Jambi and Palembang - Central and South

Jambi

Jambi Bridge and Riverfront

The province of Jambi was the heartland of the ancient kingdom of Malayu, which first rose to prominence in the 7th century. It was then conquered by the Srivijayas who shifted their capital to Jambi in 1025 after their capital Palembang was sacked by the Chola dynasty from India. Jambi's location on the Batang Hari (Means Prosperous River) River provided better access to trade routes, allowing Srivijaya to maintain its commercial dominance. 

After the Srivijayas decline power shifted east to Java under the Majajapit empire. Later, the rise of Islam in the Malay Archipelago during the 16th century led to the establishment of an independent Muslim state in Jambi. 

The Dutch East India Company arrived in Jambi in 1615 to trade and Jambi became a Dutch Residency in 1906 after a series of conflicts.  This period saw significant economic changes, including infrastructure development and the introduction of cash crops like rubber.

Religion and ethnicity 

Due to transmigration policy, many ethnic groups from various parts of Indonesia have moved to Jambi. Ethnically 38% population are Jambi Malay while 20% are Javanese, 10% Chinese, 10% Kerinci (Native to Jambi province) and 5 % Minangkabau. 96% are Muslim and 4% Christians.

Jambi City

From the Sultan Thaha Airport (named after the last Sultan of Jambi and a National Hero) to the Luminor hotel was about 8 Kms and 20 minutes. Jambi city is similar to Chennai city in size (170Sq Km) and has a population of 0.6 Million people and is located on the Batang Hari River, the longest river in Sumatra. There is no public transport and only shared taxis and Ojeks run. Ride share services like Grab are available.  

River Front

Pedestrian Bridge

In the evening, I went to the river front where there is a mall and a beautiful curved pedestrian bridge across the river where one can see the sunset. There are also street food stalls by the riverside. Beside the bridge, there is a large Mall with many shops and restaurants and a good place to saunter around. I had a beef bowl in Yoshinaya which is a popular Japanese restaurant chain.

The next day, I set out for the Muaro Jambi temples, a buddhist temple complex about 26 Kms east of the city.

Muaro Jambi Temple Compound

There is no public transport to this place. I took a cab through Grab and had to pay extra because it was out of the way. Coming back was a challenge, and on hindsight, I should have taken a bike on hire. For solo travelers in Sumatra, it is best to hire a bike and travel like the locals, as public transport is non-existent. 

Muaro Jambi Temple Ruins

The Muaro Jambi temple ruins have only walls and foundations left and is a little underwhelming. The local administration has done a great job of building pathways, sign posts etc. and most one can do is is imagine what the size and scope of the temples would have been like as you walk around.

The temple complex was built by the Melayu Kingdom and the remains are estimated to date from the 7th to 13th century CE. The archaeological site stretches 7.5 kilometres along the Batang Hari River and over 80 mounds of temple ruins, are not yet restored.

It was a good walk with forests around and after I reached the end of the temple complex at  Candi Kedaton, one of the security guards at the temple gave me a lift back to the entrance gate. I then negotiated a drop back to the city on a bike (IDR 100K) by one of the Ojek guys as it is expensive to get an Ojek to drop me.  

Leaving Jambi

I wanted to go to the Museum, but it was closed due to the Eid Holiday. The next day at 8 AM, I took the shared taxi to Palambang (240K) from Jambi Indah JIT company. The journey towards South East of the Island took 7 hours through the country side and Palm plantations before reaching Palembang.

South Sumatra

South Sumatra is the largest province of Sumatra and similar in size to West Bengal or Bihar in India. It is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The province is inhabited by many different Malay sub ethnic groups, with Palembangese being largest ethnic group. Most speak the Palembang language, Other ethnic groups include the Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau and Chinese. Most are concentrated in urban areas and are largely immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.

Historically, the area was dominated by the Srivijaya Empire which was a Hindu-Buddhist empire based on the island of Sumatra with its capital in Palembang. Srivijaya was an important centre for from the 7th to 11th century AD and dominated much of western Maritime Southeast Asia. 

By the late 15th century, Islam has spread throughout the region, replacing Buddhism and Hinduism as the dominant religion. In 1659, the Palembang Sultanate was established and stood till 1825 when it was incorporated into the Dutch East Indies after the abolition of the Palembang Sultanate. 

Palembang City

Ampera Bridge

Palembang is the second largest city in Sumatra after Medan. It covers 350 Sq Km (similar to Bhopal or Lucknow) across the River Musi and has a population of 1.7 Million.  Palembang has a metro system, the Palembang Light Rail Transit (LRT), which was developed to support the city's infrastructure needs during the 2018 Asian Games. The city was coming alive after the Ramadan month and Eid and I could finally feel the buzz that Indonesian cities are famous for. Of course that came with the noise and pollution that after India was very much manageable. At least traffic moves! 

I checked in at the Algoritma Hotel and in the evening went down to the Musa river across the Ampera bridge where most of the city lands up in the evening. There are food markets, restaurants and the area is buzzing with holiday makers along with traffic, noise and pollution. I walked around soaking the atmosphere and taking photos. Before returning, I had some Pindang dish at Pindang Pegagan Mbok Yah near the riverfront.

Museum

The next day, I went to the Park Taman Kambang Iwak Besak for a nice morning walk and after an hour post excellent coffee at Tomoro Coffee Iwakee just across the park, went for some shopping of Palembang's most famous artefact, Songet. 

In the morning, also visited the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Museum where you can get some understanding of the Palembang people and culture and the dynasties that ruled the city. Google translate was irreplaceable to translate the commentary which was written in Bahasa, though there was also an English QR audio scan available. 

Food

Palembang is famous for its cuisine and is the second most well-known Sumatran cuisine after Padang. Palembang cuisine is characterized by fresh fish which is widely available and a preference for sour and sweet tastes, Popular dishes that I tried out were the Pempek (which I had in Jambi), Pindang and Lo Mie. 

Pempek

Lo Mie is a Palembang noodle dish with a large bowl and a lot of meat. Pempek is a traditional fish cake made from ground fish meat and tapioca, served with a sauce called kuah cuko which is a dark, tangy sauce typically made from a blend of gula merah (palm sugar), asam jawa (tamarind), and chili. Some variations include garlic and other spices. Cuko offers a balance of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, complementing the savory fish cakes. 

The dish which stood out was the Pindang. This is a sour and spicy soup featuring fish as a main ingredient. This dish is known for its unique combination of savory and slightly sour flavors, making it a popular choice for family meals in South Sumatra. I tried

Pindang

out Nasi pindang Bandeng which is milkfish cooked in a flavorful broth as well as Nasi pindang patin sungai which features the freshwater fish patin (catfish) cooked in a flavorful broth. The dish is served with white rice, sambal, mashed potatoes, fried small fish, and pineapple pieces. The best place in town to have Pindang is the Pondok Pindang Pada Suka restaurant which is run by a Chinese Malay family and a must visit if you are in Palembang.

In Jambi, I also had Gulai Patin Kecombrang which is a typical dish from Riau Province North of Jambi. It is made from patin fish cooked with thick and spicy gulai spices. Kecombrang (or fragrant lemongrass), one of the spices used gives a distinctive aroma to the dish.

Leaving Palembang

The buses and flights to Jakarta were all booked due to the Eid holidays, luckily I managed to get one seat in a private mini bus which was leaving in the evening. The journey to Jakarta took almost 21 hours with a stop at Bandar Lampung for a few hours in the morning. The journey involved crossing over by ferry across the busy Sunda strait to the port of Merak and then driving across the northern province of Banten, home of the Sundanese people through Tangerang, the provincial capital and then finally to West Jakarta. From Jakarata was the flight back home.