Pulau Weh?

I'm back! Well, as much as being in Medan counts as being in civilisation that is...

I was hoping on being able to fly all the way across to Bali today but a stuff-up at Banda Aceh airport means that'll have to wait till tomorrow. I've requested a spot on a boat bound for the island of Flores that leaves Lombok on the 25th and visits the Komodo islands en route. But before getting to that adventure let me explain where I've been since my last rambled posting from this same cafe in Medan.

I flew, as planned out, to Banda Aceh last Thursday and spent the night there in a homestay recommended by a Danish guy I met on the plane. That meant I got to avoid the expensive hotels I mentioned. And I was right about the NGO's by the way. Whilst I'm sure some are doing great work, most seem to have spent your donated money on lovely compounds in amongst the rubble. And there's still a lot of rubble; ferries can still be found in areas tens of miles from the sea for example. The devastation must have been horrific, the whole area is barely above see level and the tsunami smashed everything all the way up to the mountains about 50km inland, and then smashed anything that was left on the way back down.

On Friday morning I caught the ferry out to Pulau Weh, after a good 3 hours in the harbour coffee shop as it was independence day and the boat was duly delayed. But Pulau Weh was gorgeous. I initially headed to Gapang Beach as I'd been recommended a dive shop there by the guys in Borneo, but on a whim I decided to check out the other "tourist" beach, Iboih as well. I loved it and stayed there instead. Iboih is very basic and accommodation is in the form of little wooden huts perched on stilts along the shore. The communal bathrooms up the hill are just squatters with Mandi showers (a bucket). But that didn't bother anyone in the least. The views were stunning and the lack of tour group style tourists was wonderful.

The view from my hut. I could watch the reef fish swimming below from my hammock.

Looking back from the dive boat. That's my hut on the far right, second from the water.

I did my first dive within 15 minutes of putting my bags down and never really looked back. In all I did 8 dives over the last few days, they were cheap, and fantastic. The area is just littered with Moray Eels and Lionfish of all kinds, not to mention the myriad of other fish. I also got to see the massive Napoleon (Maori) wrasse up close on a few occasions, and spotted soaring Eagle Rays for the first time. This in between the now "common" sightings of reef sharks and turtles.

The Rubiah Tirta dive boat, complete with large German divemaster in the foreground.

The wonderfully characterful Mama who rented the hut to me and coaxed me into eating at her place regularly. Her Chapati is legendary by the way.

When not diving I got to relax in my hammock, do some (admittedly unsuccessful) flyfishing, and generally just relax after a hectic period of travel in Borneo and Indochina. Its now back to my version of the Amazing Race though as I dash across Indonesia to see the things I want to before Wooz arrives next month.

A special note of love to my folks after their traumatic run in with the darker side of South African life. I love you guys so much - and its supposed to be me having the life-threatening experiences, not you...