As you might remember, I decided to travel all the way from Ketambe to Pulau Weh. Due to a delay though, I arrived at Ulee Lheue Ferry Port too late. The last ferry had already left and I had to spend the night in Banda Aceh. After pondering my sleeping options I decided to sleep at Ulee Lheue. I met Dian, a very nice taxi driver who helped me out making up my mind. In exchange, I invited him to dinner and it was then when he told me how he lost everything but his youngest brother due to the 2004 tsunami. Thanks to him I learnt some priceless lessons which I’ll never forget. The night at the ferry terminal wasn’t the best of my life but… I survived. I woke up and walked to the entrance to buy the fast boat ticket to spend 3 days in Pulau Weh.
About Pulau Weh
This volcanic island is found in the Andaman Sea, which I first saw when I went to Thailand, back in 2015. The island is found on the northwest of Sumatra, right across Banda Aceh. There are basically just two ways to get there: by fast boat or by public ferry. For further info on schedules from Banda Aceh to Pulau Weh and back, please, check this website. The fast boat takes 45 minutes and costs 80 K, while the public ferry takes 2 hours and costs 27 K.
The island has a size between Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan. The vegetation is kind of similar but the Nusa Islands are more developed and have more tourism. The roads in Pulau Weh are good enough, much better than in Nusa Penida. The island is divided in three main areas:
– Sabang: the largest city on the island and the connection point with Banda Aceh.
– Gapang Beach: a backpacker area with different diving resorts and a few accommodation options.
– Iboih Beach: the busiest area on the island, the best option if you want to have fun.
When it comes to moving around the island, you have basically just private vehicle choices. There is no public transportation, or at least, there wasn’t when I was there. You could either take a taxi, a motorcycle or a tuk-tuk. Of course, like all around the country, you could rent your own motorcycle. Prices range from 180 to 200 K for taxis and for motorcycles and tuk-tuks from 100 to 150 K. I’m not sure about the rental prices because I didn’t rent any scooter myself.
From Ulee Lheue Ferry Port to Sabang
As I was saying, I bought my fast boat ticket for 80 K and I waited until it was time for us to set sail. The fast boat takes 45 minutes and the public ferry (27 K) takes 2 hours. In my case, I was lucky it was Thursday, meaning, the first option was the fast boat. For further info on the schedule from Banda Aceh to Pulau Weh and back, check this website.
I was sitting down, waiting for the fast boat to leave, when I saw a white person. She was the first Western person I saw in the last five days (except for some few people I met during my 2D1N trek in the jungle of Ketambe). Crazy, isn’t? We started embarking, little by little. There were families bringing a lot of stuff with them. There were some ladies who asked me to take a picture with them. It reminded me to the first time someone asked me for a picture, back in Yogyakarta 🙂
I didn’t see many tourists, other than myself and the Western girl. It turned out that the Western girl had a name. Her name was Luna and she was Polish. We sat next to each other and we spent pretty much the whole trip talking. She had been in Medan for 5 years. She was into the art business and she was helping the local women through some communities. When I told her the way I felt after seeing plenty of areas full of rubbish, she said she was very aware.
She told me, through the communities, she was trying to raise awareness on that. But also on how valuable women are on their own. Throughout my time in Indonesia, I felt Sumatra was the place where women had less rights. The way I see it that has a lot to do with religion. And I don’t think it is by chance if, where I felt that, was in the area with a higher level of Islam. Luna was using the communities to make women aware about all that. My respect to that 🙂
We also talked about the Vipassana meditation retreat, which she had done in India. In this retreat, you are to spend 10 days on your own, without talking to anyone or using any kind of distraction like books, mobile phones, etc. It is indeed quite a challenge. When you think about it, when was the last time you spent some days on your own? Well, imagine spending 10… Regardless, after talking to her I felt I’d like to give it a try 🙂
Day 1 in Pulau Weh
From Sabang to Gapang Beach
After 45 minutes on the fast boat we arrived in Sabang, the largest city of Pulau Weh. I helped Luna disembarking, since she was bringing many stuff. Some of those stuff were used for yoga and meditation classes. I guess she was starting to be in that business too. The whole are around the port seems to be under construction. There was a lot of activity, mostly from people coming to and leaving the port. I was about to say goodbye and look for a way to get to Iboih Beach when she offered me to jump in her taxi. I asked her how much it was and she told me she was inviting me, as a way to thank me for having helped her out disembarking.
We got in the taxi and started driving. Throughout the time on the boat, the weather looked kind of cloudy. Those clouds arrived to Pulau Weh and it started pouring. I had never seen anything like that before. It was raining cats and dogs and I was really happy to be in a taxi. There is no public transport on the island and the other transport options are motorcycles or tuk-tuks.
The island was bigger than Nusa Lembongan and the condition of the roads seemed much better than the ones in Nusa Penida, the worst roads I have seen in my life. That being said, the drive from Sabang to Gapang Beach was kind of scary. I had never seen so much rain in such a short period of time. Some of the roads started to flood and some slopes by the road started to collapse. I thought it was the end.
I don’t really know how but we finally made it to Gapang Beach in one piece. In the beginning I thought we were going to Iboih Beach, since it is the busiest area on the island. So, I was a little surprised when we got off the taxi and I asked where we were. It turned out that Luna came to visit some friends at Bubble-Addict, a diving resort on Gapang Beach.
Staying on Gapang Beach
I had dome some research before my 3 days in Pulau Weh and found out that Bubble-Addict had the cheapest diving prices. Since I was already there, I decided to ask for further info. I spoke with Sam, a French guy who worked as a chef in France during winter and spring and as a dive instructor in Southeast Asia during summer and autumn. Amazing, isn’t?
After our conversation I agreed upon going diving with them. I would do 6 dives, 2 each day and I would pay for 5. That was the offer they were having. All I had left was finding a room for a couple of nights. When it comes to accommodation, there aren’t many options on the island. Specially if you are staying on Gapang or Iboih Beach, way smaller than Sabang. The prices are also kind of high, taking into account the low offer in accommodation.
Gapang Beach is not very large so, after 10 minutes, I had already checked all the accommodation options. Unlike in other places in Indonesia, here, the most common option was the single room, rather than shared rooms. That also might explain the high prices, specially compared to Bali. In the end, I stayed at a place whose restaurant was called “Western”. I couldn’t find that place on the Internet. So, if you want to check it out, you will have to wait to be here 🙂
I paid 200 K for 2 nights in a single room with a large bed and a private toilet. The toilet wasn’t the best in the world, but it was enough. The whole room wasn’t the best in the world either, but it was what it was. During my accommodation hunting time, I was able to familiarize with the beach. There were several diving schools, most of them owned by Europeans. In some of them they spoke Spanish, in some others French. English was spoken in all of them.
There were different bars and restaurants, offering local and Western food. I saw some people taking yoga and meditation lessons. I saw plenty of kids running around. And I saw the water, the vegetation and, unfortunately, the mud. As I said before it rained cats and dogs. To be honest, I was surprised to see all the buildings standing on the beach. Thus, I guess it is no surprise to see most of the area within the beach kind of flooded. All in all, the locals seemed very used to monsoons and heavy rain, unlike me 😉
First two dives in Pulau Weh
I had lunch at “Western”, the restaurant I mentioned before. It also gives name to the accommodation where I was staying. The food was good and the price as well (35 K). That being said, when compared to Java and some places in Bali, that could seem kind of expensive (I used to pay half of that price). After lunch I walked to Bubble-Addict and got ready for my first dive.
I did my first dive with Casey, a girl from Canada who was travelling around the world as a dive instructor. I’ve thought about it sometimes. I think that working as a dive instructor is a very good way to travel the world. You won’t make yourself rich, but it will get you going, you will visit many places and you will see plenty of beautiful stuff. Who knows? 🙂
After the briefing about the diving area, we walked to the shore and jumped on a small boat. It wasn’t raining at the moment but it seemed like it could start at anytime. It looked like this:
The first dive wasn’t the greatest of my life. I had some issues with the regulator, tanks and fins. The visibility wasn’t great either, due to the previous rain. Nonetheless we saw an octopus (which unfortunately I couldn’t record) and some nice school of fishes. Casey was very good at what she was doing and, even if I had some issues, the dive was alright.
We came back to the diving resort to do our Surface Interval and, after a while, we came back to the boat. That time though I didn’t go diving with Casey, but with a local guy and a couple from Denmark. The dive was better in terms of issues. Both dives combined looked like this:
Even if they were not the best dives of my life I was still thankful to be there. Due to the weather I couldn’t really appreciate the beauty of the island but I was overall happy with the first of my 3 days in Pulau Weh. After the dive we came back to the resort and, after thanking all the guys there, I walked to my hostel.
I took a shower, had dinner and went straight to bed. It was my first time sleeping on a bed in the last 4 days. Before Pulau Weh I had been sleeping in the jungle of Ketambe, in the bus on the way to Pulau Weh and at the Ulee Lheue Ferry Port in Banda Aceh. Thus, I tried to make the most out of it, because, who knew when I would be sleeping on a bed again 😉
Day 2 in Pulau Weh
I woke up next morning and the weather was much better. After having breakfast and enjoying the views, I walked to Bubble-Addict. I still remember as if it was yesterday, the feeling of happiness and peace… Waking up, having breakfast, walking for some minutes surrounded by beautiful nature and getting ready to check the underwater world. What a time to be alive 🙂
I spoke to the owner of Bubble-Addict as I was waiting for my dive instructor. It turned out he was French and he knew Yogui! In fact, he didn’t just know Yogui, but he had been Yogui’s teacher. Crazy, isn’t? For those of you who don’t know Yogui, he was my dive instructor during my time in Tulamben, when I got my Advanced Open Water certification.
You remember I told you I was going to spend 3 days in Pulau Weh and I was going to do two dives per day? Well, the plan changed. After speaking with Sam (my dive instructor for the day), we agreed upon doing 3 dives during my second day in Pulau Weh. During the first two dives there would be another guy joining and, for the third one, I would be going alone with Sam.
The guy’s name was Erik and he was on holidays with his wife and his kid. As we got on the boat we started talking about what we had been up to. He told me he also went to Australia and Asia when he was younger, just as I was doing. He even went to India! From the way his face looked, he must have had the time of his life. This is one of the reasons I love travelling, meeting people alike. People who enjoy and appreciate the trip and all the lessons you get from it 🙂
Some reflections on my diving
Erik had already done 60 dives, so he knew what he was doing. His buoyancy and air consumption were very good. When you go diving in a group, the group needs to go back to the surface when someone reaches 70 bars. Like that, you are to make it to the surface with 50 bars left. In my case, I was getting ready for my 18th dive and I felt I had plenty of room for improvement. Specially when it came to air consumption, since I was always the one getting out of air the soonest.
Sam told me I should try to make the exhalation lasts longer than the inhalation. Yogui told me I should try to make both last the same. I guess it’s like with everything in life. Some people will tell you to do something in a way and others will tell you to do it in a different way. The way I see it, you need to listen to people advice but then come up with whatever works best for you. If I think too much about the air consumption I’ll end up consuming more air. If my moves are abrupt rather than seamless and soft, I’ll consume too much air. When I inhale too much, I’ll ascend too much. The same goes if I exhale too much, but then, I’ll descend too quickly. The solution? A breathing and a movement trade-off combined with not thinking too much.
Third dive in Pulau Weh
During my third dive I had some issues again. I had some problems with the weights and the regulator and I ended up consuming too much air. The dive was a drift one, meaning, there was some current. The goal was to use the current to make it from point A to point B without moving much. In my case it was my first drift dive and, instead of taking advantage of the drift, I ended up fighting it. I spent most of my energies and my air trying to keep myself parallel to the current.
The landscape was full of pinacles and rocks. We saw plenty of school fishes. Some of them were very tiny and red, really beautiful! There were also some blue and black fishes and we also saw some coral now and then. It looked like this:
Fourth dive in Pulau Weh
After the Surface Interval we went back in the water. It was going to be my fourth dive in Pulau Weh. Unlike the previous ones, I had no issues with the equipment. The scenery was different as well. Instead of the rocky bottom we had previously seen, this time we run into a sandy one. My air consumption was much better and we spent 50 minutes under water! I was really happy with that achievement 🙂
In terms of marine life, the fourth dive was probably the best one. We saw some kind of weird worms who were hiding under the sand as we were approaching. If someone knows their names, please let us all know ;). We saw beautiful school of fishes, a cheetah-looking moray eel and even a beautiful sting ray! It looked like this:
It was really spectacular. I had previously seen some moray eels, but none as peculiar at the one we saw during my fourth dive. It looked like this as it was posing for the picture:
After the fourth dive we came back to Gapang Beach and I went to Western to have lunch and get some rest. Once again, the food was really good, specially the tempe! So, if you are around, go check it out! There is also a convenience store on the left hand side of the restaurant, where you can buy anything from toiletry to biscuits to water. I also found a place (whose name unfortunately don’t remember) where you could get your laundry done. It was at the hall of a hostel and I paid 38 K for a couple of kilos.
Once I my stomach felt satisfied I walked outside. The weather was better than the previous day and walking around Gapang Beach was pretty cool. The colour of the water looked like this:
I spent sometime enjoying the views. It was really beautiful and peaceful. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be there. And my “luck” didn’t stop there. I still had one more dive to do!
Fifth dive in Pulau Weh
Like we had been doing previously, we jumped on the boat. We drove for a while and, after checking the area and getting the equipment on, we jumped in the water. My fifth dive was the easiest one. There was no current and it wasn’t too deep. Regardless, my air consumption was not very good. I think it was due to some issues I had with the mask.
We didn’t see animals as cool as during the fourth dive, but, nonetheless, we saw some huge school of fishes. I always get amazed when I run into a school of fishes. You feel surrounded by them. They move in such a perfect harmony that it seems unreal! We also saw some beautiful corals and sea stars. It looked like this:
By the time we made it back to Gapang Beach I was completely destroyed. Thus, after having dinner and taking a shower, I got ready for a night of sleep. Before though, I bought my flight tickets to Labuan Bajo. There will be more on this later but I just wanted to tell you some prices. I paid around 100 Euros for my flight from Banda Aceh to Denpasar and around 75 Euros for my flight from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo. Yes, I know, no cheap at all but I had no option. With the flights bought I laid down and tried to catch some sleep. Next day will be the last of my 3 days in Pulau Weh.
Day 3 in Pulau Weh
I didn’t sleep much, even if I was exhausted. It was pouring the whole night and I thought the building was going to collapse. It is crazy how the weather changes on this island. After waking up, having breakfast and arranging my stuff, I walked to Bubble-Addict for my last dive. I spoke to Sam and, to my surprise, we couldn’t go diving because the captain (of the boat) wasn’t there. Why? Due to the weather. He couldn’t make it to the dive resort. Remember when I first met Sam and the rest of the guys and they told me we would dive regardless of the weather? Well, apparently they changed their minds…
I got a little pissed off. They had said one thing and they behaved against what they said. Well, I guess that’s nothing new in the world nowadays. I tried to accept the situation as soon as possible but… but in the way, I fought. I told them they had told me one thing and it was another thing in the end. Did I get something out of that? Yes. Instead of charging me for 5 dives they charged me for 4. Thus, in the end, I paid around 95 Euros for 5 dives. That’s less than 20 Euros per dive. Not a bad deal, huh?
As I had mentioned earlier, there are not many transport options in Pulau Weh. That plus the bad weather made it kind of hard to find a way to get to Sabang’s port. I spoke to Bubble-Addict and they let me chose between a taxi and a tuk-tuk. I chose the tuk-tuk. The price (100 K) was kind of high, but I really had no choice. The tuk-tuk was basically a moto with a cart attached to it. The cart had some sort of a top which helped out with the rain. I went to Western, picked my stuff, thanked the owner and the people working there and walked back to Bubble-Addict. My driver was already waiting for me.
So long Pulau Weh!
The ride to Sabang’s port was kind of beautiful, even if the weather was far from the best. My driver didn’t speak much, but we managed to have some chatting. I asked him to quickly stop at some sort of a viewpoint and I was able to take this picture:
We made it to Sabang’s port in around 30 minutes and, once there, my driver told me the public ferry was delayed. He offered to take me to a nearby bar so I could try the famous Sabang coffee. He ordered two coffees and, while he did that, I went to buy my ticket. Little did I know there would be such a long queue. Thus, it took me 30 minutes to buy the ticket!
When I made it back to the bar I found my driver outside, waiting for me with my big backpack. I was going to pay for both coffees but I changed my mind… My coffee was gone and he wanted me to pay for both coffees. I didn’t like his attitude, like he presupposed I had to pay for both coffees. Thus, in the end I didn’t pay for any coffee.
Back to Banda Aceh
I paid 27 K for the ferry ticket. It took 2 hours to make it to Banda Aceh but I wasn’t in a hurry. I had spent 3 amazing days in Pulau Weh even if the weather hadn’t been the best. The dives were pretty cool but I would have liked to be able to check the island out. I did some research before going there and apparently there were cool stuff such as a volcano, some view points, a Japanese bunker, beaches and rain forest. It would have been cool to rent a moto and check them all out. But, it was what it was. All in all, I could say I was very lucky with the weather. I had spent a little over 3 weeks in Indonesia and the weather had been good except for Pulau Weh.
The views back to Banda Aceh were really beautiful. The sea, unlike the previous days, seemed very calm. I started to think that I hadn’t seen a single seagull since I arrived in Indonesia. Is it possible that there are no seagulls here? I was reading a book whose name I forgot, but I was using this beautiful bookmark which someone gave me as a present a few months ago. I deeply agree with the whole sentence. What do you think?
So long Sumatra!
Back at Ulee Lheue Ferry Port I tried to call Dian. I guess you remember him, right? The nice taxi driver who taught me very deep life lessons. I called him several times but he didn’t pick it up. I wanted him to take me to the airport so I could give him my money, rather than giving it to someone else. The same went for dinner, I wanted to invite him. I waited for a while and, eventually, after an hour or so, he showed up driving a moto.
We shook hands and, after explaining him my plans, we drove to Dhapu Kupi. On the way there though we stopped at a mosque so he could do his praying. The food was as good as the last time I had been there. If you are around Banda Aceh, go check it out! Once our stomachs felt satisfied, we drove to Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport. The airport was kind of far away, around 20 kilometres.
Once at the airport, before saying good bye, he went to the mosque inside the airport to pray yet once again. I’m tolerant when it comes to religion but I’m not sure how can a religion be “that good” when it makes you spend your whole day after it. In Islam, they need to pray 5 times a day. Isn’t that a little too much? Like, regardless of where you are or what you are doing, you need to be aware so you can go praying.
We hugged each other and he left the airport. I was really happy we had run into each other. It is for people like him that I love travelling. One day his whole life was destroyed, due to the 2004 tsunami. Regardless, he didn’t give up and kept going on. Now he is happily married, has two kids and is learning English so he can get more tourists. Cheers to that!
I walked around the airport trying to familiarize with it. I looked for the best place to spend the night and I found it on a bench. It was going to be my third time sleeping at an airport. Long live backpackers life!
