Padang, Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Hello to everybody. My 5th time in my favourite country in the SEA, Indonesia. This time I have decided to go to some new place as I had already been to Java, Bali, Lombok and so on.
There have been two options, Medan and Padang. As I am into history and culture, I have decided to fly to Padang. Immigration proccess, in my opinion, is much smoother than in other countries. I have gone through autogate and that's it, no questions and so on, just received a message from Indo immigration service (I had obtained evisa beforehand). My gf is from SEA country so she can come to Indo visa-free. Immigration officer has only asked about return ticket, after getting info just smiled, suggested where to go and where to extend her stay.

Foreigners are quite rare in this area so I got almost the same amount of stares as in India, but people have been always helpful and outgoing. I have felt safe everywhere.

Overall, I highly recommend West Sumatra as starting point for Sumatran trip. People, architecture and culture are a bit different from Java, Bali and other famous Indo places. So if you want to visit Indonesia but dont want to go to areas packed with tourists, Sumatra is a good option. You can fly or go by train/bus to Medan and Toba lake, you can go to Java through Jakarta and so on, so connectivity is not a big problem. Getting taxi is a bit tricky in some areas, but they have shared minivans. Without ac but cheap af ($1.25 per one person).

I am sorry if I've made some mistakes as I am writing from my phone.

About pictures: 1st one is the main Mosque of West Sumatra. Doesn't look like a mosque, does it? If not for minaret behind it, I would say it a museum or something. Pics 2-4, 8, 9 are from traditional West Sumatran house called rumah gadang. Stunning architecture and attires if you ask me. You can see a clock tower from Bukkittinggi on the 5th picture. Picture six: another mosque with unique style. Picture seven: sunset at Gunung Padang hill. Picture ten: Padang ethnographical museum. The last picture is from the fort De Kock built by the Dutch in the 19th century.