Pottering

As a result of many westerners' negative views of this city I haven't really seen any of what Palembang may or may not have to offer for myself. So I decided to register with couchsurfing, a website full of people who like travelling and who are usually proud of where they come from. Becoming a member of the website allows you to get in touch with people from places you want to go, and you can meet up with them and even stay on their sofa, although I don't know if I'd ever go that far. Anyway I signed up and today I met up with a nice guy called Anthony. He works at one of the universities here as a lecturer in chemical engineering.

To start our tour we took a walk into the Chinese quarter. We stopped for some breakfast at a restaurant which is apparently very famous. First you have to choose a couple of things to put in a soup, then they bring this and some noodles with beef to your table. It was very delicious, and somewhere I definitely wouldn't have found on my own.

After this we walked to Ampera Bridge, possibly the most famous landmark in Palembang. Under the bridge is a little jetty. From here we would catch a boat to Kemaro Island. We had to climb over many colourful boats tied to the jetty in order to get to ours. Some sellers tried their best to sell me each item they had on offer in turn, each one I declined. Very funny though. After gracefully clambering into our boat we began the journey. The boats don't seem the safest but they are painted pretty colours and patterns. One of the bumpiest boat journeys I've been on, the bottom of the boat slapping down onto the water. Anthony pointed out some things along the way including the Arab quarter, harbour and oil refinery. It took about 10 minutes to reach the island, which is home to a seven storey pagoda and a temple. It was very peaceful there, so different to the busy city. The island is tiny but at Chinese New Year hundreds or maybe thousands of people go there to celebrate together. Of course we couldn't leave without me having my picture taken with numerous random men, then we headed back to Palembang.

Anthony had planned for us to go to the museum after that, but unfortunately it was closed due to an electricity failure; to be expected of Indonesia really. No matter, we then walked across the bridge and to a lovely little place called Kampung Kapitan. Here is where the oldest house in Palemang lies, in the old Chinese quarter. This little area is very pretty and the house doubles up as a Confucius temple. The man at the house let us come inside and look around. It was a very calm and airy place again not following the general common opinions about Palemang. The friendly man told us about the house and how his family have been living in this house for thirteen generations. The tourism board have tried to buy the house but they don't want it to change hands as it will upset the ancestors. I think it is nice the way it is anyway. He also showed us some pictures that had been given to the house in the 15th Century, it was quite amazing.

To finish the tour we walked back over the bridge and took a bus back to Rajawali. This was an enjoyable experience. Turns out some buses here have an oystercard-like system. Apart from it costs 3500 rupiah per journey (including transit), which is 19 pence. Slight difference in price there. So after today, a much more positive view of this city. Tomorrow Cisilia is paying for the teachers to go to Amanzi, a water park somewhere near Palembang. Not many chose to take her up on the offer, but I think it will be fun! I'll try to take some photos and write about it on here. Laters.