Referring to the introduction in the article Views from the mosque of Sultan Sulaiman at Singgora (Songkhla).. Time to start sharing stories on the new trip covering the central part of the island of Sumatera 25th January till 1st February.
Wednesday 25th January 2017 which is exactly 2 weeks ago. After a delay of an hour or so, I boarded the plane for my new trip.
It is to the city of Padang on the island of Sumatera, Indonesia. Flight was scheduled to take off at 1.55pm But when I finally settled in my seat it was already 2.46.
The plane took off after 3. As usual I can't help taking pictures from the window.
View as we started to cross the Straits of Melaka.
Soon it became too cloudy.
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By the time I could see land again we were already above the island of Sumatera. A check with Google Earth shows this flight need to only cross 40 km of water as it passed among the narrowest parts of the straits.
We spent more time above land than above water. Google Earth also shows we need to cross about 350 km of Sumatera before we can reach Padang.
Soon I could see a beautiful stretch of highlands which I recognised from maps as the central area of the Minangkabau world, the world of the people of West Sumatera which covers Padang. Seen here is part of Danau (lake) Singkarak.
Situated at around 1,200 feet above sea level it is about 21 km long and 7 km wide.
A check with Google Earth also shows that many mountains here rise up to more than 4,000 feet above sea level. There are two which goes up to more than 9,000 feet high, the Singgalang and the Merapi mountains.
Soon we could see the city of Padang and the open waters of the Indian Ocean...
Lowering altitude for landing...
Touchdown. This picture was taken at 3.56 Malaysian time. Local time should be 2.56.
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