Pulau Weh – Banda Aceh, Indonesia
A few days ago, out of the blue, Charli hit me up and said she’s heading to Sumatra. It so happened that she planned to dive at Pulau Weh as well. It would have been superb had we been able to dive together after Croatia. Unfortunately we missed each other literally by a day.
Charli arrived at our bungalow’s front door this morning. We only managed to chat for 20 minutes before she needed to find an accommodation and my group needed to load our belongings into the rental car. The original plan was to have Charli join us for the day going around the island but a freak flash downpour sent us scampering into the car. Between not knowing Charli’s whereabouts, not being able to contact her and not having any extra space left in the car due to our luggage, we had to leave her behind without saying goodbye 
The bungalows we’re staying at in Banda Aceh is unbelievable. Judy and Jerry’s bungalow is built in the middle of a pond while Merry, Erin and mine onto the rocky cliff. The whole area is right off the beach where pine trees grow next to the sea. It’s one of the most picturesque place I had seen in Indonesia. Apparently, this place were all swept clean by the tsunami eight years ago. The surrounding local housings are new, built with donations from foreign countries for the survivors who had lost their houses.
All of us had expected Banda Aceh to be a horrible place to visit because of the aftermath of the tsunami as well as the fame Islamic fanatical tendency of the province. Years ago, Aceh had wanted independence from Indonesia to become its own Muslim country and they had had their own army. Due to the impact the tsunami, Aceh was a mess and had to agree and sign a peace treaty with Indonesian government.
![](http://elysmuda.com/follow/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120606_02.jpg "I can't remember if this was on Pulau Weh or in Banda Aceh :\\" width=")
Back to the bungalows… of course nothing is ever perfect. Despite the fantastic view that could have made this “resort” a hidden paradise, I found signs of bed bugs on the questionable mattress. Having had a bad experience with these buggers, I refused to sleep on the bed. Hence, I’m here now sitting on a chair typing away at 2am in the morning. Merry and Erin are sound asleep. At times, I feel I’m overly paranoid when it comes to this, but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Day 305: A Brief Encounter and Unexpected Farewell
Pulau Weh – Banda Aceh, Indonesia
A few days ago, out of the blue, Charli hit me up and said she’s heading to Sumatra. It so happened that she planned to dive at Pulau Weh as well. It would have been superb had we been able to dive together after Croatia. Unfortunately we missed each other literally by a day.
Charli arrived at our bungalow’s front door this morning. We only managed to chat for 20 minutes before she needed to find an accommodation and my group needed to load our belongings into the rental car. The original plan was to have Charli join us for the day going around the island but a freak flash downpour sent us scampering into the car. Between not knowing Charli’s whereabouts, not being able to contact her and not having any extra space left in the car due to our luggage, we had to leave her behind without saying goodbye
The bungalows we’re staying at in Banda Aceh is unbelievable. Judy and Jerry’s bungalow is built in the middle of a pond while Merry, Erin and mine onto the rocky cliff. The whole area is right off the beach where pine trees grow next to the sea. It’s one of the most picturesque place I had seen in Indonesia. Apparently, this place were all swept clean by the tsunami eight years ago. The surrounding local housings are new, built with donations from foreign countries for the survivors who had lost their houses.
All of us had expected Banda Aceh to be a horrible place to visit because of the aftermath of the tsunami as well as the fame Islamic fanatical tendency of the province. Years ago, Aceh had wanted independence from Indonesia to become its own Muslim country and they had had their own army. Due to the impact the tsunami, Aceh was a mess and had to agree and sign a peace treaty with Indonesian government.
Back to the bungalows… of course nothing is ever perfect. Despite the fantastic view that could have made this “resort” a hidden paradise, I found signs of bed bugs on the questionable mattress. Having had a bad experience with these buggers, I refused to sleep on the bed. Hence, I’m here now sitting on a chair typing away at 2am in the morning. Merry and Erin are sound asleep. At times, I feel I’m overly paranoid when it comes to this, but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry.