There are beautiful beaches all over the world, and when you get to them, you usually find them filled with beautiful people. But if you have the time, you can still find your very own island paradise.
Our journey to the Banyak Islands began in Lombok and, after two flights, we made our way from the scruffy city of Medan in the east of Sumatra, to the sleepy port town of Singkil in the west. That eight hour drive through the Sumatran jungle was an experience in itself.
The road winds up into the mountains, through dense forest that clears away in places for small-scale farming. At times it is perfectly tarred and painted, at others, in a desperate state of disrepair. People live alongside it on almost every stretch, surviving by selling their goods and services to the passing traffic.
After a night in Singkil, we caught a public ferry to the main island community in the Banyaks – Palau Balai. Here the locals call the boat schedule ‘rubber time’ and after a three hour wait, we can understand why.
Four hours on a ferry and a short boat ride later, we sailed onto the beach at Palambak, one of the 97 islands in the Banyak archipelago. There were 99 before the 2005 earthquake that shifted the seabed and caused a devastating tsunami. Our bungalow manager, Anas, lost all five siblings to the tragedy.
This is a place where Mother Nature puts on her finest display. Blindingly white sand beaches give way to clear turquoise waters. Picture that quintessential island paradise, and this is it. The best part is, you can have it almost all to yourself.
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To set things straight, the Aceh Tsunami was in the end of 2004 and the Nias earthquake that “swallowed” 2 islands was in 2005. Actually, it is often called Nias earthquake, but the center was in Pulau Banyak near Sikandang Island.
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