Related Aceh Special Region Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: As we go out from Arrival lounge, see an information board in front of the Airport which inform you some destination to a certain spot in Aceh, it was very informative and we can predict how far a place from Banda Aceh city Center

Fondest memory: It was written on the board: Banda Aceh Masjid Baiturrahman 15 KM, Kherkoff 15 KM, ACEH MUSEUM (Museum Negeri Aceh) 15 KM............ So where your destination and how far is it? please go to the an information board

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Favorite thing: When you are around town and manage to have local friends, don’t miss invitation to attend the wedding. The wedding is a good way to know more about the local culture. The wedding ceremony depends on which part of Aceh the bride and groom come from. The ceremony of West Aceh ceremony will be different from East Aceh or Great Aceh.
Yes, there is a similarity on food. Usually they serve Acehnese traditional snacks and food. But there are many differences on code and conduct for ceremony.

What is the dress code??
Something chic and polite. Bring your pashmina to cover the head. In recent weddings I attended, there is separate space for men and women. A bit akward at the beginning, but later you will find it useful when it comes to the que line to take the food.

Favorite thing: Yes, you can’t escape tsunami topic in this area. There are always people mentions about the day. If you are happen in the beach area, there are always fingers drawing in the air to describe height of the waves on the Boxing Day.
You can still see damage and wreck caused by tsunami, there is also VCD sellers contained footage shot in that day. And news in the newspaper at least reported about tsunami related issue.
December 24 is a day to remember. It’s also the day to remember the biggest humanitarian effort ever. There are many sad stories to tell and soon or later you can’t help to feel, thing that I call “tsunami blues”.

Favorite thing: There are some major hotels well known in Aceh. Hotel Medan, Hotel Sultan and Hotel Cakra Donya are some of them. The location of these hotels are in the centre of the city, where shops are walking distance.
But, with many visitors who come to Aceh, accommodation becomes a major issue.
For temporary visitors, there are some guest houses spread out in Aceh.
Many are houses-change-into-guest-house. Sometimes their charge is ridiculous. Some guest houses are not advertised on the newspaper, and it?s difficult to find. Pavilliun Seulawah and Green Paradise are pretty decent.
You can also find few advertisements in local newspaper.
For longer term stay worker, to find sharing house is a good option. Be careful with mixed gender in one house, since it?s still sensitive issue for local people.
The best way to find accommodation is through mailing list in Aceh, also from recommendation of friends. Try to make a contact first before you decide to come.

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Favorite thing: Around Banda Aceh, such as Lhonga, Ulee Lhee, Banda Aceh city and several other affected areas, you will be surprised to see mosques and other holy building such as church and vihara are safe. Yes, damages are everywhere, but those damages are minor ones and the buildings are standing. The mosque in Ulee Lhee, which situated just exactly near the sea is the most spoken mosque. Having seen those area are leveled and it’s rarely to see the building intact.

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Favorite thing: Tsunami topic is still a hot topic to discuss for Acehnese. Although I found some people prefer to skip the topic since it is too hurt for them to realize they lost those loved ones. But many other still recall how destructive was the water, the situation post tsunami, mountain of corpses, strange moment, spooky stories, etc. After tsunami, everybody has a story to tell, it’s hardly a good news. And many stories make your tears fall. In several areas, there are rarely one complete family left. There is always family member taken by tsunami.

Until now, the damage still can be seen. The story continues, the trauma still floating in the air. One year after tsunami, in many places, people are still sticking pictures of their loved ones and still believe that they will be found alive…

Favorite thing: Lampu’uk Beach is also a great alternative if you were planning to stay a couple of nights in Banda Aceh.

It's very easy to do trips to town from here. It takes only 30 minutes by minibus from/to the city centre! While the city is hot, crowded and the accommodation expensive, here it’s cool and cheap, while the beaches, the views and the surroundings, are completely unspoilt.

I didn't know about this until I got stuck for an unknown number of days in Banda when the long distance buses didn't leave due to security problems (previous buses had been stopped and set on fire).

As I didn’t want to stay in town I went to this Lampu’uk village and met another traveller who told me about it. A great recommendation. I ended up staying a week…it was fantastic!

After that week, the overnight buses took off again, and I finally reached Medan, although the bus had to turn around one time as we almost ran into a shooting, causing 2 hours delay…

Favorite thing: Not far from Banda Aceh, on the Indian Ocean East Coast, is the village of Lampu'uk, which has kilometres of wide, beautiful and mostly deserted beaches nearby, surrounded by wild limestone rock formations and lush hills covered with exotic vegetation.

On this part of the East Coast, swimming carelessly can be dangerous and there’s no diving or snorkelling. The Ocean is suitable for only one thing: surfing! At Joel’s bungalows, board are for rent if you’re keen.

Listen to the meditative sound of the huge waves rolling on the beach, go trekking along the coastline in the hills and find some caves or completely deserted tiny idyllic bays. Play chess, read books, and, if you like, smoke grass and socialize. And don't miss the sunset!