USINDO president, Al LaPorta, connected us with Pak Ramang, a Sampoerna Foundation project manager for the school being built in Aceh, co-funded by USINDO and Sampoerna, among others… and a local driver, Tanwir. They waited for us at the airport and helped us find a hotel.

This little adventure begins around 6pm,,, and 4 hotels later we finally find one with an open room. “Nothing fancy” would be a good name for this hotel- don’t be fooled by the marble front.

A double room goes for $33. Add $12 for the extra mattress, and we’re paying 3 times the going rate in Bali. (granted, not the luxury places) It was fine, especially after the unexpected surprise of discovering HBO (which worked 1 night only), but hot water would have been nice. A shower head, for that matter… preferably one connected to a hose longer than 3 feet, that didn’t squirt out brown water. But we can’t be picky in a post-tsunami zone. It was better than a tent.

After settling that, we went out for coffee & conversation in downtown Banda Aceh. The coffee that comes from the island of Sumatra (Aceh is on the northern tip of Sumatra) is famed as one of the best cups of joe around.