Weh to Go

Pulau Weh was little known by most Indonesians during the decades-long separatist conflict in Aceh. Following the 2004 tsunami, several dive operators are trying to draw visitors to its pristine waters. Devi Asmarani travels to the island.

The road to Gapang Beach in Pulau Weh is a winding one, pocked with gaping holes, and at times looks dangerously too narrow for two vehicles going in opposing directions.

It was raining hard when we headed there, and I had a hunch that the driver of the van and his companion were under the influence of something. Earlier they made a stop in front of a store, became engaged in a heated discussion in the local Aceh dialect and then entered.

Back in the van, the two lit a cigarette and gradually mellowed. But there seemed to be a loose but erratic quality to their mannerisms – they put on really loud House music, and kept looking back at their passengers – which got me wondering if they had infused their cigarettes with some of the famously potent local marijuana.

I could have been imagining things, and I already felt a little cheated by them from when we began the journey at Balohan ferry port.

As I left the ferry, I was approached by a man who offered me and my travel companion a direct ride to Gapang beach, about 20 km away, for Rp 150,000 for two.

I agreed, as I had heard it was the usual rate, and followed the man. It turned out he was only a middleman, and I soon found that we were to ride in a beat-up Mitsubishi van with nine other passengers, all with sizeable carry-ons.

I tried to argue, but the driver said the other passengers were headed for the town of Sabang, about 10 minutes away, so we would have the car all to ourselves for the rest of the trip.

He argued it would be too costly for him to drive just the two of us. I gave in, and by then we were already squeezed in with the other passengers anyway as we clutched our belongings in our laps. My friend’s luggage containing his photography gear was piled atop the van with the other passengers’.

It was five minutes into the drive when it started to pour, and not surprisingly, when one of the passengers alighted the minibus, leaving a space inside for my friend’s luggage, he found it soaking wet.

By the time we arrived at the beach about 45 minutes later, it was dark already.

ON LAND

The name Pulau Weh, or Weh Island, is actually more popular among western tourists who call it by its geographical name. Most Indonesians would know it by its administrative name, Sabang, which is actually the island’s main town.

Even geographically-challenged Indonesians know the significance of Sabang from one of the country’s most patriotic songs: Dari Sabang Sampai Merauke (From Sabang to Merauke) . Pulau Weh is the country’s northwestern-most island – and Merauke its opposite on the east.

Because of its strategic location on the Malacca Strait, it was major port town during Dutch colonial times. Sabang’s role declined in post revolution Indonesia, as the island, which is part of Aceh province, was largely shut out due to the separatist war that raged in the mainland.

In 2000, the Indonesian government declared Sabang a Free Trade Zone and Free Port to try to reclaim its glorious past. Unfortunately, this has not been translated into a greater economic benefit for the island, other than it being the hub of used cars that were discarded in Singapore and later sold on the cheap in Aceh.

But since the early 1990s, some European tourists have begun to visit the island, drawn to its unexplored beaches and underwater attractions . It was for this reason I squeezed a two-day trip there into my recent visit to Banda Aceh.

Geographically speaking, Pulau Weh looks made for diving. It is located where the Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean, so the deep waters and currents around the island sustain a thriving marine life, from tiny critters to great pelagics.

The long conflict in Aceh between the separatists and Indonesian military never really spread to this island, but it has stunted development here, especially in the tourism sector.

But that is good news for divers: it means relatively pristine coral reefs and diving trips where you are unlikely to bump into other groups of divers underwater.

There are two beaches where dive operators are based here, the Iboih and the Gapang.

Iboih is home to the first dive operator in Pulau Weh, the Rubiah Tirta Divers.

Located in a 1,300 ha protected park it is more frequented by backpackers than Gapang.

Iboih is closest to Pulau Rubiah, which is Weh’s reef-encircled sister island. The beach has a few bungalows with basic facilities, some small cafes and restaurants serving international and western style food.

The Gapang beach has a a wider variety of accommodation, from basic wooden huts on the beach, or simple bungalows spread out along the hill overlooking the bay, to those with springbeds, shower and a choice of fans or air conditioners. Prices range from 3.50 Euro to 20 Euro per night.

The beach is a short stretch of white sand with large overhanging trees, the Gapang trees, and small cafés offering the standard fare of fried rice, fried noodles, pancakes and curry.

Although alcohol is banned in Aceh because of syariah law, it is generally sold at some of these cafes, though they might try to pull your leg at first.

An owner of one of these cafes feigned an offended look when I ordered a beer, saying: “We’re Muslims, we don’t serve beer.”

But in the same breath he continued: “We don’t serve one, we serve many.”

For 20 euro a night, my bungalow at Lumba-lumba. About five by six sqm, it has neither AC nor TV, but it has a small pantry with a fridge, a modern toilet and shower, and numerous (we’re talking numerous!) power sockets at various locations on the wall.

Underwater photographers and gadget freaks need not be worried about recharging their gear here, provided, of course, there is electricity in the first place. Apparently, power had been a little dodgy of late. On my first night, there was a blackout for two hours. Thankfully the next night, the power stayed on.

UNDERWATER

Diving is not a trivial matter in Pulau Weh. There are up to 20 dive spots around the island, but I only had one day to dive before returning to the mainland the next day, so we picked those closest to the Gapang beach.

Our first destination was Batu Tokong, a clump of rocks about a 20-minute boat ride from the beach.

We dived in the passage of water around these rocks and found lots of interesting creatures, including Moray eels, the giant eel-like predatory fish that hides inside crevices while sticking out their beastly head and jaw. They were everywhere in this spot, and of various species too.

The water was crystal clear and visibility was as far as 25 meters. The current was pretty mild, although we experienced a bit of surf shortly during the three-minute safety stop before we surfaced.

After lunch at the beach, we headed for Arus Balee. This spot is another water passage around a rocky pinnacle.

It was named after the Acehnese word Arus Palee, which means bastard current. The narrow passage facilitates strong current, as well as drawing in sharks and other sea creatures. Here, divers are advised to stay close to the bottom to avoid getting caught in the current.

This is a place to enjoy schools of colorful fishes like the neon bright fusilier.

We drifted along and arrived at a brilliant garden of gorgonian fans that spread out majestically, giving us the feel of a botanical park.

We saw a turtle upside down, head in a crevice, completely preoccupied with something (probably a potential meal) that he was oblivious to a nosy audience. His posterior swayed in the current, as he busily burrowed into the rocks.

I was told that the currents around Pulau Weh draw big plankton feeders such as whale sharks and manta rays, which frequent the area in January. Dolphins, sometimes with pods numbering in the hundreds, are also commonly sighted here. I saw none of those great animals, but I was nonetheless satisfied when I surfaced.

In fact, I did not even have to go to far from shore to immerse myself in the marine life. Gapang’s house reef is populated by interesting creatures, from scorpion, lion and frog fishes to the iconic anemone fish.

Whale sharks have reportedly been seen in the months of September, October, and November, and even once during a night dive only 30 meters off the beach.

ISLAND LIFE

The owners of Lumba-lumba dive operator and bungalows, Dutch couple Ton Egbers and Marjan Van der Burg, fell in love with the island when they first dived there in 1995.

They got involved first by investing in a dive operator in Iboih beach in 1996, but two years later set up their own business in Gapang.

Ton, a 48 year-old aerospace engineer by training, said the two had seen the ups and downs of business in Pulau Weh since then.

When they first set up, just months after the tumultuous 1998 reform movement, the rupiah was at its lowest as the country was mired in economic crisis. But at the time Pulau Weh drew a lot of European tourists who were attracted by the cheap rate.

The situation turned around, however, when the government imposed martial law for Aceh at the height of the conflict with separatist group GAM.

Martial law was applied throughout the whole province, including Sabang. All foreigners were banned from visiting. In 2003 through 2004 the island’s tourism industry saw no business at all.

The status was downgraded to civilian emergency in 2004, and foreign tourists were allowed to enter Pulau Weh, although they had to be accompanied by a police and immigration officer upon arrival at the Banda Aceh airport all the way to the ferry port.

Despite this strict protocol, people, mostly divers, started to return to the island.

That was until the December 26, 2004 tsunami that flattened much of Aceh’s coast and killed a quarter of a million people in the province.

The tsunami did not damage most of the dive sites, except for a couple and even there only in shallow areas. But in Gapang, the giant waves swept away some of the waterfront restaurants and wooden huts. Lumba-lumba survived albeit with some minor damage.

Within a few months, and with some aid money for the affected businesses, they were rebuilt and were soon up and running again.

In the past three years since, Pulau Weh has attracted a new market: “the NGO people”. These are expatriates or non-Acehnese Indonesians who work for humanitarian agencies in Banda Aceh, and who would R&R over the weekend at the beaches on the island.

With the addition of flights into Banda Aceh, including three direct flights a week from Kuala Lumpur, the island sees more foreign tourists now, including Europeans and Malaysians.

Despite this, Ton said he feels reluctant to over advertise his business, saying he rely chiefly on word of mouth and their website.

“I think we have to grow along with the pace of the development here. Right now, the place is still pretty basic, probably too simple for some,” he said.

“If we overmarket now, there would probably be some dissatisfied visitors, who find it not up to their standards.”

Well, dodgy driver and power blackout aside, I can safely say I’m not one of those visitors.

+ All photos by Ernest Goh

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