(Part 2): Banda Aceh and Sabang: A Treasure in the Westernmost Part of Indonesia

Dearest readers, happy new year 2015. I do wish this year brings you all joy and sophisticated adventure. As i promised last year *sigh*, i will continue my writing about my trip to Banda Aceh and Sabang. In this part, i will mostly elaborate about my favorite part, the beaches! Do enjoy!

If you notice that we have not mentioned the beaches yet, you got it right, because we want to save the best for last. When we arrived in Sumur Tiga Beach in Sabang, we were totally stunned. We saw a postcard-view quality. White sand beach with very few visitor (less than 10, we believe), not to forget the relaxing coconut trees completed with hammocks to enjoy the view. If you want to go to Sumur Tiga Beach, you can rent a minivan from the Balohan Port for IDR50,000. Luckily the cottage we stayed-in had shuttle service and only only 10 meters by the Sumur Tiga beachside.

You know what, i do wish i’d get the chance to spend more time in Sumur Tiga, not just one night like what i did. The beach is glorious and spoiled me intensively with the view. I wish i could just escape there, feeling the sands in my feet and filling my lungs with the fresh air. The cottage itself also should be reviewed. I stayed in Freddies Santai Sumur Tiga. It was perfect from the beginning. Freddie and the staffs made me feel welcome. What i love the most was the breakfast, it was delicious and made by Freddie himself. From the moment i made the reservation until i leave the cottage, i keep telling myself that i will be back, whether with my family or with my love one. The beach, the cottage along with the soothing waves had impressed me deeply.

Strolling away in Sabang was fun. There are lot of beaches which way less crowded than Bali. We managed to visit Gapang and Iboih Beach. These two beaches are about 45 minutes away from Sumur Tiga Beach. Iboih is well-known for their diverse underwater ecosystem which makes it perfect for diving and snorkeling along with it calm waves. You can also find some cottages near the beaches. Make sure you spare your time to enjoy the sunrise/set here.

Since we only have limited time in Banda Aceh and Sabang, we have not explored to the max. But seeing the glimpse of paradise we have experience for 4 days, we would surely return to explore more.

Travel Tips:

1. If you plan to go to Banda Aceh in November-December, please do make hotel reservation immediately due to room availability.
2. Please dress properly and for women please get your scarf ready to cover your hair.
3. Since nature is unpredictable, always check the ferry schedule and the weather, you do not want to miss the ferry, or worst, your flight.

Beach Girl Adventure. Le Touquet Paris-Plage. September 2011.

Morning pretty peeps, how are you ? 2013 is getting closer and the fact that we succeed in surviving the Mayan apocalypse was such like an achievement, wasn’t it? I personally can’t wait for 2013. I have plenty of new year resolutions which need to be done soon. One of those resolutions is to write more often 😀 Wish me luck then, fellas. Anyway, today’s post is about my adventure in finding beach in France. When I arrived in France (September 5, 2011), the weather was still sunny enough. That was surprising. This weather anomaly was happened until October if I recall. Since I still missed Indonesian heat, I asked to my friends about the nearest beach in Lille. One of them, David, answered that he already did some research and found a nice beach in Le Touquet. It was about 150 km from Lille. My adventure mood suddenly sneaked out. We (me, Alajandra, Natalia, David and Aaron) then prepared for our little trip.

Since David brought his car from Germany, we then didn’t have to worry about our transportation to Le Touquet. What we have to do was only shared the gasoline. We spent about four hours in the road. The trip there was ah-ma-zing. As a person who often fell asleep in a trip, I didn’t have to force myself to keep my eyes open at that time. The view was relieving; the chat in the car was also fun. We sang many songs, from the top 40 list to the lamest one. We arrived in Le Touquet at around 4 pm. We then went to our cottage (damn, I forgot the name of the cottage). It was really nice cottage. The design was dominated by wood and it was only 5 minutes walk to the beach.

Sooo, how’s the beach? The name’s Le Touquet Paris-Plage. I have no idea why they attached Paris there, since Le Touquet is closer to Lille than Paris. The beach was fine. It was quite long and big. There were a lot of people in bikinis and tried to suck the last summer sunshine in the beach. I can’t blame them, they’d meet summer again in about eight months! Too long!! Well, compared to the beaches in Bali or Yogyakarta, Le Touquet is more, errrr, hot? Ahahahha, you better watch the photos below to get better description. Enjoy!!!

i’m the flip-flop keeper, LOL

Good Lord, i finally could experience beach sunset!! 

Do you know what i love the most from this picture? My awesome hair, hahaha

morning escape, feeling the sand, wind, and the grass. That simple 🙂

birdie birdie in the sea, thanks for the warm greeting