
12. Havilla Maranatha, $28. Jl. Bundar Pulau Karam No. 10 D, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
13. Grand Sari Hotel, $35. Jalan MH Thamrin No 48, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
14. Hotel Pangeran City, $55. Jl. Dobi No.3-5 Padang, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
15. Wisma Mutiara Hotel, $17. Jl. Pulau Karam No. 149, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia 25199
16. Ion Hotel, Jalan S.Parman No.250, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
17. Mervit Hotel, $37. Jalan Purus 2 No 6, Padang Timur, Padang, Indonesia
18. D’ Dhave, $26. Jalan Purus IV No 12A, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
19. Rumah Nenek Hotel & Restaurant, $63. l. Batang Agam No. 5, Padang Utara, Padang, Indonesia
20. Plan B Hotel, $43. Jalan Hayam Wuruk No 28, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
21. The Aliga Hotel, $42. Jalan MH Thamrin No 71, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
22. Hotel Padang, $48. Jl. Bagindo Azizchan No. 28, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
23. The Axana Hotel. $45. Jalan. Bundo Kandung No.14-16, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
24. Hotel Flaminggo. $30. Jl.Sutan Syahrir No.144, Silaing Bawah, Padang Timur, Padang, Indonesia
25. Grace hostel padang. $21. Jalan batang arau 88 B/5, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
26. Surya Palace Hotel. $30. Jl. Belanti Raya No. 22, Padang Utara, Padang, Indonesia
27. Guest House Monata. $23. Jl. S Parman No. 126 A, Padang Utara, Padang, Indonesia
28. New Castle Hotel. $35. Jalan Pancasila No 2, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia
29. Daima Hotel Prasanthi. $47. Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 17, Padang Barat, Padang, Indonesia