Pulau Weh is a small island off the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is known for excellent diving and snorkelling, but I cannot attest to that. To me, the unspoilt beauty of the island itself was more than enough to keep me entertained.
Pantai Sumur Tiga
Aceh province
Indonesia wasn’t on my spring 2013 itinerary, but as I tend to change my plans a lot when I travel, one day I just decided to head to Sumatra, and booked a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Banda Aceh.
Banda Aceh is the capital of the Aceh province, the area where the spread of Islam started in Indonesia. Currently around 98% of the population in Aceh is Muslim, and it’s the only province in Indonesia that is allowed to enforce Sharia law. Aceh has a long history of independence movements, culminating in a war with the state, terminated only after the tsunami hit the province with great force in 2004, followed by a powerful earthquake a few months later.
Little miracles
Any guidebook you’ll pick up will tell you about how sensitive a topic the tsunami is for the locals, and how traumatized they still are by the tragedy. I only spent a few hours in Banda Aceh, so I didn’t get to interact with the locals and get much of a feel for the place, but I was reminded of Aceh on my last day in Sumatra, which I spent in the city of Medan, waiting for my flight to Singapore, and then back to Spain.
Medan has a reputation of a rather unpleasant transit city with very little to offer to the traveller, and I would not argue with that image. I had booked a small and cheap hotel relatively far from the airport, where apparently no foreigners ever go (the taxi driver who was taking me there couldn’t stop shaking his head in disapproval of my choice, not to mention he didn’t even know where the place was, stopping every two blocks to ask other drivers about the street name). After I finally got to the hotel, where I had to communicate with the staff through Google translator because the guys didn’t speak any English, I decided to venture out in search of dinner. It wasn’t an easy mission, and I felt like an alien for most of the way, being the only foreigner in sight. When I tried to approach a street vendor to ask what types of dishes they make (the food is cooked on the spot here rather than ready -made), the women turned their heads away (I was hoping it wasn’t so much hostility as simply lack of English skills). Feeling increasingly tired and discouraged, I passed by another cart, trying to figure out what type of vegetarian dishes they might be able to make, but there was no one there to ask. But suddenly a lady, sat with a group of men and women at one of the plastic tables nearby, got up and approached me, asking something in Indonesian. I didn’t understand a thing, but her smile and demeanour were so encouraging, that we somehow managed to communicate and in the end they cooked noodles with some veggies for me. As if this little act of kindness wasn’t enough to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, the lady left her group again and sat with me when the cook brought me the food. We had a conversation (with me speaking in English, her in Indonesian, and both of us using plenty of body language, intuition and what must have been the language of the heart) during which she told me she was originally from Aceh, but she just couldn’t stay there after the tsunami (seeing her face when she said that made my heart sink a little). She was asking me about who I’m traveling with (if you’re a female traveling solo in Indonesia, and to a great extent in Asia in general, prepare for constant questions about why you’re on your own and where your husband is), and when she finally understood that I was traveling alone, to my astonishment she smiled broadly and gave me the thumbs up, after which we both laughed. Her reaction was certainly not what I expected from a lady in her 50s, covered up from head to toe, and coming from a strictly Muslim part of Indonesia. As much as I disliked Medan, that one encounter was worth my time there.
Weh Island
But coming back to Pulau Weh, I got to the island on a ferry leaving from the jetty in Banda Aceh and arriving in Sabang, the main town on Weh. In Sabang I teamed up wth a Swiss couple and we took a cab to Simur Tiga, known for the longest sandy beach on the predominantly rocky island.
I hadn’t booked accommodation upfront, and there were a few issues with availability, but in the end the staff at Casa Nemo gave me one of their own rooms for the first nights. My enthusiasm weaned a little when water was cut in the bathroom I was supposed to be using, but other than that the place was great, and the owner’s dogs (which are a rarity in Muslim countries) were beyond adorable.
I then moved to a sea-front room at Freddies, which had a little balcony and a hammock. Need I say more?
Freddies, Weh Island
hammock and me
Both places had their own restaurants and the food was quite good (definitely better than in the other places in Sumatra that I went to afterwards, but nowhere near as good as in Malaysia if I’m honest). Both places have a chilled, close-to-nature vibe, so I wouldn’t come here looking to party. You’ll find no beach parasols here, nor people exposing their oil-smeared bodies to the sun all day. In fact, the beach belonging to the resorts is separated by a fence with an “end of bikini zone” sign.
Pulau Weh
The island, or at least the piece of it that I got to see, is different from any other island I’ve seen so far. There’s something wild and untamed about it. Most times it feels incredibly peaceful
Pulau Weh
Pulau Weh
but sometimes, especially when it gets cloudy (Weh gets its fair share of rain all year round), it has a slightly menacing air to it.
before the rain
cloudy Pulau Weh
before the rain
The resorts are built on a hill, but so close to the sea that at night I felt like the water was about to storm into my room.
On the whole, I found Pulau Weh to be incredibly beautiful, but more in a raw than a postcard, picture-perfect kind of way. Maybe it’s partly due to the regions’ history, religious identity and my own mindset while I was there, but my stay on Weh was quite a humbling experience.
rainbow on Weh island
