Article: A Round Trip from Jambi to Bali by Motorcycle - Part 1

When I was a kid, my father brought my whole family to a long trip twice. The first one was to around Java, Madura, and Bali. And the other one, it took 3-4 years later, he brought us to travel to Sumatera. These 2 trips greatly have influenced my adventurous spirit which makes me think about planning the same trip but in solo.

Years passed by but works and duties prevent me to do that wish, even I got 2 kids it seemed impossible to do such a thing. But in late 2014, my wife was pregnant for the third and I suddenly felt "now or never" to travel a long trip in solo. Because I worried that after the birth of my third child, it would have never done forever.

It was a sudden planning then, I prepared just for a little, mainly for my motorcycle, a Kawasaki ZX-130. I made dots on the map to be my shelters, some were friends of mine. And honestly, I was short of money at the time.

Alhamdulillah, I made it, my first epic journey, a solo round trip Jambi-Bali-Jambi by motorcycle. It took a month and 2 days, from Jan 19, 2015, to Feb 21, 2015.

Started the trip by lying to my wife -I did not tell her about my plan to travel to Bali to make her not worrying me while I am traveling- that I just wanted to go to Jakarta, I downed the road to Palembang at night (22.00 WIB).

Unfortunately, I lost my travel diary on the way home. I guess it was left behind when I was at a gas station near Pangkalan Balai, the capital of Banyuasin, a district in South Sumatra Province. But thankfully, I still had my camera and all the pictures I take on my trip remain safe there.

I divided my trip into 6 chapters related to shelters I get while I am travelling.

Chapter 1: Jambi-Jakarta.

Jambi-Palembang-Kayu Agung-Tulang Bawang-Bandar Lampung-Serang-Jakarta (Cipadu Jaya).

Started travelling by lying to my wife

Missed that travel diary

Provincial border gate, Jambi and Sumatera Selatan

First stop was at a minimarket in Sungai Lilin, Sumatera Selatan

Had a morning coffee break in Banyuasin Government Offices

Provincial border pillars, Sumatera Selatan and Lampung

Fellow travelers

A Java-Sumatera ferry boat

Finally, arrived at parent's house after 35 hours of trip from Jambi

Generally, this chapter was a warming up. I am so familiar with this route since I have taken the route to travel to Jakarta several times. Lintas Timur is the only one "map line" we can take if travelling by vehicle to Jakarta from Jambi. In Menggala District, Tulang Bawang, a regency in Province of Lampung, there is an intersection to choose which both roads will end to same place, Port of Bakauheni in Lampung Selatan Regency. We may continue the trip to take Lintas Tengah and the road will bring you to Bandar Lampung, the capital of Province of Lampung, or we can turn left to Lintas Pantai Timur that will lead you to Sukadana, the capital of Lampung Timur Regency.

It was about at 16.00, a while before reaching the intersection rain began to fall and fortunately a gas station was close to me to be my shelter. At the gas station I met a group of young men who were travelling to Lombok by motorcycle. After making small talk and knowing me on the way to Jakarta, then those 4 young men on 2 motorbikes asked me to accompany them to Jakarta. We then agreed to pick the route Lintas Tengah to reach Bakauheni Port and depart immediately after the rain stops.

We reached Port of Bakauheni after the dawn and in the morning we were already in a ferry crossing the Sunda Strait that took us to Java. In ferry boat was a chance to take a rest and I took the whole time to do it, after about 30 hours on the way it felt like I need to get a massage.

We arrived at Port of Merak around 09.00, and we continued the trip to Jakarta. Had a rest for almost an hour in Tangerang we then took separate roads in Kalideres, Jakarta Barat. They had a friend waiting there for them while I picked other direction to go to my parent's house in Cipadu Jaya on January 21 2015.

Route of Part 1 on Google Map

You may see full pics on my Facebook.

News: Smog in The End of Dry Season 2014

Normally, in Indonesia, October is the beginning of rainy season and it is also the end of dry season. But in the last ten years, there was anomaly on this nature of weather. April and October as starting points to forecast the weather are not reliable anymore. I am not an expert in climate change but I guess what experts said about nature changes caused by global warming has influenced the way we count the seasons. What recently happened in Jambi City about the weather showed me that I have to revamp the way I forecast the weather, October is not a sign to have rainy days anymore.

On the other side, air pollution in Jambi City by intentional forest and bush fires which usually occurs in dry season has been much worse than ever. I think people who triggered the fire to burn bushes miscalculated in weather forecasting. The rain that they think would fall in had never come and what they had done with firing bush and forest led smog to mask Jambi City.

The situation burdened people who lives in Jambi City and other areas in Province of Jambi to live with air pollution. Schools closed due to prevent kids having respiratory illness and outdoor activities would be a nightmare to do. But, still there is an advantage with this smog (it is the way Indonesians to think that there is always a positive side with a bad situation). Dry season's sunshine blocked by smog haze, reducing ambient temperatures into moderate ones helping people to avoid sunburn, in dry season sunshine would be much hotter.

Sunshine blocked by smog haze

People lazy to do outdoor activities

Thick smog

No kids appeared in school area

So, pics above reflected smog condition in Jambi City area, in the end of dry season, mid of October 2014. And as usual, like other past years, the authorities said that smog caused by bush and forest fires even most people here know that bush and forest fires triggered by land clearing, burned by irresponsible people with economy motives, a bad habit and bad tradition, only in Sumatera.

Article: The Great Mosque of Al-Falah

Built on former location of the palace of Jambi Sultanate, the great mosque of Al-Falah was completed in 1980 and started to use on September 26, 1980 since President Soeharto inaugurated it. The mosque itself stands on a 2.7 hectares land and its broadness is 6200 meters square. Beside its formal name "The Great Mosque Al-Falah" it has a nickname "Masjid Seribu Tiang" (Mosque with Thousand Pillars). This nickname refers to many pillars we can see in the mosque.

The Arabic name, Al-Falah, means Victory, this name was picked to express why the mosque was built without any walls, partitions, or windows except for "mihrab". Mihrab is a side of a mosque where people will put a direction of their face forward when they praying. Mihrab is also center attention when a "Khatib" speaks, khatib is one who preach sermons in occasional time, like Prayer on Friday. So those who wants to get in to mosque could come from any entrances they want. The building's philosophy means "victory is freedom for everyone, freedom to enter the mosque without any barriers". The name also means about the victory over the Dutch colonial which the location of mosque once was the center of colonial administration in Jambi since the Dutch had ruined the palace of Jambi Sultanate.

"Thousand Pillars" comes from this view

Video: Jambi on a Very Short Video

Glad to have this video. A friend of mine finally let me copy a video that once used to promote Jambi in a national event. The video is a compilation of a few tourism events and I think it would be able to represent what Jambi is like. The video also contains some of recommended tourism spots in Jambi, like Muara Jambi Temple, Berbak National Park, Lake Kaca, and Kerinci Seblat National Park.

Thanks to Asson Any aka Oka and Iman Kurnia for allowing me to have the video and use it on my blog.

Here it is and enjoy...

Article: Jambi Weaving Craft Exhibition 2014

Hosted by Siginjei Museum in Jambi City, the Government of Jambi Province held an exhibition with "Jambi Weaving Crafts" as its theme. The exhibition took place 5 days only started on September 8, 2014. And of course, weaving crafts means songket in Jambi cultures and the show talked about Jambi songket and Jambi batik.

The exhibition showed us various products of weaving crafts originally from Jambi (songket and batik) and how Jambinese use them as everyday clothes or for occasional events like traditional or religious ceremonies. At the exhibition we could see kind of patterns and favorite colors that characterizes traditional clothes in Jambi, including traditional headband used by sub-ethnics in Jambi.

Unfortunately, the exhibition was intended to educate elementary students in Jambi City, so I had to cram with kids during taking pictures.

Here are some pics of songket origins from Jambi.

Songket

Precious handmade clothes

Colorful with gold thread

High quality and modern pattern of songket

High difficult woven, reminds me to Persian carpets

Songket can be applied as clothes or headband. Generally, Jambinese call traditional headband for women as Tengkuluk and Lacak or Lajak for men. There are many styles and ways how tengkuluk formed, all depends on sub-ethnic traditions. Following pictures shows you a few of tengkuluk and their styles.

Traditional clothes

Different pattern from different sub-ethnic

For everyday clothes or occasional ones

Tengkuluk, traditional headband for women

Styles depend on sub-ethnic cultures and traditions of Jambinese

Hundreds years tradition but fashionable

Songket and also batik as traditional everyday clothes, below is Kerincinese traditional clothes, with tengkuluk and lacak.

Illustration, Kerincinese couple in their traditional clothes

And following picture is a simple tool as traditional loom, it is not a machinery loom.

A traditional loom

Well, the exhibition was too crowded by kids. :))

So crowded

Kids everywhere