Blogs from Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia

Poriadne vyspaty smer restika kde vyplacam ucet. Sedel tu i jeden belgican, ten ide na rovnaku lod ako ja (trajekt 14.30). Chcel sharnut odvoz do pristavu ale ja mam motorku. Neskor z neho vypadlo, ze leti zajtra rovnakym letom do kl ako ja. Tak v banda aceh, ze mozme sharenut izbu. Mal tip na ac izbu za 80k v gm inn hoteli ( Konecne nasadzujem topanky, hned sa clovek lepsie pohybuje. Prst je uz v pohode avsak na druhej nohe mam zas nove zranenie ale vyzera to len na oskreninu na prste. Zhavim motorku a zhananie ranajok, nikde po ceste nic. I vecer(po 1900) je problem zohnat jedlo, vsetko zavrete. Prakticky jem az pred mesteckom sabang, tu kupujem aj flaskovy benzin. Jedlo len trocha ryze s mini ryba. To bolo zabalene v sacku a este v ... read more

Banda Aceh, and the nearby coastal town of Muedula, were at the epicentre of the Tsunami that hit this part of the world on December 26, 2014, just over ten years ago. As such, we made a point of spending a half day touring a number of key areas in the city. In addition to the Tsunami Museum, we visited the fishing boat that had been launched on to the top of a house about 4 kilometres from the sea, where it subsequently served as a lifeboat saving fifty nine lives. We also visited the huge ocean freighter that was launched inland kilometres away from the ocean, testifying again to the strength of the tsunami. It was powerful and touching to be in the heart of the vibrant fishing village today, and realize that this same ... read more

"Warst Du eigentlich hier als der Tsunami kam?", fragte ich meinen Fahrer "Little Joe" Er blickte kurz nach hinten und hob die rechte Hand. "Ich habe meine Hand verloren." Ich schaute genauer hin. Die Hand war da, aber um das Handgelenk herum verlief eine größere Narbe. Sie war ihm nach der Katastrophe wieder angenäht worden. Er kann nur noch ungenau greifen, aber zum Fahren reicht es. Auch Familienmitglieder und Freunde hat Joe durch den Tsunami verloren. Normalerweise merkt man ihm das nicht an. Er ist immer gut gelaunt und immer zu einem Spaß aufgelegt. Joe habe ich durch die Vermittlung meines Gästehauses auf Pulau Weh kennen gelernt. Er ist Becak-Fahrer. Becak sind die Motorrad-Rickschas Indonesiens. Es handelt sich um Motorräder, die mit einem Beiwagen mit mehr oder weniger bequemen Polstersitzen und einem zurück klappbaren Dach ausgestattet ... read more

Geo: 5.55, 95.32My first experience of the Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 apart from seeing it on the news, was in Tangalle in Sri Lanka. The devastation and heartbreak encountered is beyond belief and now I find myself in Banda Aceh which was the worst hit of all the places affected.I had arranged with a friend from Bukit Lawang to meet one his friends, a Becak driver however on arrival he's broken his ankle and sends another friend to meet me at the bus station which was kind. His friend instead will take me around for the day to visit the many sites and places of interest and I had an enlightening visit packed full of information and reality.In the early morning of Boxing Day 2004, a 9.3 magnitude earthquake struck just off the western coast of ... read more

Geo: 5.55, 95.32So where were you on December 26th, 2004? It should be one of those dates that lives on in infamy- an earthquake of magnitude 9.3 struck off the western coast of Sumatra (a 1,200km section of the earth's crust shifted beneath the Indian ocean and the earthquake released stored energy equivalent to over more than 23,000 Hiroshima bombs). Banda Aceh was the closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter, and suffered catastrophic damage and death when a tsunami struck shortly after the quake. At it's peak the tsunami reached speeds of 500 km/hr and heights of over 60 feet, and it traveled over 5 miles inland. Over 167,000 people died in the Aceh area (out of a total of 270,000 in 14 different countries) and many more were injured and an entire community was ... read more