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The provincial capital of Banda Aceh is not frequently paired in the international press with good times. The city was close enough to the sea and the epicentre of the earthquake to have suffered a double punch from the 2004 Boxing Day disaster. The earthquake toppled most of the buildings taller than three storeys and the tsunami gobbled up coastal development across middle-class suburbs. In Banda Aceh alone, 61,000 people were killed and development outside of the city centre was reduced to a wasteland in a matter of a few hours. This scale of destruction usually takes humans years of warfare to match.
There is still grief and an obliterated landscape, but the city residents are blessed with courage. If at times being a tourist feels superf icial, viewing the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami provides a necessary grounding in history and human drama. Residents will share their stories of loss and ask for nothing in return but an open heart.
What will Banda Aceh look like in a few years’ time? After one year, the city had passed through the initial disaster phase: debris had been removed, the dead buried, and some businesses reopened. But rebuilding homes and infrastructure was moving at an imperceptible pace. Aid organisations anticipate being in the area until 2008, but no-one is sure if this is a realistic timeline.
What’s certain, though, is that Banda Aceh will challenge any stereotypes you may have about Islam. In this devoutly Muslim city, the hassles are few and the people are friendly and easy-going. You’ll see head scarfed policewomen directing traffic or sit next to a well-educated Muslim woman travelling without a male companion. Even when the city shuts down for important prayer times, locals use the afternoon break to visit with friends while the sermons are broadcast in the background.
Orientation
Banda Aceh is split in two by Sungai Krueng Aceh. In the southern part of the city is its best known landmark, the Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman. Behind the mosque is the huge Pasar Aceh Central (central market), and adjoining the market is the main opelet terminal. Southwest of these landmarks are empty lots and rubble piles due to the earthquake. Rebuilding has been slow in this part of town.
The residential neighbourhoods in the southeast corner were largely unaffected by the disaster and many of the NGOs have rented the houses for their offices. The area is referred to as Geuceu Komplek.
North of the river is the city centre and where much of the rebuilding has been concentrated. The commercial spine is Jl Panglima Polem.
Information
INTERNET ACCESS & POST
The presence of internet-savvy NGOs means that Banda Aceh is firmly planted in the 21st century, unlike the rest of Sumatra. Rates are 5000Rp/hour.
Country Steakhouse Off Jl Sri Ratu Safiatuddin. This restaurant also has wireless access for laptops.
Jumbo Internet (Jl Panglima Polem 2)
Metropolis Internet (Jl Panglima Polem 8)
Post office (Jl Teukuh Angkasah; h8am-6pm) A short walk from the centre, there are also internet facilities here.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Rumah Sakit Dr Zainal Abidin (Jl Nyak Arief ) One of the best hospitals in town.
MONEY
There are lots of ATMs around town, mainly on Jl Panglima Polem and on Jl Sri Ratu Safiatuddin.
BCA bank (Bank Central Asia; Jl Panglima Polem)
BII bank (Bank Internasional Indonesia; Jl Panglima Polem)
Bank Danamon (Jl Sri Ratu Safiatuddin)
TELEPHONE
Telkom wartel (Jl Daud Beureeh) Home Country Direct phone.
Wartel (Jl Panglima Polem)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Regional tourist office (Dinas Parawisata; Jl Chik Kuta Karang 3) The regional tourist office is at the back of a government building. The staff are friendly and have free copies of an excellent guidebook to the province.
Sights & Activities
MESJID RAYA BAITURRAHMAN
With its brilliant white walls and liquorice-black domes, the Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman (admission by donation, headscarf required; h7-11am & 1.30-4pm) is a dazzling sight on a sunny day.
The first section of the mosque was built by the Dutch in 1879 as a conciliatory gesture towards the Acehnese after the original one had been burnt down. Two more domes - one on either side of the first - were added by the Dutch in 1936 and another two by the Indonesian government in 1957. The mosque survived intact after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, a sign interpreted by many residents as direct intervention from the divine. The best time to catch the mosque is during Friday afternoon prayers, when the entire building and yard are filled with people.
GUNONGAN & KHERKHOF
All that remains today of Aceh’s powerful sultanates are on view at Gunongan (Jl Teuku Umar). Built by Sultan Iskandar Muda (r 1607-36) as a gift for his Malay princess wife, it was intended as a private play- ground and bathing place. The building consists of a series of frosty peaks with narrow stairways and a walkway leading to ridges, which represent the hills of the princess’ native land.
Directly across from the Gunongan is a low, vaulted gate, in the traditional Pintu Aceh style, which gave access to the sultan’s palace - supposedly for the use of royalty only.
To reach Gunongan, take a labi labi (opelet) bound for Jl Kota Alam. Not far from the Gunongan is the Kherkhof (Dutch Cemetery), the last resting place of more than 2000 Dutch and Indonesian soldiers who died fighting the Acehnese. The entrance is about 250m from the clock tower on the road to Uleh-leh. Tablets set into the walls by the entrance gate are inscribed with the names of the dead soldiers. The cemetery suffered some flooding from the tsunami.
To reach the Kherkhof take labi labi 9 or 10.
MUSEUM NEGERI BANDA ACEH
Take a tour of the province’s treasured keepsakes at Museum Negeri Banda Aceh (Jl Alauddin Mahmudsyah 12; h8.30am-4pm Tue-Thu, 8.30am-noon Fri & Sat). The museum has displays of Acehnese weaponry, household furnishings, ceremonial costumes, everyday clothing, gold jewelery and calligraphy.
In the same compound as the museum is the Rumah Aceh - a fine example of traditional Acehnese architecture, built without nails and held together with cord and pegs.
It contains more Acehnese artefacts and war memorabilia. In front of it is a huge cast- iron bell, the Cakra Donya, said to have been a gift from a 15th-century Chinese emperor.
MARKETS
Market lovers will enjoy the colorful Pasar Aceh Central, which is just north of the Mesjid Raya between Jl Chik Pante Kulu and Jl Diponegoro.
Pasar Ikan (fish market; Jl SM Raja) defines freshness. Boats ease into the river and unload their cargoes of shark, tuna and prawns onto the vendor carts.
TSUNAMI LANDMARKS
It d oesn’t make for sunny postcard fodder, but traveling over oceans to mourn the dead is a profound gesture of sympathy. Seeing the place with your own eyes allows for personal and sacred memorials and helps feeble imaginations understand the scale of a disaster. Many of the most moving images of the tsunami will be erased in the coming years: the freighter ships deposited miles inland will be disassembled, the empty landscape will be rebuilt, the amputated families will form new connections. But what will remain is an ancient human custom: housing the dead so the living can remember.
There are four mass graves in and around Banda Aceh where the dead in the prov- ince were buried. The largest site is Lambaro, located on the road to the airport, where 46,000 unidentified bodies were buried. Other grave sites include Meuraxa, Lhok Nga and Darusalam, where another 54,000 bodies were interred. Families who wish to mourn the loss of unlocated relatives choose one of the mass graves based on possible geographic proximity; they have no other evidence of where to lay their prayers.
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
More than 1000 schools in Aceh were destroyed or damaged by the tsunami. Libraries were ruined, sports equipment swept out to sea, computer equipment lost. And then there’s the human toll: some estimates claim that 2500 teachers were killed and a third of the tsunami deaths were children. Rebuilding lives in Aceh also means rebuilding educational facilities. The leading Indonesian organisation working with the schools is the philanthropic arm of the Sampoerna cigarette company. Sampoerna Foundation has several projects working to restore classrooms, supplies and provide scholarships for orphaned children. The foundation is happy to meet with part-time volunteers and introduce them to partner schools.
Forum Bangum Aceh is the leading local NGO formed by Aceh residents to work directly and effectively with affected communities. The group has two ongoing projects: micro-economic packages to get businesses up and running, and educational outreach. Because FBA is a small organisation, it is more responsive to short-term volunteers than the larger NGOs. Whatever your area of expertise, FBA will find a place for you.
Sleeping
Only a few of Banda Aceh’s hotels have reopened since the tsunami. Those that have are usually filled with aid workers and have increased their rates, but not their standards.
Losmen Palembang (Jl Khairil Anwar 49) A basic place with dark and depressing rooms.
Hotel Prapat (Jl Ahmad Yani 19) One of the more affordable spots, Prapat has motel-style rooms with Western toilet and clean sheets.
Hotel Medan (Jl Ahmad Yani 15) The freighter boat has been removed from the parking lot and many of the flooded rooms have been nicely renovated.
Hotel Cakradonya (Jl Khairil Anwar 10) Has comfortable rooms that have seen better days.
Hotel Sultan (Jl Panglima Polem 1) When the NGOs hit town, this was one of the only functional hotels and has been packed out ever since. The rates are ridiculously overpriced and the going joke in town is that this is a two-star hotel with five-star prices.
Eating
The square at the junction of Jl Ahmad Yani and Jl Khairil Anwar is the setting for the Pasar Malam Rek, Banda Aceh’s lively night food market.
Rumah Makan Asia (Jl Cut Meutia 37/39) Aceh’s version of masakan Padang (Padang dish) has an array of zesty dishes, such as ikan panggang (baked fish).
Mie Razali (Jl Panglima Polem 85) This local rice and noodle chain spins up an avocado-chocolate shake that tastes like ice cream after a romp through a green field.
PP Cafe & Restaurant (Jl Kesehatan 115) Has a good selection of Indonesian and some European food.
Pante Pirak supermarket (Jl Pante Pirak) Good for stocking up on supplies or just watching the buying habits of Banda Aceh’s middle class.
Country Steak House (Jl Sri Ratu Safiatuddin 45B; h10am-midnight) Wherever there are executives, rest assured there are steaks. Psst, there’s beer here too.
Tropicana (Jl SM Raja) One of two seafood restaurants in town where the NGOs go. Just look for the tell-tale SUVs parked out front.
Drinking
Because of sharia law, alcohol is not available as openly here as elsewhere in Indonesia, but Chinese restaurants, the Hotel Sultan and Country Steak House serve beer.
As long as it is kept quiet, most of the locals don’t mind.
If you’d like to see what life is like without the fermented juice, follow the locals to the brewed replacement. The teenagers in town sip and smoke at Chek Yoke (Jl Chik Pante Kulu), a coffee shop on the southern banks of the river.
Aceh’s most famous coffee house is nick-named Solong Café (Jasa Ayah Cafeteria; Sedia Bubuk Aceh, Ulee Kareng). One-pound bags of finely ground, locally grown coffee are on sale and make a delicious post-Indo gift. You’ll need to take a taxi.
Getting There & Away
AIR
There are several flights a day from Banda Aceh to Medan on Garuda, Adam Air and Lion Air. The last flight leaves Banda Aceh at 5.30pm. BP Travel (Jl Panglima Polem 75) is a helpful air ticket agent. Garuda (Garuda Indonesia; Jl Daud Beureeh 9) also has an office in Banda Aceh.
BOAT
After the tsunami, the port moved to Uleh-leh, 15km northwest of Banda Aceh’s city centre. The road to the port goes straight through the tsunami’s path - once a two-car garage suburb, now an eerie, empty landscape. Bamboo barracks in places have replaced the fine homes, but otherwise there is very little evidence of the former communities: no roads, streetlights or clotheslines.
BUS
South of the city centre you’ll find the Terminal Bus Senti (Jl Teuku Umar). There are numerous buses to Medan (9 to 13 hours). As long as the peace agreement holds, overland travel between Banda Aceh and Medan is safer now than in the past.
The west coast road from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh was destroyed by the 2004 tsu- nami. When land transport does resume, you’ll have the option of public buses that depart from the bus terminal or minibuses that depart from offices behind the mosque on Jl Mohammad Jam.
South of Meulaboh, the road is in working order and can be accessed via the interior road through Aceh or from Medan.
Getting Around
Airport taxis charge about 60,000Rp to 70,000Rp for the 16km ride into town. Rates have increased with the NGO presence. The unlikely bargaining chip of being a tourist and not an NGO can get you a cheaper price. A taxi from the airport to Uleh-leh port will cost about 100,000Rp.
Labi labi are the main form of transport around town. The opelet terminal (Jl Diponegoro) is that special breed of Indonesian mayhem.
For Uleh-leh, take the blue labi labi signed ‘Uleh-leh’. You can also reach Lhok Nga and Lampu’uk.
Becak around town should cost between 5000Rp and 10,000Rp, depending on your destination. From the center of town to Geuceu Komplek, a becak should cost about 10,000Rp.
