Things to do in Banda Aceh
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Country Steak House
Wherever there are executives, rest assured there are steaks. Psst, there's beer here too. The restaurant also has wireless access for laptops.
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Lambaro
It doesn't make for sunny postcard fodder, but travelling over oceans to mourn the dead is a profound gesture of sympathy. Seeing the place with your own eyes allows for personal and sacred memorials and helps feeble imaginations understand the scale of a disaster.
Many of the most moving images of the tsunami will be erased in the coming years: the freighter ships deposited miles inland will be disassembled, the empty landscape will be rebuilt, the amputated families will form new connections. But what will remain is an ancient human custom: housing the dead so the living can remember.There are four mass graves in and around Banda Aceh where the dead in the province wer…
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Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman
With its brilliant white walls and liquorice-black domes, the Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman is a dazzling sight on a sunny day. The first section of the mosque was built by the Dutch in 1879 as a conciliatory gesture towards the Acehnese after the original one had been burnt down.
Two more domes - one on either side of the first - were added by the Dutch in 1936 and another two by the Indonesian government in 1957. The mosque survived intact after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, a sign interpreted by many residents as direct intervention from the divine. The best time to catch the mosque is during Friday afternoon prayers, when the entire building and yard are filled with peo…
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Gunongan
All that remains today of Aceh's powerful sultanates are on view at Gunongan. Built by Sultan Iskandar Muda (r 1607-36) as a gift for his Malay princess wife, it was intended as a private playground and bathing place. The building consists of a series of frosty peaks with narrow stairways and a walkway leading to ridges, which represent the hills of the princess' native land.
Directly across from the Gunongan is a low, vaulted gate, in the traditional Pintu Aceh style, which gave access to the sultan's palace - supposedly for the use of royalty only.
To reach Gunongan, take a labi labi (opelet) bound for Jl Kota Alam.
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Kherkhof
Not far from the Gunongan is the Kherkhof, the last resting place of more than 2000 Dutch and Indonesian soldiers who died fighting the Acehnese. The entrance is about 250m from the clock tower on the road to Uleh-leh. Tablets set into the walls by the entrance gate are inscribed with the names of the dead soldiers. The cemetery suffered some flooding from the tsunami.
To reach the Kherkhof take labi labi 9 or 10.
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Rumah Aceh
In the same compound as the Museum Negeri Banda Aceh is the Rumah Aceh - a fine example of traditional Acehnese architecture, built without nails and held together with cord and pegs. It contains more Acehnese artefacts and war memorabilia. In front of the Rumah Aceh is a huge cast-iron bell, the Cakra Donya, said to have been a gift from a Chinese emperor in the 15th century.
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Museum Negeri Banda Aceh
Take a tour of the province's treasured keepsakes at Museum Negeri Banda Aceh. The museum has displays of Acehnese weaponry, household furnishings, ceremonial costumes, everyday clothing, gold jewellery and calligraphy.
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Chek Yoke
If you'd like to see what life is like without the fermented juice, follow the locals to the brewed replacement. The teenagers in town sip and smoke at Chek Yoke, a coffee shop on the southern banks of the river.
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Solong Café
Aceh's most famous coffee house is nicknamed Solong Café. One-pound bags of finely ground, locally grown coffee are on sale and make a delicious post-Indo gift. You'll need to take a taxi.
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Pasar Malam Rek
The square at the junction of Jl Ahmad Yani and Jl Khairil Anwar is the setting for the Pasar Malam Rek, Banda Aceh's lively night food market.
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Pasar Aceh Central
Market lovers will enjoy the colourful Pasar Aceh Central, just north of the Mesjid Raya between Jl Chik Pante Kulu and Jl Diponegoro.
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Mie Razali
This local rice and noodle chain spins up an avocado-chocolate shake that tastes like ice cream after a romp through a green field.
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Rumah Makan Asia
Aceh's version of masakan Padang (Padang dish) has an array of zesty dishes, such as ikan panggang (baked fish).
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Pasar Ikan
Pasar Ikan defines freshness. Boats ease into the river and unload their cargoes of shark, tuna and prawns onto the vendor carts.
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Tropicana
One of two seafood restaurants in town where the NGOs go. Just look for the tell-tale SUVs parked out front.
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Pante Pirak Supermarket
Good for stocking up on supplies or just watching the buying habits of Banda Aceh's middle class.
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Solong Café
Aceh's most famous coffee house is nicknamed Solong Café. One-pound bags of finely ground, locally grown coffee are on sale and make a delicious post-Indo gift. You'll need to take a taxi.
reviewed
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Gunongan
All that remains today of Aceh's powerful sultanates are on view at Gunongan. Built by Sultan Iskandar Muda (r 1607-36) as a gift for his Malay princess wife, it was intended as a private playground and bathing place. The building consists of a series of frosty peaks with narrow stairways and a walkway leading to ridges, which represent the hills of the princess' native land.
Directly across from the Gunongan is a low, vaulted gate, in the traditional Pintu Aceh style, which gave access to the sultan's palace - supposedly for the use of royalty only.
To reach Gunongan, take a labi labi (opelet) bound for Jl Kota Alam.
reviewed
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Tropicana
One of two seafood restaurants in town where the NGOs go. Just look for the tell-tale SUVs parked out front.
reviewed
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Chek Yoke
If you'd like to see what life is like without the fermented juice, follow the locals to the brewed replacement. The teenagers in town sip and smoke at Chek Yoke, a coffee shop on the southern banks of the river.
reviewed
