Painan, West Sumatra - Indonesia

Painan is a coastal town, and the capital of the South Pesisir regency of West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Actually, there is no certain historical document or archive that holds the origin of the town's name. However, according to the local beliefs, the name Painan is originated from paik nian, which means "very bitter" in bahasa Minangkabau, the language of the Minangkabau people who lives in the area. The phrase paik nian itself is believed as the expression of travelers that visited the town in the past upon seeing the "bitterness" of life in the town.

This town then became an important place since year 1663 when the Dutch, via the Dutch East India Company set-up a trading post in 'Pulau Cingkuk', one of many islands offshore the town, according to "Perjanjian Painan" or 'Painan Treaty'.

There are some attractive tourism spots in Painan, such as the historical Pulau Cingkuk, the renowned Carocok beach, several beautiful islands off the coast of the town, and even paragliding from the town's Langkisau Hill.

source :
http://wikitravel.org
http://wikipedia.org

Here some pic for Carocok beach and some islands off the coast