Sunset Passed Quickly on Ulee Lheue |

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Dusk ends quickly at Ulee Lheue Beach, Meuraksa, Banda Aceh. The beach, which was exposed to the earthquake and tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004, has now become more beautiful, graceful, and full of charm, like a beautiful woman who is smart in dressing up. It is not wrong if Ulee Lheue Beach is one of the tourist destinations in Banda Aceh, a city located at the western end of Indonesia.

The wind was blowing a little harder at Ulee Lheue in mid-January 2018. The sun was starting to lose its saltiness, as more and more visitors to Ulee Lheue Beach. Slowly, the sunlight dimmed and replaced with reddish rays on the western horizon.

Having just arrived in Banda Aceh after a tiring road trip from Lhokseumawe, by passing the sharp incline of Seulawah, I want to capture the sunset at Ulee Lheue, and share with Steemian friends who have never been there. For Steemian in Banda Aceh, perhaps Ulee Lheue is an object that is no longer attractive.

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But that's a wrong assumption. A thousand times picking up the twilight at Ulee Lheue, we can find two thousand different scenes. Small families who take their children to see the sunset, people fishing from the bridge or on the edge of the kuala, people who enjoy roasted corn while waiting for dusk to fall. The hustle and bustle at Ulee Lheue is different every evening. If you don't believe it, please prove it yourself.

Standing on the edge of the bridge, I witnessed several teenage girls taking pictures with the background of Ulee Lheue's twilight that was not yet completely flushed. They smiled happily, showing rows of clean white teeth, with alternating styles and backgrounds. Sometimes, they rotate their bodies 380 degrees to get a completely different view. Whether their photos are attractive or not, their style is truly captivating.

In another corner, from the top of the yellow bridge, people are lined up fishing with a view to the end of the horizon. They focus more on fishing rods than on a reddish sunset. However, there are also some people who enjoy the dusk while continuing to move the fishing rod so that the bait in the water continues to move to tempt the big fish to devour it. There were several strikes, and a small fish wriggling on the end of the hook. About 20 minutes I watched the scene, not a single big fish they can.

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On the edge of the kuala, a fisherman sits alone, waiting for the fish to land on the end of his hook. He looked patiently waiting even though no one seemed interested yet. Perhaps, the man didn't really care about the fish. He just wanted to enjoy the twilight on Ulee Lheue, under the bridge, without anyone bothering him. So when a fishing boat passed and caused waves around him, the man seemed disturbed. Until the little ripples disappeared, he refocused on the fishing rod.

The sky that glowed reddish slowly turned dark as dusk began to completely fall. Some people left, leaving Ulee Lheue, who is now increasingly diligent in dressing up to beautify herself. There are more children's playgrounds, so the beach becomes more child-friendly. The merchants peddled various types of merchandise, from food, drinks, to clothes. Some corners provide a beautiful spot for taking pictures together, simply leaving a trail on Ulee Lheue Beach at dusk. Unfortunately, I did not find the typical Ulee Lheue Beach souvenir as we can easily find in other beach tourism destinations in various regions in Indonesia and the world.

Perhaps this is a note for the local community to take advantage of every opportunity that exists to increase income while promoting the beauty of Ulee Lheue marine tourism.

Twilight has left Ulee Lheue, but the memories behind its beauty remain strong. []

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