Views from the roof of Rahmatullah mosque

Continued from Going on top the Tsunami stranded ship.

Another famous monument from the Tsunami of 26th December 2004 is the Rahmatullah mosque at Lampuuk, about 15 km south-west of Banda Aceh.

Situated at 600 metres or so from the beach facing the Indian Ocean it was the only man-made structure left standing when the big waves struck.

A part of the mosque is left damaged as a testimony to the event.

Our driver, Agam then showed a staircase behind.

So we climbed up to check out the views.

I bet the views are best from up this tower.

But after climbing up a few stairs I found it too rusty to continue supporting my weight.

I guess it was enough to just climb up the roof and check out the views from there...

The time was close to sunset. The Indian Ocean is just behind the last line of trees...

Going on top the Tsunami stranded ship

Continued from Bringing the family to Gunongan.

Next on our list is a ship stranded inland after being pushed some five kilometres from shore by the big waves of the 26th December 2004 Tsunami.

Me and wife have been here in 2009 and 2010. Much changes have been made to accomodate visitors including a monument shown below.

Unlike the boat at Lampulo (see The boat on top of houses at Lampulo) the ship which houses a big generator set totally wrecked everything in its path.

Then again look at its size.

Time to go up and enjoy the views...

Bringing the family to Gunongan

Continued from The muddy area near the mouth of Aceh river.

In the afternoon we went to the Aceh museum office where lies an interesting 400 year-old structure.

It is called Gunongan which literarily means mountains. It is said the structure was built so that the consort to the then ruler of Aceh, a princess from Pahang where there are plenty of mountains would not be so homesick.

It was built within a huge royal garden.

There is a special fountain (now dysfunctional) for the princess to wash her hair. My wife doing a pose...

Then she can play/climb up the Gunongan while her hair dries up.

So there I was with the kids sort of emulating the action of the princess.

I was told when this place was still a garden, only females were allowed it, members of the royal family and their maids. Perhaps certain male members are allowed too. For it is conceivable that husbands to princesses should be allowed in at least during certain periods.

My 72-year-old dad also climbed up.

A look down...

The muddy area near the mouth of Aceh river

Continued from The boat on top of houses at Lampulo.

Later we went to a certain area near the mouth of the Aceh river and saw this new road.

Along its right, our right that is is the sea. On the left is a wide muddy area.

As we went further I was pointed to a patch close to the village of Kandang Aceh.

The patch is close to some mangrove trees. Our driver said it was there that the locals accidently found hundreds of old gold coins 4 months ago.

To have a closer look we must turn back and take an inland road. Then we have to walk...

Soon we could see a line in the horizon which is the road besides the sea.

The patch where the gold coin were found is about 200 metres ahead.

I walked down the mud for a closer look.

This is the furthest I could reach without soiling myself too much. The patch should be down just across this strip of water.

The fact that old gold coins from 400 years ago and earlier were found here suggest that this area used to be an important centre of commerce.