Lonely Planet Indonesia
Page 118
oSwiss-Belhotel DanumHOTEL$$$
(%0536-323 2777; www.swiss-belhotel.com; Jl Tjilik Km5; r with breakfast from 850,000Rp; aWs)
This luxury property with resort intentions raises the local bar. The vast marble lobby drops to the restaurant (which serves an excellent buffet breakfast) before opening into the courtyard with its winding pool and palm trees. The place is trimmed with fractal Dayak motifs, and the rooms are well-thought out with attention to style and comfort.
Options range from entry-level standards to the 8,400,000Rp presidential suite with a whirlpool bathtub for two. The fitness centre is extensive with modern machines and free weights. Walk-in promo rates are often lower than even the internet discounts.
5Eating & Drinking
At night, seafood and nasi goreng (fried rice) stalls sprout along Jl Yos Sudarso near the bundaran besar (large roundabout) – the place to see and be seen.
Al Mu'MinunINDONESIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 8659; Jl Darmosugondo 5; mains 20,000Rp; h7am-8pm)
Meaty chunks of fish are grilled up at this local favourite.
FamilyCHINESE$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 9560; Jl Bawean 16; mains 25,000Rp; h8am-10pm; a)
The best Chinese food in the city, with a standard menu. Known for its ikan jelawat (90,000Rp), a river fish cooked many ways. Serves beer.
oCoffee GarageCAFE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Haji Ikap 22; coffee 10,000Rp; h5.30pm-midnight; W)
A rare find, this trendy cafe comes alive at night serving all manner of coffee drinks in a colourfully painted house, garage included. It offers free wi-fi, basic food (spaghetti, desserts), outdoor seating and live music.
3Entertainment
For nightlife in Palangka Raya, the entertainment complex at the Aquarius Boutique Hotel is the only game in town. It includes Blu Music Hall ( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Imam Bonjol 5; h8pm-1am), a small but atmospheric blues bar, the adjacent Vino Club ( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Imam Bonjol 5; h10pm-3am), a cosy DJ club which doubles as the city's major performance venue, and Luna Karaoke ( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Imam Bonjol 5; h2pm-3am), which provides more traditional local entertainment. This is where the city's style-conscious young professionals come to hang out, representing a new wave of urban life.
7Shopping
A collection of Dayak carvings and woven rattan crafts can be found in several shops along Jl Batam.
8Information
Bank MandiriBANK
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Ahmad Yani; h8am-3pm Mon-Fri)
Currency exchange.
Bhayangkara HospitalHOSPITAL
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 1520; Jl Ahmad Yani 22)
Mulio Angkasa RayaTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 1031; Jl Ahmad Yani 55)
Offers booking for flights, car rental and Kijang. Not many staff speak English, though.
Sumertha Sari TravelTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 1033; Jalan Tjilik Riwut Km0.5)
Kijang transport and charter.
Post OfficePOST OFFICE
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Batam)
Branch office. Main office is located on Jl Imam Bonjol.
V.NetINTERNET
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Ahmad Yani 99; per hour 4000Rp; h8.30am-2am)
Internet access.
Yessoe TravelTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0852 4679 8939, 0536-322 1436; Jl Banda 7)
All things bus.
8Getting There & Away
Air
For smaller regional destinations, try Susi Air and Aviastar. Airlines no longer sell tickets at the airport.
AviastarAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-323 8848; Jl PM Noor 5)
GarudaAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0536-322 3573; Jl Kinibalu 1, PALMA mall)
Lion AirAIRLINE
(Airport)
Susi AirAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Adonis Samad Gang Damai 9)
South of town, in a residential area.
Bus & Kijang
All long-haul buses deposit passengers at the new terminal 10km south of town, which annoyingly has no public transport options to the city. If you’re coming from Banjarmasin, have them drop you at the Bangkirai four-way intersection 1.5km east of the terminal, and wait for an angkot heading north. Otherwise, an ojek will cost 50,000Rp. Yessoe offers departing passengers free transport to the terminal from their office on Jl Batam, near the market.
Sumertha Sari Travel Kijang serve the same destinations, with higher costs and more exhaust fumes per passenger.
TRANSPORT FROM PALANGKA RAYA
AIR
Destination Company Fare (Rp) Duration (hr) Frequency
Balikpapan Garuda 670,000 1¼ daily
Jakarta Garuda, Lion 680,000 1¾ 4 daily
Ketapang Aviastar 666,000 1¼ Mon, Fri
Muara Tewah Susi Air 500,000 1 Wed, Fri, Sun
Pangkalan Bun Susi Air 495,000 1 Wed, Fri, Sun
Pontianak Garuda 910,000 1¼ daily
Surabaya Citilink, Lion 520,000 1¼ 3 daily
BUS
Destination Fare (Rp) Duration (hr) Frequency
Banjarmasin 80,000 6 3am & 8am daily
Pangkalan Bun 100,000-200,000 10 7am & 4pm daily
Sampit 60,000-100,000 5 7am & 4pm daily
8Getting Around
Yellow minibuses (angkot or 'taxis', 5000Rp) ply major thoroughfares, converging at Jl Darmosugondo near the market.
Airport service (13km, 20 minutes) costs 80,000Rp.
Hire a boat at Rambang dock (Dermaga Rambang; GOOGLE MAP ) to tour around, or head further upriver.
MEGA RICE DISASTER
On the drive between Palangka Raya and Banjarmasin you might notice a conspicuous lack of two things: forests and rice fields. The former is alarming since this was once a densely treed home to orangutans. The latter is tragic because the promise of rice destroyed the forest, leading to one of Indonesia's largest environmental disasters.
In the 1990s President Suharto decided to boost Indonesia's food production by converting one million hectares of 'unproductive' peat forest into verdant rice fields. After the trees were cleared and 4600km of canals dug to drain the swamps, 60,000 transmigrants were relocated from Java to discover one small but important detail Suharto overlooked: nothing grows on the acidic soils of drained peat.
As peat dries it collapses and oxidises, releasing sulphuric acid into the water and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Further, when it rains, compacted peat floods. Catastrophically. When it stops raining, dried peat burns. Unstoppably. During the powerful El Nino drought of 1997, mega fires released over a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the environment.
Today, the area remains a wasteland. Some transmigrant communities have turned to illegal logging to try and make a living. Oil palm companies eye the land for planting. Local NGOs try to block the drainage channels in a noble attempt to right the horrific wrong. Meanwhile, Indonesia continues to import over one million metric tonnes of rice every year.
South Kalimantan
Banjarmasin
%0511 / Pop 625,000
Banjarmasin capitalises on its waterways and river life. But, as more locals board up their back porches to bathe without fear of prying eyes and snapping cameras, and as the government buys up waterfront property for parks and mixed commerce, the riverfront dynamic is slowly changing, perhaps for the best. The rest of the city is a sprawling beast, with the chaotic commerce of downtown turning eerily quiet at night, save for the night market holding out against the megamalls sprouting up in the suburbs.
Central Banjarmasin
1Sights
1Mesjid Raya Sabilal MuhtadinB1
2Soetji Nurani TempleC1
4Sleeping
3Hotel BiutiA2
4Hotel PerdanaB2
5Hotel SASA2
6NASA HotelA2
7Swiss-Belhotel BorneoC3
5Eating
8Cendrawasih SarahaiB2
9Said Abdullah
C1
6Drinking & Nightlife
10People's PlaceC1
3Entertainment
11DynastyB1
1Sights
Mesjid Raya Sabilal MuhtadinMOSQUE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Sudirman)F
This large flat-domed mosque looks like something off a Star Wars set. During Ramadan, the famous Pasar Wadai (Cake Fair) runs along the adjacent riverfront.
Masjid Sultan SuriansyahMOSQUE
( GOOGLE MAP )F
Though it marks the first Islamic place of worship in Borneo, the beautiful angular wooden building was reconstructed in 1746, leaving the oldest physical mosque accolade to Banua Lawas from the Tabalong Regency (1625). Take a Kuin angkot to the end of the line.
Soetji Nurani TempleBUDDHIST TEMPLE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Niaga Timur 45)F
Step into this 1898 temple, and the hobbit-sized candles and incense coils that smoulder for days will transport you 3000km north to China.
TTours
See Banjarmasin in a single journey: arrange a predawn boat near Jembatan Merdeka (Merdeka Bridge) to the floating markets. It takes an hour or so to navigate the canals lined with ramshackle homes, where the day is just beginning with a bath and tooth-brushing in the murky trash-strewn water. It feels a touch invasive until the waves and beaming smiles betray an unflappable Indonesian pride.
There are two markets: Kuin is closer, but by all accounts Lok Baintan is more traditional. At the markets, women paddle canoes brimming with exotic produce in search of a buyer among the tourist boats bristling with selfie-sticks. If it all sounds a bit bizarre, that's because it is, but it's also profoundly educational, and astoundingly beautiful.
Trips can be combined with a stop at Kembang Island (tours from 100,000Rp), where macaques walk the boardwalk, or at Masjid Sultan Suriansyah, site of the first (but not oldest) mosque in Kalimantan.
You'll need a guide (who will secure a boat as well) to explain what you're seeing on the floating markets tour (such as the significance of how women tie their sarongs). Tours including a guide cost about 200,000Rp, and run from 5.30am to 9.30am.
Some Banjarmasin guides tour up into the Meratus Mountains, too, though we recommend supporting local guides in places such as Loksado.
Sarkani GambiGUIDE
(%0813 5187 7858; kani286@yahoo.com)
Friendly and informative Sarkani runs tours for large foreign groups as well as customised trips for individuals.
Mulyadi YasinGUIDE
(%0813 5193 6200; yadi_yasin@yahoo.co.id)
Professional and responsive.
Muhammad YusufGUIDE
(%0813 4732 5958; yusuf_guidekalimantan@yahoo.co.id)
The energetic head of the thriving South Kalimantan Guiding Association can also help you find other guides in a pinch.
4Sleeping
A few questionable sub-100,000Rp options exist near Jl Hasanudin.
oHotel SASHOTEL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-335 3054; Jl Kacapiring Besar 2; r incl breakfast 190,000-279,000Rp; a)
A delightful find off a quiet side street, this hotel is built around an imposing Banjar home with towering roof and central stair. The mandiangin rooms are newly renovated to good effect – avoid the others. Head down Jl Cempaka and turn left at the old woman selling bananas.
Hotel BiutiHOTEL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-335 4493; Jl Haryono MT 21; r incl breakfast 210,000-300,000Rp; aW)
Has some of the more beautiful and colourful rooms in its class, with decorative wood walls, comfortable artistic public spaces and clean bathrooms. Even the fake lobby trees work (sort of). Cheaper rooms are in the older wing. Upgrade and be happy.
Hotel PerdanaHOTEL$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-335 3276; hotelperdana@plasa.com; Jl Katamso 8; r 120,000-300,000Rp; a)
This rambling Escher-esque complex has a variety of musty multicoloured rooms popular with backpackers. Out front is a cacophony of commerce by day, and a reasonably entertaining night market after dark. English-speaking Linda can point you in whichever direction you need pointing, or find guides. Beware of mosquitoes.
NASA HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-336 6868; Jl H Djok Mentaya 8; r incl breakfast 490,000-560,000Rp; aW)
Aimed at modern business travellers, the spotless superior rooms don't have any windows, but do have modern art and safety deposit boxes. The staff is efficient – sometimes to a fault. Live music in the lounge and the attached karaoke complex may appeal to some.
Swiss-Belhotel BorneoHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-327 1111; www.swiss-belhotel.com; Jl Pangeran Antasari 86A; r incl breakfast 600,000-700,000Rp, ste incl breakfast 1,300,0000Rp; aW)
This traditional boutique-style hotel with warm wooden accents is undergoing a tasteful renovation. The deluxe is a significant upgrade in style for not much money. Rooms come with a free trip to the Kuin floating market (no guide) for one guest, additional guests are 100,000Rp. Boat leaves at 5am.
5Eating & Drinking
Seek out the local speciality soto Banjar, a delicious soup found across the city. The Kawasan Wisata Kuliner (tourist food region), riverside between the Merdeka and Dewi bridges, has many good, but not great, options.
Pondok BahariINDONESIAN$
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-325 3688; Jl Simpang Pierre Tendean 108; mains from 20,000Rp; h24hr)
Pull up some floor space near the fountain and sink your teeth into some ketupat, sticky rice cooked in woven banana-leaf packets. Locals recommend the rowon daging soup, a Banjar take on an east Java favourite. Patient staff bring reinforcements to help you translate the menu.
Cendrawasih SarahaiSEAFOOD$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Pangeran Samudera; mains 20,000Rp; h9am-10pm)
Delve deeper into Banjar cuisine at this renowned spot (not to be confused with the mediocre other Cendrawasih, established next door to the right by a competitive relative.) Pick fish, seafood or chicken grilled to order. Please avoid (and politely shame them for) the endangered turtle eggs.
Said AbdullahINDONESIAN$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Ahmad Yani Km1; mains 25,000Rp; h10am-11.30pm)
Locals say the nasi kuning (saffron rice) at this unassuming place is Banjarmasin's best. You can restock your supply of propolis and Tahitian Noni elixir while you're here.
oPeople's PlacePUB
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-327 7007; Jl Veteran 3; h11am-11pm; W)
With 270 degrees of floor-to-ceiling windows and an open-air porch overlooking the river and mosque, this is the best hang-out in town. An eclectic Anglophilic atmosphere and live acoustic music draws a crowd. The lychee beer is embarrassingly refreshing.
3Entertainment
DynastyKARAOKE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Hotel Aria Barito, Jl Haryono MT; admission male/female 50,000/25,000Rp)
This entertainment complex with disco, bar, and karaoke tries…and, at times, succeeds.
8Information
Adat ToursTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0821 4888 8801; Jl Hasanudin 27)
Flight bookings, some tours, little English.
BNI BankEXCHANGE
(Bank Negara Indonesia; GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Lambung Mangkurat)
Haji La TunrungEXCHANGE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-336 5559; Jl Haryono MT 24)
Exchange chain dealing in multiple currencies.
InternetINTERNET
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Haryono MT 24; per hour 3000Rp; h3pm-late)
Main Post OfficePOST OFFICE
( GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Lambung Mangkurat)
Rumah Sakit UlinHOSPITAL
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-252180; Jl Ahmad Yani 42)
Medical centre.
8Getting There & Away
Air
GarudaAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-336 6747; Jl Hasanudin 31)
KalstarAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-327 2470; Jl Ahmad Yani Km6 553)
Lion AirAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-747 7480; Jl Ahmad Yani Km6, Efa Hotel lobby; h9.30am-7.30pm)
Sriwijaya AirAIRLINE
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-327 2377; Jl Ahmad Yani Km3.5; h9am-5pm)
Boat
Ocean ferries depart from Trisakti Pinisi Harbour (3km west on Jl Soetoyo). Pelni services Semarang (420,000Rp, 24 hours, weekly), while Dharma Lautan Utama services Surabaya (260,000Rp, 22 hours, five services a week). For boats to the interior, take a bus to Muara Tewah and start your journey there.
Dharma Lautan UtamaFERRY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-441 0555; www.dluonline.co.id; Jl Yos Sudarso 4C, next to Hotel Queen)
PelniFERRY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0511-335 3077; Jl Martadinata 10)
Bus
All buses leave from the Kilo Enam terminal at Jl Ahmad Yani Km6, southeast of downtown, accessible by angkot.
TRANSPORT FROM BANJARMASIN