Palembang City hosting SEA Games 2011.

Metropolitan Palembang's Jaka Barings Sports Complex will play host to the 26th Southeast Asian Games.(SEA Games) and Jakarta venue will be at Bung Kamo Main Stadium in the heart of the city,the largest and oldest stadium in Indonesia.

During this 11 days of competitions starting from 11.11.2011 till 22.11.11,participating countries include Thailand,Cambodia,Vietnam,Singapore,Philippines,Brunei,Myanmar,Laos and Timor Leste will be sending their strong contingents of athletes to compete in 44 sports events and grabbing the 542 gold medals.

Events line up for the Palembang Challenge includes swimming,baseball,billiards and snooker,chess,boxing,gymnastics,petange,roller sports,shooting,sepak takraw,softball,soft tennis,volley ball,wall climbing,water skii,weightlifting and wrestling.

Stadion Garuda Sriwijaya at Jalan Kolonel H Burlian, owned by TNI Kodam II Srivijaya is quite a new stadium.

TNI stands for Tentera Nasional Indonesia (Indonesia Arm Forces)

This venue will be the training centre for athletes in the 26th SEA Games Jakarta-Palembang 2011.

 Logo on the right is called Srivijaya with the Garuda bird which is a mytihcal bird like creature appearing in the Hindu and Buddhist mytology.

 The national carrier of Indonesia PT Garuda Indonesia is also named after this bird.








There was a slight haze overhanging this morning when I walked to the football stadium which was near where I stayed.

Palembang is the capital of South Sumatra located on the Musi River banks and the second largest metropolis after Medan.

 It is also the ancient Hindu capital of the Srivijaya Empire.

The Malay-Hindu who founded the Malacca Sultanate named Parameswara(in sanskrit means the Supreme Lord) was originated from Palembang.

Another ruler in Parameswara lineage called Sang Nila Utama founded Temasek(now called Singapore)

In AD671,a chinese monk known as I-Ching stopped for 6 months over here on his way to India.

 Chinese admiral Cheng Ho,an emissary of the chinese emperor also landed here during the 15th century.

There is a Buddhist Temple in Kemero Island just in the middle of Musi River and the grave of a Chinese princess who was destined to marry a Srivijaya king.

The island today is a center of celebration during the eve of Chap Go Meh where chinese tourists from Hong Kong,China and Singapore will be converging here

Palembang is also known in history as the origin of Malaysia.

The metropolitan is now declared 'A City of Water Excursions' with similarity to those in Bangkok and Phnom Penh.






Jembatan Ampera over the Musi River is the main icon of Palembang was opened on September 30,1965.

Initially the middle span could be lifted for ships to pass through but after 1970,it could no longer be opened on grounds that the silting of the river has prevented large ships from paasing through.







 Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Kota Palembang.(DRPD Kota Palembang) main local administrative secretariat office building.


 Budget Hotels around Palembang:

1) Sehati: Jalan Dr. Wahidin 1 Palembang Tel: 351537

2) Sintera: Jalan May. Ruslan No.667 Palembang Tel: (0711)354618-354619

3)Crossandra: Jalan Dwikora I No.1711 Tel:(0711) 313667

4) Kenanga Inn: Jalan Bukit Kecil No.76 Palembang Tel: (0711) 358166

5) Wisma Olga: Jalan Sumatera 1-7 Tel: (0711) 311265

6) Sriwijaya: Jalan Letkol Iskandar No.31 Palembang Tel: (0711) 354193

 7) Surya I: Jalan Sukarjo Seb-Ulu 1 Palembang Tel: (0711) 512657

8) Timbul Jaya: Jalan Letkol Iskandar No.15 Palembang Tel: (0711) 350177

 9) Pondok Indah: Jalan Kol. H. Burlian Km.9 Palembang Tel: (0711) 414369

10) Darma Agung: Jalan Kol. H. Burlian km.7 Telp. 410558-411964

11) Cendana: Jalan Jend. Sudirman No.22 Km.3 Tel: 410558-411964

12) Ganesha: Jalan Karet No.6/10 Tel:357333

13) Permata: Jalan Jend. Sudirman No.292-793 Tel: 369250-369251

14) Puri Indah:No:380-40,Jalam Merdeka Tel:0711-355 785

15) Wisata:No:105,Jalan Letkol Iskandar Tel:-0711-434 889

16) King's:Jalan Kol Atmo Tel:0711-363 633




Trans Musi busway is a very convenient and comfortable aircond bus to move around in Palembang city.

The fares is Rupiah3,000 flat rate irrespective of the distance and changing of bus at certain routes.

The bus service was just started a year ago and the service is very good. When you see an elevated bus stop platform,the bus will stop here and not those that stopped by the roadside.

Some of the local buses tend to overcharge and not issuing any bus tickets.I had a short distance ride of less than 3km that cost me Rupiah15,000 while at the 12th kilometre Jalan Kolonel Burlian Road which is equivalent to my dinner.





Bapak Abdullah,a retired Islamic School teacher was very kind to show me how to go around Palembang city using the Transmusi busway.

Spent a night here at Penginapan Mulia which was at the 9.5 km Jalan Kolenel H Burlian.

Being in an unfamiliar territory and since the bus from Jambi stopped very far out of town in the late evening,I had to opt for whatever accomodation available within the vicinity.

The non aircond room rates was Rupiah75,000.

Across the guesthouse where I stayed was a huge complex known as Wisma Haji (Graha Swarna Dwipa Sumatera Selatan)

They have accomodations mainly for the Muslim group and individual travellers.

 Room rates between Rupiah120,000 to M350,000.

  Got hold of the 8:00am economy train from Palembang station to Tanjung Karang terminal in Lampung Province which is near the southern tip of Sumatra Island.

The fare was Rupiah15,000.This is to avoid the unregulated fares charged by the touts and on the advise of a local resident whom I met on the city bus,a retired religious school teacher.

  The KA Expres Rajabasa departure was half an hour late and made a 10 minutes stopover at the following stations:
9:00am Bungasih
10:00am Prabamulih
10:45am Pagar Gunung
11:20am Peninijawa
12:30pm Tiga Gajah
12:35pm Btu Raja
1:15pm Sepancar
2:00pm Martapura
2:15pm Waytuba
3:10pm Negeri Agung at certain section the train has to stop for half an hour for an oncoming goods train.
5:15pm Bekori
5:20pm Rengas
5:45pm Tegineneng
6:00pm Rejosari
6:30pm Tanjung Karang terminal.






PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) is a wholly government owned major public railways operator.

The main lines in Sumatra Island are:

Medan to RantauPrapat, Padang to Pariaman, Bandar Lampung to Lubuklinggau and to Palembang. The trains have soft seats and are very comfortable. Palembang map

Depart Pekan Baru for Palembang.

In the late evening,I headed to the Bandar Raya Payung Sekaki Bus terminal using the Trans Metro bus.

The bus was quite full in view of the after office hours and school session.

 At the Soekarno-Hatta traffic light junction lies the SKA Mall which is the biggest shopping mall in Pekan baru.

After picking up a few passengers,the bus continued for anoher 3km ahead to this isolated bus terminal.





 It was a complete nightmare when one reached the terminal.

There will be many touts swarming for business when one alighted from the city bus.

I should say there were more touts than passengers in this quiet terminal. No way can we browse through the many ticketing counters to make decision and worst still no clerks were in there.

  I was shown this PO Jaya Utama non aircond bus which will be leaving for Jambi at 6:30pm so I paid 100,000 Rupiah for a seat.

 Out of the blues came another tout who says he's from Jambi and the owner of this bus. He suggested that I should skip Jambi and head for Palembang as Jambi has nothing to see and gave me conflicting views about the touts there.

 So I paid another 100,000 Rupiah for the additional journey to Palembang.

 On leaving the terminal,the bus went around the city to try and pick up passengers as there were only three heads so far.

At about 7:30pm,the bus stopped at the office to get somemore waiting customers.

I was chatting with the lady receptionist at the office when I happened to see a price list schedule.

Fares Pekan Baru to Jambi 95,000 Rupiah while to Palembang which is the last stop will be 140,000 Rupiah.

Knowing that I was focusing my eyes on the price list,the bus conductor distracted me and on turning back to see again it was covered with a book.

Now I know that I was being misled by a fictitious 'bus owner'.

So beware as most touts are good at cooking unwarranted stories.

 In actual fact Jambi is famous for the ancient Buddhist temple called Candi Muaro Jambi,an archeaological remains dated back the 13th century which was first discovered by a British miltary.

It is about one hour journey(26km) from Jambi town and transportation there might pose a problem.

 The Kerinci's National Park is Sumatra's biggest national reserve lies along the Bukit Barisan mountainous range rich with its flora and fauna.The administrative center of the park is at Sungai Penuh town.

The Eco -Rural Travel cooperative in the village of Kersik Tuo provides advice on trekking ,day trips and hiring of camping equipments.

 Gunung Kerinci (3,800metres) a dormant volcano is the highest mountain in Western Sumatra and "kurinci" in Tamil means hilly landscape. Jambi Map

At 8:30pm the bus started leaving Pekan Baru and the long hours of journey began.

The main trunk road was very busy with heavy vehicles especially those transporting oil palm fresh fruit bunches.

Indonesia is the world's major producer of oil palm. There were two drivers with each taking turns to drive.I was occupying two seats to myself throughout the journey.

 At 1:30am,we had a half hour break at a rest area where there were a few snack stalls and a RM Umega coffeeshop.

The place was Cabang Gunung Medan Riau,Kota Lama Inhu Lintas Timur.

To translate this should be Medan Riau Mountainous Boundary,Old Inhu city eastern expressway.

After an hour into the journey,the conditions of the roads were very very bad with many potholes as the bus descended down a valley.

It lasted close to an a hour just imagine it.The non stop bumps possibly volcanic craters made most of the bus passengers slept through the lost world.

Things began to be calmer at about 4:00am where the roads were more even.

 Close to 6:00am before the sunrise,another half hour stopover at a layby cofeeshop with a scenic view of the of the high mountains beyond.

 It was 8:30am when the bus reached Jambi town.We had an hour half stopover and a new bus driver took over the wheels.





 There were too many bus companies operating in the Trans Sumatran route.

Trayek (route) PO (perusahaan otobus)/(autobus industry)  

To Pasir Pangaraian and Dalu-Dalu.(both in Rokan Hulu district about 5 hours journey)Location west Sumatra near to Bukit Tinggi side.

Dalu-dalu is the location of historical bamboo Fortress Seven Layers built as a defense against colonization by Tuanku Tambusai. #Muda Raya,N Hadi,Nuantara,Sari Keencana,Silvana,sri Kampar,Trio Trans,Silvana Abadi,Cahaya Kempar,Rimbun Jaya,Sail Transport,Rengat Transport,Fajar Inhill,HDR,Ranah Makmur,Putra Kampar,Sinar Riau.


  Pekan Baru to Dumai bus companies:

Asia Expres,Dorex,Gumarang,Mitra,Trio Trans,Ramos,Sari Jaya,Sinar Baru,Batang Kampar,Swarna Agung,Merah Sari,Karmila,Sri Kampar and Danau Wisata.

 Dumai is a major port city of Riau Province and takes 5 hours(188km) by bus from Pekan Baru.

There are ferry services to Malacca,Port Klang and Port Dickson in Malaysia,as well as to Batam Island near Singapore.

 Pekan Baru to Bagan Siapi-api buses:

 Indah Karya,Winda,Nusantara,Ranah Makmur,Sri Pinang,Vala Transport,Asia Expres.

 Bagan Siapi-api is towards the south eastern part of Pekan Baru,Rokan Hilir district and is believed to be the first place where mainland chinese landed.

Hok King Chinese Temple is the oldest temple and the most popular festival here is the Ritual Bakar Tongkang.(burning paper replica of a barge/ship) around early June annually.

 Pekan Baru to Buton buses: Trio Trans,Sail Transport,Indo Kencana,batang Kampar,Gumarang,Merah Sari,N Hadi,Ranah Makmur.

 Buton is near to Indragiri Hilir.  

Pekan Baru to Taluk Kuantan buses:
Swarna Agung,Karmila and Rimbun Jaya. Very few bus operators.

Taluk Kuantan is 10km south from Pekan Baru after crossing the equator line just after Lipat Kain.
It lies upstream of the Indragiri River and was once a gold mining area.
 Each year on the 17th August on Indonesia's Independence day,there'll be a traditional boat race called Pacu Jalur.

 Pekan Baru to Rengat buses:
Asia Expres,Muda Raya,Mus Transport,Rimbun Jaya,Gumarang,Kerinci Expres,Merah Sungai,Nusantara,Sail Transport,Sarana Expres,Sinar Riau,Yala Transport.

 Rengat is at Indragiri Hulu amid thick equatorial rain forest is a conservation forest managed by the World Wildlife Fund to help protect the Sumatran tigers.
Also known as the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park conservation forest.  

Pekan Baru Tembilahan buses:
 Rimbun jaya,Karmila,Silvana,Swarna Agung,Mus Transport,Inhil Jaya,Kurnia Expres,Nusantara,Muda Jaya,Riau Transport,Putra Kampar,Matra Riau,Beringin Putih.

Tembilahan is about 146 km from Jambi and has a small river port in Indragiri Hilir(Inhil),Riau Province.
 Most of the lands here consisted of peat soil.That's the reason for the annual haze blanketing over neighbouring countries.
 Due to the south westerly dry winds coming from the southern hemisphere,almost all of Indonesia Island is experiencing a hot and dry season.
The south westery winds passing through the sea brings heavy rain to most part of Indochina and especially parts Thailand which is having the worst flood.





  LORENA Transport and Tours Company is one of the most established bus company in Indonesia.

The company has the super executive(21 seats),executive(30/34 seats),VIP(40 seats),and business class(53 seats) buses with facilities like toilet,full aircond,reclining seats,GPRS,TV and blanket.
Contacts in Pekan Baru,No:294,Jalan Tuanku Tambusai ,Tel:(0761)62256,
Medan,km 7,No:11,Jalan Sisingamangaraja,Tel:(061)7875139,
Padang,Km7,No:1,Jalan By Pass,Tel:(0751) 777666
Jambi,Jalan Lingkar Barat 3 Kec Kendali Besar Simpang Rimbo,Tel:HP o81384453766, Palembang,No:65,Jaln Kolonel H Burlian,tel:(0711) 417488,
Lampung,No:36,Jalan Soekarno Hatta,By Pass Kali Balok Bandar Lampung.Tel:0721-240606. Merak,No:6,Jalan Raya Pelabuhan Merak,Pulo Merak,Nabten.Tel:(0254)572267,
Tangerang,No:1,Jalan MH Tamrin,Taman Lido,
Banten.Tel:021-55753480,
 Jakarta Pusat,No:15 C,Jalan KH Hasyim Ashari,Tel:021-6341166 Surabaya,No:22A,Jalan Arjuna,Tel:031-5345767.Bungarasih Teminal Counter 11. Probolinggo,No:35,Jalan Soekarno Hatta,Tel:0335-436966 Banyuwangi,No:163,Jlan Basuki Rahmat,Tel:0333-420225 Denpasar,No122,Jalan Diponegoro,Tel:0361-262021
It has services to Medan,Lubuk Pakam,Tebing Tinggi,Jambi,Palembang,Bandar Lampung,Merak,Jakarta,Bogor,Bandung,Cirebon,Tegal,Perkalongan,Semarang,Yogyakarta, Klaten,Solo,Madiun,Ponorogo,Kediri,TulungAgung,Blitar,Bojonegoro,Surabaya,Malang, Bangkalan,Blega,Sampang,Pamekasan,Sumekep,Probolingo,Jember,BayuWangi,Denpasar.

 PAHALA KENCANA Transportation is also a luxury bus covering Trans Sumatra,Jawa Island,Madura Island and Bali Island. HANDOYO bus only service till Jambi in Sumatra and covers nearly the whole of Jawa Island.

Pekan Baru downtown

Pasar Cik Puan which was just nearby Poppies Guesthouse along Jalan Tuanku Tambusai/Jalan Nangka has about 1000 wooden stalls and kiosks.

This old market was a fire prone area and way back in April 2009,nearly 400 stalls were engulfed and burnt to ashes.

Currently a new building is under construction and once completed by year 2012 will soon see a modern trading hub replacing this traditional market.

Meanwhile the oplet(angkot) vans are using this area as a terminal.

The market is about 3km from the Siak River which divide Pekan Baru City into two section.

 A new flyover bridge is still under construction linking Jalan Jenderal Sudirman across the Siak River.Jalan Jenderal Sudirman which is a short distance from the market is the main artery with many of the Riau Provincial administrative offices are being located.

The second tallest building Masjid Ar-Rahman ,located on prime lands along the golden Jalan Jenderal Sudirman road.

 It is among the most beautiful mosque after An-Nur Grand Mosque and Masjid Raya Pekan Baru.

Beside the mosque is Gedung BAZ and KPU Pekan Baru.

There is a road circle fountain nearby these two buildings.

One of the buildings has a windmill on top being an outlet of the Holland Bakery.

Being a newcomer in the Indonesian market,Holland Bakery has over 150 outlets spreading all over Jabodetabek,Batam,Lampung,Surabaya and Pekan Baru.

The outlets open from 0700-2200hrs. The "Kek Lapis Legit " (Layered cake) is the most popular Indonesian cake not to be missed.





 A very unique landmark housing the Soeman HS Library.

The design resembles a book or rehal(small bench serves as a base for the Al Quran).

It can accomodate 1000 visitors in every floors. It operates from 8:00am till 8:00pm weekdays except every Fridays which will be closed between 11:30am to 1:30pm for Friday prayers.
On Saturdays will be 9:00am to 6:00pm and Sundays frm 9:00am till 3:00pm.

The Governor of Riau Province,Indonesia administrative office.

The Riau Province encompassed 11 districts:
1) Kota Pekan Baru
2) Bengkalis
3) Kampar
4) Indragiri Hulu
5) Kuantan Singingi
6) Siak
7) Pelalawan
8) Rokan Hulu
9) Rokan Hilir
10) Dumai
11) Indragiri Hilir.

The Province of Riau was established way back in 1958 with the first governor through martial law with the Central government in Jakarta making all decisions.

After a series of reformasi demanded by the Indonesian people in year 2001 at national level,there were drastic changes in political and government at provincial level thus making the Riau Islands an autoomous 32nd province of Indonesia on July,1,2004.

Gedung Kantor Gabungan Dinas Provinsi Riau Building beside the governor's office.

 In the decentralization era,the Riau Government has emphasized tourism as a revenue earner.

There are many rich historical sites in Riau such as: 1) Istiqomah Mosque in Bengkalis

2) An-nur Mosque in Pekan Baru

3) Senapelan Grand Mosque in pekan Baru

4) Juang 45 Building in Pekan Baru

5) Muara Takus temple in Kampar

6) Sang Nila Utama Museum in pekan Baru

7) Ar-Rahman Grand Mosque in Rengat

8) Tuan Guru Syekh Abdurrahman Siddiq Mosque in Indragiri Hilir

9) Al-Huda Mosque in Tembilahan

10) Ashserayah Hasyimiah Palace in Pelalawan

11) Syahabuddin Graand Mosque in Siak

12) the grave of Sultan Mahmud Shah I in Pelalawan

13) Hibah Mosque in Pelalawan

14) Hok An Kiong Buddhist Monastery in Bengkalis

15) Air Tiris Grand Mosque in Kampar

16) Grave of Sultan Syarif Kassim II in Siak

17) Graveyard of Indragiri Kings in Indragiri Hulu

18) Benteng Tujuh Lapis (Seven Layers Fortress) in Rokan Hulu

19) Graveyard of Marhum Pekan in pekan Baru

20) House of Kerabatan Adat Siak in Siak

21) Al-Badar Grand Mosque in Dumai

22) the Grave of Putri Tujuh (The Seventh Princess) in Riau.





Ramayana Departmental Store,a retail chain company was first established in 1978 whose founder was Mr Paulus Tumewu and his wife ,Tan Lee Chuan who left their family home in Ujung Tanjung,Sulawesi.

Their vision of selling quality merchandise to the lower income segment has now seen the fruit of success.

The word RAMAYANA is synonymous with the Hindu epics and out of coincidence Java and part of Sumatra were once the Srivijaya Empire,a Hindu Kingdom.

Suzuya Departmental Store started in 1983 is a leader in retail business throughout Sumatra Island with its head office at Jalan Iskanda Muda,Medan.

Its business synergy includes department stores,supermarket,superstore,fashion outlets(Romp),Furniture Plaza,Hotel and Restaurant.

There are currently 28 outlets in 8 localities that is Medan,Tanjung Morowa,Binjai,Permatang Siantar,Rantau Prapat,Pekan Baru,Padang,Lhokseumawe and Banda Acheh.





  Komplek Mal Pekan Baru along Jalan Jend Sudirman is an integrated shopping complex with an annexed Grand Jatra Hotel(a 5 star category) beside Jalan Tengku Zainal Abidin.

The room rates are from 976,000 Rupiah to 3.176m Rupiah.

Food stalls lining along the streets in the late evening .Surprisingly the streets of Pekan Baru were very clean.

  A mosque with a different kind of architecture. A medieval Moorish style castle.

 Hotel Asfri along Jalan Dr Setia Budi has a total of 15 rooms.
Tel:(076) 33190-33134-31613.

The hotel is at the corner end junction of Jalan Jend Sudirman and also very near to the Siak River.

Across the road is Jalan Insinyur Haji Juanda leading to the Chinatown area and the Pasar Bawah market.

Another 5 star Furaya Hotel is nearby with room rates from 650,000 Rupiah onward.

Penginapan Kautsar is directly opposite Hotel Asfri has 12 rooms.Tel:(076) 34682

Impressive real flowers embossed wordings.