West Sumatra: Great attractions, shame about the rest
West Sumatra: Great attractions, shame about the rest
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Padang
A recent vacation in West Sumatra made me realize how we
Indonesians take things for granted all the time. In this case,
our natural resources.
Just like almost all the other regions in this country, West
Sumatra is amazingly beautiful and has all that a visitor may
desire.
Fancy the sun? Go to the capital of Padang, with its
relatively clean beaches a few kilometers away. If you prefer a
cooler place, take a visit to the tourist haven of Bukittinggi
about 72 kilometers from the provincial capital.
Or visit the sprawling lakes dotting the province to catch
postcard-pretty images of silvery water as sunshine kisses the
surface. Breathtaking.
But, just like other regions in the country, the natural
resources are not being used to their full potential. I'm not
talking about brutal commercialization, but measures to make sure
tourist attractions are free from garbage, hoodlums, bad service
and lack of information.
West Sumatra's proximity to Jakarta is one of the reasons it
is worth a visit, with cheaper than ever airfares of about Rp
400,000 for the 90-minute flight (it takes you Rp 350,000 and 30
hours by bus).
My group rented cars for trips within the province, and our
first stop after Tabing airport in Padang was Batusangkar, some
90 minutes drive to the north of the capital, the place to take a
look at some archaeological relics.
There are several ancient inscriptions, including those dating
from the era of king Adityavarman back in the 14th century. It's
too bad (the first "too bad") they have not been well maintained.
Fences have been built around the inscriptions, and there are
makeshift roofs over them. But as you step forward to take
pictures, your camera will be mired in spider webs.
Looking for some history about the inscriptions? The existing
information consists of poorly photocopied paper glued on a
board.
We visited a house where a mystical stone called Batu Angke-
angke attracts people who lift it in the hope of having their
wishes granted. As we watched one person after another fail to
lift the seemingly light stone, the house owner's family was in
the same room, watching TV or gabbing on the phone. The mystical
vibe vanished pretty quickly.
In downtown Batusangkar, the old Dutch fort Van Der Kappelen
is badly damaged after being used for a local police station.
About the only thing telling of the history of the place was
"1824" written on the gate.
One tourist attraction that can be praised for its good
maintenance is Istana Pagaruyung, an old palace in Batusangkar.
Situated on five hectares, the palace is on the site of the
residence of the last Minang king, Raja Alam Bagagarsyah Johan
Berdaulat, who died in 1849.
Renovated in 1976 and again after a fire in the mid-1980s,
there are several buildings on the grounds, the main one a sturdy
structure in a boat-like design, distinguished by pillars which
are tilted to buffer earthquake tremors.
Indian and Chinese influences can be seen in the curtains,
tapestry, bedcovers and pillowcases. You are likely to get one of
the guides who is very fluent (and tries to show off her good
English even with Indonesians), as well as very proud of the
matriarchal culture of West Sumatra.
"I love being a Minang woman because all of the property goes
to me, not my brothers," she said firmly. You go, girl!
But the smile became a frown when none of us was willing to be
photographed in traditional costumes.
Bukittinggi was the next stop. A two-hour drive from Padang,
it is located on the beautiful plateau of Agam. The center of
tourism, it is a pleasant place to shop, eat or look at the old
Minang houses, with their roofs arched in the shape of buffalo
horns.
It was time for another "too bad".
At Ngarai Sianok canyon in the city center, as I stood on the
edge of the canyon admiring the view, a vendor threw a bucket
full of garbage into the canyon. Local hoodlums also tried to get
some money from us as we asked them for supposedly free brochures
at the tourist information booth.
Nearby Fort de Kock is a nice and clean park, with an old fort
built in 1825 where the late founding father Mohamad Hatta was
once interned by the Dutch colonial government. There is a
bridge, a much smaller version of the famed Golden Gate, which
connects the fort with Bukittinggi's notoriously bad zoo.
The day before our departure was lake day as we visited all
the big lakes in West Sumatra: Maninjau, where we had to pass 44
head-spinning roadturns; Singkarak, the habitat of endemic Bilih
fish that are smoked and sold to visitors, and the twin lakes
Danau Di Atas (Upside Lake) and Danau Di Bawah (Downside Lake).
We had trouble enjoying Maninjau and Singkarak close up as
they have no lakefront. The trip to the twin lakes was pleasant
with tea plantations along the road, but we got lost several
times as there were no signs to guide us. When we got to the
lakes -- surprise, surprise -- there was garbage all over the
place.
Despite the discomfort, and the regret about how such a
beautiful place is not being promoted and maintained, I had fun.
I enjoyed a delicious bowl of the local version of soto (soup)
Garuda in Jl. S. Parman, Padang. I greatly admired the skillful
hands of weavers in making state-of-the-art cloth near
Bukittinggi, where I also went on a shopping spree.
I grimaced but laughed as I walked on "reflexology bridge", a
50-meter stone bridge in Bukittinggi.
As I reflected on the trip on my way home, I suddenly
remembered a train trip from Jakarta to my hometown Bandung, West
Java. I was accompanied by an Australian friend who had traveled
extensively all over the world.
He looked at the green scenery outside the window in total
wonderment.
"There's no scenery like this anywhere else in this world," he
said, pointing to the rice field terraces, the mountains and the
rivers.
Of course, I was used to all of the beauty around me. Now I
realize that the moment we see it from the other point of view is
when we will stop taking our country for granted. Otherwise, all
of our riches may be gone before we know it.