Banda Aceh

aerial view of Banda Aceh
photo by Tilo

Banda Aceh is the capital of the Aceh province and has been rebuilt after the devastating tsunami in 2004.

After years of reconstruction with the help of countless NGOs and other organisations, it is hard to find any damage anymore that was caused by the tsunami on Dec 26, 2004 which killed around 150,000 people in Banda Aceh. Now the town is back as a bustling province capital of Aceh with new infracsture and houses. It is a charming small town which is spread out and has a village atmosphere and many paddy fields. Hardly any building has more than 2 storeys. Banda Aceh is now easily accessable with international flight from Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia), Penang (Fireflyz) and is it transit point to Pulau Weh (Sabang) (45min ride on the fast ferry / 1h30min slow ferry). You need to get your Indonesian visa before you fly into Banda Aceh as you cannot obtain a visa on arrival here.
There are also non-stop night buses (9-13h) from Medan to Banda Aceh.

Wikitravel says:
Around 150,000 people were killed in Banda Aceh in the Tsunami of 26 December 2004. Some parts of the city became permanently submerged. Many aid agencies have been present since then to help rebuild. The long conflict between the Acehnese independence movement (GAM) and the Indonesian army (TNI) has been solved for the time being by the peace agreement on 15 August 2005. The peace process has been quite smooth since. On 11 December 2006 the province held its first direct and democratic local elections. On 8 February 2007 the first democratically elected Governor, Irwandi Yusuf, was inaugurated. ... read more

Wikipedia says:
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 21 meters. The population was approximately 260,000 in 2006. Banda Aceh is located at the northwestern tip of Indonesia. The city was originally named Kutaraja, and determined as the provincial capital in 1956.[1] Kuta Raja means "City of the King", in reference to the founding of the Aceh Sultanate from Champa origins. Later its name was changed to Banda Aceh, with the first part of the name coming from the Persian bandar (بندر) meaning "port" or "haven". It is also proudly referred to as the "port to Meccah", as Islam first arrived in Aceh before spreading throughout Southeast Asia. ... read more