Pulau Pagang, West Sumatra

Back to Sumatra... Bright and early the next morning we packed up our stuff and escaped from dismal Bungus Beach with haste.  Gavin, our Dutch pal Ferry, and I hired a boat and a guide for a trivial amount.  The four of us, along with supplies for a couple of days headed out to Palau Pagang, a pristine isle just an hour down the coast from Bungus.

Ferry Vonk - avid traveler, smoker, reader, and musician.  Listen to some of his artistic output HERE.

The fishing boats in this area were ecstatically decorated.

Pagang Island, where time drifts by like a listless breeze through the palms.  With no electricity and no permanent inhabitants, it's almost completely deserted, just a few sheds, fallen coconuts, the tracks left by giant monitor lizards, and a few cabins dot the main beach.  Pristine beaches and water of the purest hues ring the islet.  It was truly a magical place to spend a few days.

Our guide was so sweet, constantly offering us drinks and snacks, preparing great home-cooked meals, and even constructing me a flower necklace!

What did we do on this deserted island?  A whole lot of paradise.  During the day we swam in the deep blue and snorkeled, taking advantage of the clear water and the proliferation of sea life in the reef off of the northern tip.  Sea turtles, blue-spotted rays, and even a rare banded sea snake were encountered during our brief time on the island.

Gavin learned how to fish with a hand line.  It was pretty unsuccessful, but fun.

We took a long walk one afternoon and explored the island.  We collected shells and chased crabs.

Sunsets were beery and vivid.

Around this time Gavin had a prolonged swim with a precocious sea turtle.  There is no snorkel like the magic hour snorkel.  Thank you Terrence Malick for the inspiration... reefs are truly alive when the sun is declining.

If you happen to be in West Sumatra, make your way to Pagang Island.  This was our last stop on the world's sixth biggest island and it was one of the highlights.

Pantai Bungus, West Sumatra

We met an interesting couple while in Lake Maninjau, a frustratingly cheerful young tour guide from Bukittinggi named Tom showing around his latest Western girlfriend (Indo dudes + backpacker gals = common theme in Sumatra).  At this point our Indonesian visa was running low on days and with West Sumatra getting old quickly we sprung on Tom's idea of beach bliss. 

The punch-drunk youngsters organized us a place in their car so we could all split the cost.  We should have known by the name alone it was a dead end, but he seemed to think it was heaven on earth.  With a few days to spare and a flight out of Padang (only an hour away from Bungus) in a few days, we went ahead and joined them.

We had a fabulous Padang-style lunch just outside of Bukittinggi.  This one was complete with dozens of dishes including local specialties like boiled internal buffalo organs and crispy lakefish.  I stuck to the vegetables and curried fish.  Delish!

My favorite part was the dessert!   Sticky rice, coconut milk, condensed milk, sweet mystery sauces, syrups, fruit and ice all piled on top of one another.  I never got your name, but I will never forget thee.  It put Vietnamese Che to shame...

Once we arrived at Bungus, our jaws dropped.  It was possibly the worst beach we have ever been to in our lives.  No wonder, after all, it does rhyme with FUNGUS... and we did hitch a ride with lover boy and his quixotic romantic ideals. What did we expect?  What was once a beautiful tropical cove was now a toxic soup.  The shores lined with trash and the locals listless and menacing with fishing and tourism on a perpetual decline.

Below are the ONLY photos I took while we were there.  The first is of Gavin helping the local fisherman drag in their net during a monsoon rain storm.  It was a devastating sight to watch their reactions when the driftnets were finally dragged in after four physically straining hours of work.  The effort of ten men procured them only one crab and a couple mid-sized fish to sell at market.  Defeated they trudged into the twilight...

This is the monkey who lived at the rotting, malaria-infested bungalows we flopped in.  She was ecstatically neurotic, but you would be too living on a short chain in Bungus Beach for your entire life.  She thought this kitten was her baby and Gavin claimed to have briefly communicated with her one night.

  She groomed and loved her darling cat, but I'm afraid the love was unrequited.

This is the sunset from our final night in Bungus.  It was the best of the whole trip.  Unfortunately, we missed most of it as we were battling the thick layer of mosquitoes covering any piece of exposed flesh. 

There is one reason to visit this part of the world, the isolated isle of Pagang, an hour boat trip down the coast.  Think of the ideal tropical beach and your description should match up.. but we'll save that for another post.