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09.05.2023

Pasar Raya and Padang’s old town

Even when staying in Padang just as a jumping off point to visit somewhere else in West Sumatra, you should give the market, or old town a visit. It is worth it just to experience the minang food culture at dinner time, but there’s much more to see.

Pasar Raya

Padang’s heart, at the northern end of its old town Pasar Raya is the traditional and the biggest market of the city. At Pasar Raya you won’t find many tourists, the few that usually go there mostly disappear in the masses of locals that visit the market at any time until closing. The main parts of it are the market halls along Jalan Pasar Raya and Jalan Sandang Pangan Pasar, though it extends further along the many sideroads.

The lower western part along Jalan Pasar Raya mostly specializes in cloths and clothing, along here, especially at the southern end and further north, you’ll also find a lot of Street food. The clothing sold on the street are cheaper wares and imprinted with batik patterns in a relatively simple way. Higher quality traditional Batik cloths and clothes are sold in the market hall between Jalan Pasar Raya and Jalan Sandang Pangan Pasar, the southern part of which is in the process of being rebuilt, though the northern part remains open. The buildings along Jalan Pasar Raya are due to be brought up to the level of the buildings along Jalan Sandang Pangan Pasar, whose somewhat recent renovations luckily had no significand effect on the market’s traditional charm.

The part along Jalan Sandang Pangan Pasar specializes in food and cooking supplies. There you’ll find the fish market and the market hall with most of the spice sellers. Along the street there are the market stands of all the fruit and veggie sellers, selling everything local to West Sumatra and in season at the time. Be aware of the smell along this road as it is, as is typical for tropical wet markets, probably not for you if you have a sensitive nose. The garbage is picked up once a day, but the heat still turns it smelly around the early afternoon hours. Nonetheless, a visit here is worth it for the fresh local fruit alone.

The old town area

South of Pasar Raya stretching across the river to the Bukit Gado Gado you’ll enter Padang’s old town Area, with its mix of colonial and traditional architecture, as well as Padang’s Chinatown. As the road at Pasar Raya’s entrance splits in two, when planning to get to the old town you should follow Jalan Hiligoo which continues straight south. The other road curving west will take you around the edge of the old town and eventually passed the Adityawarman museum. It is housed in a stunning traditionally styled building and a great place to learn about the local history and culture. Admission is cheap, but there’s no air conditioning, making it a good place to visit on a bad weather day and less so on a hot one.
When going straight, you’ll find a place that might be interesting to you if you’re a surfer. On the left, you’ll pass the subsTANCE surfshop, where you can find any last supplies before going to the Mentawais. Staying on the main road which becomes Jalan Pondok at this point, you’ll find yourself on another shopping street with a few bars and coffee shops, though the interesting parts follow after the next four-way intersection. In the area following and around the intersection, all the way to the Chinatown area, you can find a lot of great bars and restaurants. The area is busiest in the evening, a good place to look for dinner.

If you stay on the same road, from this point on it’s called Jalan Niaga, you’ll eventually find yourself in Padang’s Chinatown, the traditional center of Padang’s Chinese merchants. To this day, the area is home to Chinese cultural centers and a Chinese style Buddhist temple.

Leaving Chinatown on to Jalan Batang Arau you’re now in the old harbor, with its colonial warehouses. Most notably, here is what is probably the westerner friendly place in Padang. At the Bat and Arrow, you can get western style food, if the Indonesian offerings are not for you, or just grab some drinks in the evening. The best place to sit, though you’ll have to be lucky, is out on the balcony in the back. From there you’ll have a great view along the river, which it overhangs. You can cross the river on a pedestrian bridge right next to the Bat and Arrow, I’d however recommend crossing on the main bridge closer to the river’s mouth, there are also more colonial buildings and good restaurants on Jalan Nipah the Street leading up to the bridge.

Across the river

Crossing the river on the (Jembatan) Siti Nurbaya bridge will give you a great view of the Muara harbor with its colonial warehouses on one side and the traditional wooden buildings at the foot of the Bukit Gado Gado on the other. The contrast between the sides is stark and crossing the river will make you feel like leaving the city and entering one of West Sumatra’s small villages. This is further amplified by the shops and restaurants here being a lot smaller and more clandestine than on the other side.

Visiting this part of the old town is great if you need a short break from the bustle of the city, especially if you visit the Gunuang Padang, the hill at the mouth of the river. Just follow the river to get there, you enter the path up the hill through a gate, which is recognizable by its traditional Minangkabau style roof and red walls, you’ll have to pay a small entrance fee, but the views and the feeling of being teleported into the jungle are worth it. The path winds around the hill with multiple outlooks to sit down, enjoy the ocean brise and the sound of the forest. At the top you’ll get a 360° view with the city on one side and the ocean as well as the bay at Pantai Air Manis on the other. The top is covered by trees, there are benches and small pavilions to sit down at and relax.

Following the road going up the hill past the entrance to the Gunuang Padang, you’ll encounter multiple coffee shops with great views atop it. The road will eventually lead to Pantai Air Manis and Teluk Bayur winding along the hillside. They are not part of the old town and I wouldn’t recommend walking there. Pantai Air Manis and especially the village next to it are, however, a good place to visit as the beach here is clean, though the water is a bit murky and there is another small entrance fee that can be avoided by going through town.