from acheh with love

 to acheh from 15/7/11 to 18/7/11...

such an amazing experience for i get to go to a beautiful place with lots of beautiful people...

this is my first trip out of malaysia...i made my passport just because of this visit and this is my first ever passport..
i am gonna outline some of my experience here

day 1:

1.

1. arrived at bandar udara internasional iskandar muda at about 12 pm (1 pm malaysian time), we were collected by our amazing host, pak rafar and his friends..
2. our first stop was dayah daruzzahidin where we will be spending our nights and doing our community project there..
3. next was warkop (warung kopi) solong at ulee kareng. this is the most famous coffee shop here at banda acheh and true to its title, they serve the most bitter yet excellent coffee..here i learnt that food are served at your table without you asking for it, you don't have to eat it, but once you touch it you have to pay~so be careful...but the foods were simply delicious
4. next was sightseeing around banda acheh..we went to the massive grave where they bury about 20 000 bodies of tsunami victim in one grave, located next to the leftover of meuraxa hospital in ulee lheue just next to the sea..then to masjid baiturrahim which was also hit by tsunami but amazingly did not suffer too much of damage like the other buildings around it. being sited just next to the sea, it is totally amazing..then we visited the ulee lhueu sea where we had satay padang, baked corn (soo nice!) and jasmine tea drink..hehe
5. pray at masjid raya baiturrahman. this mosque was 'saved' by piles of rubbishes that was carried by the tsunami wave. the piles of rubbishes forms some sort of a wall that prevents the strong current from tearing down the mosque. it was told that even the carpets inside the mosque was dry when the water was as high as the minarets..amazing..
6. dinner at a restaurant. we ate rice with ayam penyet, fried fish, sayur kangkung and udang tepung..also had alpuket (blended avocado with chocolate) and es teler (i am not sure what this is but i think its a mixture of coconut drink with coconut milk and jackfruit and other agar-agar)
7. then is getting ready for our community project next day!

2. at dayah daruzzahidin...first drink from acheh..

your parking man...have to pay him so he'll guide us where to park our car..

massive grave entrance

 

at massive grave

meuraxa hospital, ulee lheue

massive grave

RSU: rumah sakit umum aka hospital

masjid baiturrahim, ulee lheue

pantai ulee lheue

 

masjid raya baiturrahman

ayam penyet pak ulis

alpukat

es teler

day 2:

1. community project at dayah daruzzahidin..we did sunathon and medical check up..this is the first time i wrote a referral letter for a patient..i am hoping beyond everything that i am doing justice to the patients despite my lack of confidence, skills, knowledge and medicine..you know, being a fresh graduate..huk
2. lunch at wisata (pantai/sea) pasir putih...true to its name, not only the sand is white but the water is as blue as it can be and soo clear you can even count the pebbles and rocks and all the sea things in the water...beautiful place i feel like not going away..the only terrifying thing was we were attacked by a couple of goats which in the end, one of our friend has to sacrifice her rice and chicken to the goats...
3. went to pak rafar's bookshop where we met lots of fascinating books..unfortunately, i didn't have the hearts to buy it because i simply can't read indonesian language...they induce headaches~
4. dinner at pak rafar's house...his house were extremely beautiful! and we had nice ikan bakar and the thing that i can't forget about this dinner is the drink...too bad i didn't take its picture..hmm
5. back to dayah!

dayah daruzzahidin

writing a referral letter

pantai pasir putih

day 3:

1. went to 2 hospitals: rumah sakit iskandar muda and rumah sakit bulan sabit merah..both have its own memories for pak ikram (our lecturer) which was why we had to go there...hehe
2. went to acheh tsunami museum.. the building was extravagant, i thought its just too much but then i was told that it was build in such a way that it is strong enough to face the next earthquake and tsunami should it happen again. it is also built as shelter and educational centre...fascinating...
3. visited the site where a 70 tonne ship was left, carried away about 8km from the sea. it was left there because moving it back to the sea is too costly. so there it becomes a monument of tsunami
4. visited lampuuk mosque and prayed there. this is another amazing mosque. it is located 400 m from the sea where the tsunami wave started and it is the only building that stays strong in that lampuuk province..it was told that there was a very old chief who takes care of the mosque. he was a stroke patient, unable to move freely already. during the tsunami, he did not attempt to runaway as he was unable to do so, so he left his fate to the hands of God..and amazingly, he and the mosque was saved and he only died 2 years after the tsunami...hmm
5. went to pantai lampuuk for lunch. this is another amazing sea because this is the first  time i ever saw such big waves crashing about..well, its big enough to drown me but not enough to play water ski...hehehe..i so love watching the waves, its just so captivating. i burnt my face here...huk~
6. shopping at banda acheh...bought a new maxi dress, a handbag and faiz got his new shirt there..nice!
7. dinner at pak rafar's.. we also had alpuket there...and we slept at his house for the night~

 

replica of masjid lampisang at lampuuk in tsunami museum...see how it stands strong when everything around it is already in rubbles

a replica in tsunami museum showing the situation when tsunami arrives

the 7tonne ship that was carried away 8km from the sea...

ship is closed for visits at prayer hour

on the roof of masjid lampisang, lampuuk...its so strong it can even stand my weight..hehe

at lampuuk beach...awesome scenery, awesome waves!

day 4:

leaving on a jetplane....sigh~

1. saying goodbye to our temporary roomates at dayah daruzzahidin..giving motivations to students there thought actually they are the ones who motivates me..
2. saying goodbye to pak rafar and his family...
3. one day i'll be back to acheh again!



with pak rafar. our wonderful host



with my dormmate in acheh

with an achehian avocado in my new dress..hehehehe

funny book...kentut=fart~imagine someone spending his life writing a book about the power of farting..ahaks..

there are many more pics but i guess this is about now...there are like 500 pics so its impossible to be sharing everything anyways..hehehe

til then!