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| Siti Nurbaya, Padang, Sumatra |
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| Wanita Himpunan Bersatu Teguh Padang, Sumatra |
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| Kelenteng See Hing Kiong Padang, Sumatra |
Day 13 Tuesday June 3 2025 (Bukit Tinggi) - my final day in Bukit Tinggi & after breakfast, we hailed a Grab from our hotel to Bukit Tinggi Bus Terminal to board a minivan ride to Padang (approx 97km), travelling time approx 2.5 hours. Bye bye Bukittingi, Jumpa Lagi (hope to see you again) !
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| Bukittinggi > Padang, Sumatra (97km) |
1) My complimentary breakfast served in hotel room, Bukittinggi, Sumatra.
2) Bus Terminal Tipe A Simpang Aur Bukittinggi, Sumatra - long distance buses & minivan services from Bukittingi > Padang, just show up & pay the fares direct to the bus operators.
3) Minivan ride from Bukit Tinggi > Padang (approx 2.5hr) - pre-booked 2 minivan tickets (IDR50 x 2) one day in advance from a transport service operators in Bus Terminal Tipe A Simpang Aur Bukittinggi, but it was a scam & after almost 2 hours of waiting, the operators led us to a minivan (non-air-conditioned) stationed outside of the terminal & we had no choice but to accept this raw deal for this short ride to Padang !
4) Suburban & countryside scenery from Buktittingi > Padang as viewed from the moving van
Day 13 Tuesday June 3 2025 (Padang) - my first day stay in Padang (the last city of call for this 16 days Sumatra visit prior to flying home), after the hotel check in & a short rest, we took a slow walk towards the Siti Nurbaya Bridge for sightseeing & visited the Padang Old Town, Padang China Town, Kelenteng See Hin Kiong & the newly opened Wanita Himpunan Bersatu Teguh which has an impressive exibits of Chinese art, artifacts, Chinese gods & idols, Chinese words associated with antiquities etc. What a great day in Padang - first impression counts !
1) Hotel accommodation (Padang) - my 3 nights stay in Yani Homestay, Padang, Sumatra; room tariff @Rm81 (US$18.50, twin sharing)
2) Walkabout from Yani Homestay > Siti Nurbaya Bridge (1995) / Padang Chinatown / Padang Old Town - a familiarisation visit, rows & rows of fishing vessels / boats parked alongside the river, scenic view of the Padang Old Town overlooking the Siti Nurbaya Bridge, also an ideal place to watch sunset !
3) Fishing vessels / motor boats parked along the riverside
4) Kelenteng See Hin Kong Temple, Padang Chinatown, Sumatra - a historical landmark, the oldest temple in West Sumatra, initially built in 1861 named Kwan Im Teng for the Chinese people who came to West Sumatra to trade, unfortunately the wooden temple was destroyed by a fire & could not be saved. In 1897, a new temple was built & named Klenteng See Hin Kiong, now the temple became the place to hold religious activities related to Tridhama, including the teachings of Buddhism, Taoism & Confucianism.
5) Padang Chinatown, Sumatra - interesting to see a number of Chinese clan association buildings (Wong, Teh & Tan etc) & memorial halls still standing tall in the centre of Padang Chinatown, since the 17th century, ethnic Chinese settlements have been known to exist on the west coast of Sumatra primarily in Pariaman & Padang, however, with the Dutch colonial policy of ethnic segregation, the Asian group which included the Chinese people was created, because of this policy, the Chinese community was driven to the area which is now known as Kampung Pondok in western Padang ....... a great place for tourists wanting to know a bit of history on early Chinese settlement in Padang (now probably in the 8th generation, most could not speak the Chinese dialects & Mandarin) but still retained some of the old Chinese traditional customs & belief & if you are after Chinese traditional culinary food - Indon style, come to Padang, a 1.5 hour by air from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia !
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| Chinese Settlement in Pariaman & Padang Sumatra, Indonesia |
6) Padang Old Town, Sumatra - various cultural heritage buildings from the Dutch colonial era dating back to the 16th century, during the Dutch colonial period, the town of Padang was a significant trade center (like the historic city of Melaka in Peninsula Malaysia) & a key point of Dutch control in the region, the Dutch East India Company established a trading post in 1680 & the city eventually came under Dutch authority though briefly under British control during the Napolenic Wars, Padang serves as a hub for various commodities including pepper, gold, coffee, salt & textiles.
7) Morning Market, Padang Chinatown - most stalls & shops were closed at the time of my visit in the evening !
8) Wanita Himpunan Bersatu Teguh, Padang, Sumatra - a non-government organisation in Padang providing social welfare services to the local community, a big thank you to Madam Lee who was so gracious & kind to allow both of us to do a short guided tour of this newly opened (April 2025) complex (certainly a Padang Chinatown's pride), both the main hall (ground & first floor) have an excellent exhibit of various Chinese artifacts & porcelain wares, Chinese art murals & paintings, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese words associated with antiquities etc. no doubt, both of us scored some brownie points by visiting this particular place at the right time !
9) Walkabout from Padang Old Town > AI-Hakim Mosque & the coastline of Padang Beach area
10) My 1st glimpse of sunset in the coastal city of Padang overlooking the Indian Ocean, the beach front area was also full of locals during this evening moment !
11) Masjid Al-Hakim Mosque, Padnag - a Taj Mahal style mosque overlooking the Indian Ocean - magnificent looking !
12) Vihara Buddha Warman, Padang - located opposite Masjid Al-Hakim - a Buddhist temple located opposite the Al-Hakim mosque, a harmonious society in the making !
13) Yani Homestay, Padang - a short walking distance to Masjid Al-Hakim & oceanfront area
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