Mon, 2 Feb 2026
Today is our last day in Bukit Tinggi. We had breakfast at Hotel Monopoli and checked out.
Our first visit of the day is Panorama Baru, which is located in Bukit Tinggi. It offers a beautiful view of the valley where on a clear day you will be able to see Mount Singgalang and Mount Marapi.
We headed to Batusangkar and visited Kopi Kiniko. During the Dutch colonial era, natives were not allowed to drink coffee (as the Dutch wanted to sell it). Any locals caught drinking coffee would receive harsh punishment. The natives were only allowed to consume the leaves. Turns out, the coffee leaves made excellent tea (shown in the bottom right photo above).
We continued our journey into Batusangkar and stopped by Pondok Flora for lunch. They served excellent padang food with a scenic view of the paddy field.
After lunch, we headed to Istana Besar Pagaruyung. Just before reaching the place, we made a brief stop at Istana Silindung Bulan. This was the original site of the old istana that was built there in 1550. It was destroyed in 1820 due to civil war and a new replica was built around 2 kilometeres from this site.
Istana Silindung Bulan is significant and has historical ties to Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia). It was the historical home of Raja Melewar, the founder of Negeri Sembilan royalty in Tanah Melayu (now Malaysia). In 1773, Raja Melewar, son of Sultan Munim Syah III (the reigning sultan at the time), was invited by the Minangkabau people in Tanah Melayu to form a new Kingdom called Negeri Sembilan.
We then drove down a short distance and arrived at Istana Pagaruyung. It was the highlight of the day. The modern replica of the istana retained the same design but was built bigger. I could see a few visitors renting a traditional minangkabau outfit to take photos around the istana. It’s a brilliant idea.
We went inside for a tour. There were not much exhibits, but the interior designs were impressive. We were told that on specific dates there were traditional dances and art shows. We would have loved to see that.
We made a brief stop at Surau Lubuk Bauk, which was where Hamka had his early education.
We stopped by a roadside cafe with a view. We needed somewhere to sit to get the traffic heading to Padang to clear out.
We arrived in Padang just in time for dinner. Bang Doy took us to Pondok Ikan Bakar. Turns out it’s a famous spot for tourist as there were other buses there too.
After dinner, we checked in at ZHM Hotel in Padang.
Tue, 3 Feb 2026
In the morning, we had breakfast at ZHM hotel. Turns out they had a decent breakfast spread with good coffee.
After checking out, we went to Pantai Air Manis to have a look at the sculpture of Malin Kundang. The tale of Malin Kundang is a famous West Sumatran folktale about a poor, hardworking young man who went abroad, becomes successful, and marries a noblewoman. After many years, he returned to his village only to be ashamed of his poor and ragged mother. This led to the mother cursing him into stone. The stone sculpture symbolizes the consequences of disrespecting parents.
We have a similar tale in Malaysia called Si Tanggang.
We visited Masjid Raya Syekh Ahmad Khatib Al Minangkabawi, named after the famous Syekh himself. Syekh Ahmad Khatib was the first non-arab to be one of the imams at Masjidil Haram around 1880 – 1900.
After visiting the mosque, we had lunch at a roadside stall before going to the airport.
We bade farewell to Bang Doy as he dropped us off at the airport. He is a friendly tourguide and we will be promoting his company’s services to others.
This visit gave me a new appreciation to Minangkabau history, culture and their traditions. I am keen to study the history of Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia as the Yamtuan and his nobilities are seen as the continuation of Minangkabau culture in Tanah Melayu.
Imran Jaafar 