Hello Misses 🙂

Province Aceh

16.02.19

From the jungle we go to Pulau Weh for a few days of relaxation. Pulau Weh is the (almost) northernmost island of Indonesia and is located in the Andaman Sea.

We traveled by a fairly comfortable night bus ... This time without nightly entertainment ... From Bukit Lawang to Banda Aceh*. With the Becak (motorcycle taxi) to the port and then on to the island by speedboat.

Not much is happening here. The island is visited by locals on weekends. The number of foreign tourists is manageable. Everything very relaxed. From the hammock we look at the sea, go snorkeling and just do nothing. Oh yes, and of course we go out to eat every now and then 😉 ... one of the best kitchens on our journey 👍.

An "attraction" on the island is Kilometer 0. A monument marks the beginning of the Indonesian road network here.

After a good week of island life, we take 2 more days for the capital of Aceh Province, Banda Aceh. Compared to other cities in Indonesia, it not only makes a very clean but also a relaxed impression.

We visit the Tsunami Museum, which shows photos, videos and stories from survivors, the extent of the destruction and the reconstruction of the city. You enter the museum through a long, downhill and only slightly illuminated tunnel, in which water flows down the walls. Here, noises simulate what it's like to be under a wave ... It was a very depressing and eerie feeling.

The mosque "Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman" and the large square in the center of the city were a refuge for hundreds of people during the catastrophe. Miraculously, it was not damaged while everything around it was destroyed.

We leave Banda Aceh with the feeling that the worldwide aid for the reconstruction of the region has really arrived. The people here are very friendly. "Hello Misses"! ... always a smile on their faces ...

WE WILL COME BACK WITH PLEASURE 😀😀😀

*The west coast and the provincial capital Banda Aceh were the most affected by the tsunami on Christmas 2004. From Becak driver (motorcycle taxi) Little John, we learned that the waves were up to 20 meters high and reached up to 7 km into the city.