Country Reviews: Fishing in Banda Aceh Pt 3

You may be thinking that the ferries in Banda Aceh are very old due to the poverty of the area and the devastation which had stricken it in 2004, you are very wrong. The ferries at Banda Aceh jetty are decent and classy outfitted with air conditioning under the sweltering heat of tropical Sumatra. There is even a large television in front of the ferry featuring pirated shows like UP.



The seats are also very clean; clear and concise that the cleaners had done their work. The guard whose job is to check for any illegal substances on board was also very polite and clear in his instructions and none of us felt troubled or frustrated by him at all. The group's trip to Pulau Weh is very comfortable indeed, no one suffered sea sickness and were busily chatting with one another.

At the jetty, you can practically see the clear blue water coming up to the port. The shallow bottom of the water became visible which is a rare site for those who are born in the city. The scenery at Pulau Weh is filled with plentiful greenery with coconut trees near the shores and there were even some flowers blooming out of the trees in the roadside. You will need to be warned that the roads here are a little inclined where every inch is higher than the original which is why some may feel a little carsick which is not helped by the fact that their cars are somewhat run down.

Another nuance that I had with Pulau Weh was their security. They were very uptight where they inspected all of our cases of fishing equipment and they took very long doing so unlike the security in Banda Aceh. Everyone was visibly fed up that the group was held up for almost an hour. However, everyone also knew that the security at Pulau Weh was just doing their job and no one complained about the hold up.

After 30 minutes, the group arrived in a small town in Pulau Weh where we proceeded to enjoy the light tea and snacks which the locals had provided. The coffee shop was filled with customers and we had to wait a while before they got to us with our orders. They sold their specialities like soup noodles. Incidentally, the store also sold Teh Botol, which I was told is a national drink for all Indonesians by the Banda Aceh guide. I tried it and it tasted fantastic with the richness of the tea filling up my mouth.

After another 45 minutes, we reached another jetty. This jetty will facilitate us in our journey to our lodging and the group briskly unpacked the bags onto the boat and sailed to the chalet. The night was falling and nothing was visible any more and the guide from Banda Aceh had to use a flash light in order to navigate through the torrid waters of Pulau Weh.