bukittinggi. once said that bukittinggi is the heart of west sumatra. literally means 'mother of the hills' or 'the top amongst the hills'. elected as one of the city with cleanest air, since surrounded by hills and sumatra's mountaineous range.

the main attraction here is jam gadang or the big clock. big ben look-alike. with its horn shape roof and romans numbering clock. exception in writing 'IV', the builder is not put romans 'IV' but "IIII". it said to commemorate about four people died in building this clock tower.

pictures (c) ukirsari ingram

after jam gadang, our fave destination is kampai tuo nan panjang. a long-house about 120 years old! also several old houses with wooden carved materials. all of them looks stunning. with its rice barns in front of the houses.

and should not be missed is coffee mills at batusangkar which still use water power to produce coffee powder. going inside to see the ladies making coffee, the fragrance is so fresh and nice.

then natural beauty can be found by visiting sianouk canyon or known as ngarai sianouk in local language. deep down to the canyon, the visitors can go inside to japanese tunnels. used in world war II as bunkers from the air raid.