day 4: therefore, they are randoms

it's ridiculous how a human is using this animal, a monkey, to get money from the people. the monkey is trained to dance and entertain, later on going around picking up the notes from the people. geez.

this place has its own story and history behind it. and when i heard about it, i was like 'whaaattt?'

and below are my two favorite pictures that i photograph. this makcik was lifting those heavy bananas on top of his head, holding two plastic bags and still walking straight.

i captured the next photo while i was on my flight flying back to kuala lumpur. this girl suddenly turned around and spoke to me. we had a little chat along the flight and she was very friendly. i asked her if i could have a shot or two of her, and surprisingly she agreed. she's beautiful and she's only 11.

that's all about my trip. til next shots.

day 3: let's get a little artistic

before we left bukit tinggi and heading back to padang, we went to a place near the hotel we were staying in. it has a row of souvenir shops, and this painting site.


this man painted all the paintings. i'd done a little interview with him; he's been doing painting for more than 20 years, which he paints since he was a teenager.

these are among the souvenirs that were sold.

day 2: part 3; embroided

a very unique qubah i've ever seen.

we went to sulaman hjh rosma where all the embroidery activities were held in here.



at the end of the day, i found myself addicted to this drink. haih. tea is the sweetest drug EVER! this teh botol is a phenomenal drink in indonesia and it's famous among the locals. it's a sweetened jasmine tea and i just couldn't help myself from having it. i'm wishing there would be a market for teh botol here in malaysia.

day 2: part 2; spicy foods never awe me

cuisine. okay, those who love spicy food, i think this place has a hot deal to offer. the foods are spicy and for a person like moi, i couldn't take it. but that's what they got, so like it or not, i have to chew and swallow the foods. or else, i would starve myself. chew and swallow. that's all i'd been doing for the past 4 days for the foods!

In a Padang-style restaurant, the table will quickly be set with dozens of small dishes filled with highly-flavored foods such as curried fish, fried tempeh, stewed greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, fried chicken, and of course, sambals, the spicy sauces ubiquitous at Indonesian tables. Customers take - and pay for - only what they want from this array of dishes. Food safety is generally a concern, as many customers take food out of communal dishes with their hands, dishes which will be served to subsequent customers. The best known Padang dish is rendang, a spicy meat stew. Soto Padang (crispy beef in spicy soup) is local residents' breakfast favorite, meanwhile Sate (beef satay in curry sauce served with ketupat) is a treat in the evening. (qoute from wikipedia)

we had our first lunch in a restaurant situated in the middle of the pond. have a look.

the fish. there were many of them inside the pond. you can see them swimming on the surface because the water was crystal clear.

this is the minangkabau house.

the wall. very artsy and i love it.

mom said we could have this kind of stairs at home. haha. yeah right.

pagaruyung.

here's what i'd like to share. in indonesia, the words are all about abbreviation. have a read:

in malaysia we call clinic as klinik, but they call it as puskesmas. what does puskesmas mean? Pusat Kesihatan Masyarakat.

they don't call tazkirah maghrib as it is. they call it kultum. and kultum is the short for kuliah tujuh minit. because between the transition of maghrib and isyak, we only have 7 minutes before the azan. hence, the word.

indonesians are famous with their jamu. do you know that jamu is a short form for jagalah dirimu?

nice one.

day 2: part 1; and the sky is even bluer

after reaching padang pariaman the night before, we went straight to bukit tinggi. high hills, and you would know how it is like. cool, chilly and windy. the room in the hotel that we were living in didn't have any air-conditioning due to the cold weather (so why you need an ac anyway?). i was wearing my jacket although it's already 12 in the afternoon. a chilly afternoon, i suppose.

before heading to the next spots, we landed ourselves in this place called Jam Gadang; a famous clocktower that sets this place as a major attraction here in bukit tinggi. next to the the road is the bung hatta palace.

even locals are taking pictures infront of it, let alone us!

if we have beca here in malaysia, then they have the horse ride. we didn't get the chance of riding on it because time was limited for us. if you take a close look at the horse, you will notice that its eyes are covered with a piece of cloth. the rational for the cover is so that the horse won't look anywhere but straight to the destination. besides, people are making use of this horse as their financial source, of course they don't want the horse to see them get paid when in fact, the horse is making the efforts all alone while its owner is sitting, trying to get the visitors riding on it!

day 1: the grass is greener on the other side

we reached the land of padang, sumatera at 3pm local time. what i could say about this place is, geographically it doesn't have much difference with what we have here in malaysia. the hills, the paddy field, the river, you name it - it's what you can always get here in our country. but one definite specialty for this place is the grass is greener. i mean, very greeny and it looks nice! besides, the weather is cool and chilly. along the trip, i didn't take off my sweater because it chilled me to the bone. and oh, the wind was breeeeezzzzyyy.

this was our first spot in padang pariaman where we had our coconut drinks. this is the view from the top. picturesque, enough said.

at first, i thought this animal was a cat. so i kept meow-ing towards it until a local told me it's a fox. i was like, 'musang ya pak?' and i snapped it away. it looks so cute in real life.

we went to a souvenir shop and i found this home at the back of the shop. i wonder how's it like when the rain doesn't stop pouring; does it flood?

on our way to bukit tinggi, we crossed this waterfall and it was a breathtaking scenery that i just couldn't stop myself from snapping away. the car that we were in was moving so fast, but lucky for me i managed to capture this phenomenal sight. rolling down the window and with just one click away, here it is.