padang_overview.htm

Padang is a bustling port and a university town, an attractive and beautiful city. It is an important transport hub and famed throughout Indonesia for its spicy local cuisine, which is known as Makanan Padang (Padang food / Nasi Padang).

The atmosphere of the city is also of extreme nature: Hot and humid and with the highest rainfall in Indonesia at 4508 mm a year. Tourists from almost all over the world stay here before aiming their route to the nearby hilly town of Bukittinggi, the Mentawai Islands, the Kerinci-Seblat national park, or more distant Bengkulu.

If you like shopping and would love to have an experience with this world class market, then ignore the large new shopping centers and head straight for Pasar Raya in the city centre, a terrific general market and feel the heat of the market.

Geography
Padang city with a population of around 800,000 is the capital of Sumatra Barat province, and is located on West Sumatra, Indonesia. On the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the small Padang River, lies this beautiful small city, which has attracted many tourists and travelers from all over the world.

This city has been an important port since the early years, and has a large trade in coffee, rubber, spices, tobacco, and cement, which are shipped principally from its port, Teluk Bayur.

This city has been and remains the principal outlet for the important coalfields. The atmosphere of the city is of extreme nature and you can enjoy both summer and winter here if you like. After spending some time here, you can also plan to move to the nearby hilly villages of Indonesia, which are equally beautiful though a little less famous!

This city is basically a plain site and for that cause have extreme atmosphere conditions with the varying seasons. It was the center of colonial life for sporting events and social gatherings.

Padang is now a small and rather sleepy port on the West Coast of Sumatra, facing the Indian Ocean. The past of this city was rich and it was a major part of Sumatra, for, there were coalmines nearby the city. And therefore ships from Europe called there first to take on coal and water.

Transportation
It is easy and convenient to get to this city. You can choose to visit Padang from Jakarta or Singapore and can you get a direct flight from Singapore with Silkair or Tiger Airways.

Travel time is around 1hour and 10 mins. If you want to come from Singapore via Batam, you can opt to take a ferry ship from Singapore Harbour Front Ferry Terminal to Batam. From there you can get a taxi to the airport and catch a domestic flight from Batam to Padang.

This is actually a cheaper way. If you want to come from Jakarta, then it is advisable to take a domestic flight. The airlines tickets are with par to the fares charged by the buses but you will save yourself from bus travel, which is usually too long and not advisable!

The capital of West Sumatra, Padang has several houses built in traditional architecture, including the Padang Museum which houses objects of cultural and historical interest.
The beach of the bay of Bungus and its white sands is good for swimming, boating or just watching the fishing boats going out to sea in the afternoon. Small boats can be hired from here to some small islands nearby: Sirandah, Sikoaci Pagang, Parsumpahan.

Jam Gadang Bukit Tinggi