Palembang, Indonesia – Little Bangkok

Posted on 12 October 2009 by anthony

Before this trip to Indonesia, I had never heard of Palembang in South Sumatra.  

I only know about it because I was told there was a large blogging community there called Wongkito.  They have been showing me around their city and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.

Palembang shares many things in common with Bangkok.  It is a river city, and a lot of daily life occurs on the river called Sungai Musi. 

 
Except unlike Bangkok, there aren’t loads of tourists here.  And that’s why I like it!
 
Palembang Indonesia River Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
 
Wongkito commandeered a pumpboat for a leisurely cruise down the river to see what it’s all about. 
 
Some of the Wongkito members are shown below:
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
Cruising down the river provides a great insight into the daily life of Palembang residents. I managed to take some great shots on the pump boat trip.  This is what happens on a typical day:
 
People taking public transport
 
Public Transport Palembang Indonesia Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
Women doing the daily washing.
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
Men fishing
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
Ship maintenance
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
 
Loading and Unloading Goods
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok
 
 
Checking out what the neighbours are doing
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok

 

The thing is, I haven’t seen another foreigner here at all.  I’m not hassled to buy anything when I walk down the street.
 
I’m more of a curiosity here more than anything.  People look at me in the street because they obviously don’t see too many foreigners, or ‘bule’ (pronounced boo-lay) in Palembang.  But they all are friendly and say hello, and I like saying hello back.
 
In fact, people want me to have a photograph taken with them.  Like this:
 
 Palembang, Indonesia   Little Bangkok 
 
 
If you are ever near Palembang, spend a couple of days here and check it out!
 
Air Asia have helped me get to Indonesia to experience this great trip.  You can do the same by going to their website and checking out their cheap airfares all over South East Asia.

 

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23 Comments For This Post

  1. Ira Says:

    you were a rock star, everybody want to be on the picture with you… you should come again next year, and we will show you more of Palembang…

    [Reply]

  2. jafis Says:

    nice post ..

    U are Rock ..

    [Reply]

  3. Suzan
    Twitter: suzannita
    Says:

    wow… it’s really Palembang… I agree with Ira, you should come to Palembang again

    [Reply]

  4. AdityaWirawan Says:

    Great pictures sir. I hope Palembang can be more famous in the future. I am also member of wongkito, but i am working at oversea now. Nice to hear a good respon about Palembang from you sir.

    [Reply]

  5. indahonly™ Says:

    wakakakakka, you’re like a star, but a human ^_^

    [Reply]

  6. La@Dandelion Says:

    you are too funny. :D

    [Reply]

  7. podelz Says:

    nice post… I Love Palembang, the environment, the foods, the rivers…hu hu..

    [Reply]

  8. Au' Says:

    I very like those photos, two thumbs up for U. Those pics really2 show Palembang with Musi River daily routinity. Thx for promoting our city :)

    [Reply]

  9. galih Says:

    yuhuuuuuu!

    [Reply]

  10. hanny Says:

    have fun in bandung, ant! *counting the days* :p

    [Reply]

  11. arles Says:

    hemmmmmmm Palembang,,,, it’s a good city we have…. so beautiful….. oh ya mr…. don’t forget your vocabulary…… ok?

    [Reply]

  12. easy Says:

    anthony.. *kamu harus berfikir keras mengartikan komentar saya* hehehe

    thanks untuk kunjungannya ke palembang. maaf dengan semua keterbatasan sarana dan prasarana selama kamu disana. tinggal di kost yang sempit, mandi dengan gayung di kamar mandi yang juga sempit, dan harus sikat gigi menggunakan air di bak yang aku tahu kamu gak suka… kkkkk… tapi kamu tetap menunjukkan tampang “manis” dengan semua kondisi itu.

    sungguh bule yang tauladan :)

    arles, rusli, rino, dan semua teman kost menitipkan salam buatmu..

    [Reply]

  13. Dave and Deb
    Twitter: theplanetd
    Says:

    Great post. Now I wish that we were flying into Sumatra before going to India. We haven’t been there before and your time there seems so incredible. Fantastic photos.

    [Reply]

  14. Arie Goiq Says:

    dont forget about geli geli sensation… hahahahaha

    [Reply]

  15. pixie Says:

    Great post!
    You look so happy and relaxed. I will have to come one day!

    [Reply]

  16. Huang Says:

    Anthony, I’ll translate comments from easy for you :)

    Thank you for visit to palembang. sorry with all the limitations of facilities and infrastructure for you there. live in a small house, a bath with a bucket in the bathroom which is also narrow, and should brush your teeth using water in the tub that I know you do not like. but you still show look “nice” with all the conditions.

    bule was a model:)

    Arles, rusli, rino, and all my friends left boarding greeting for you

    p.s : Glad to know you.

    [Reply]

  17. Wahyu Says:

    You are the star beyond those girls… Hahhhahaha

    [Reply]

  18. Wahyu Says:

    #Jafis…

    Is really Anthony a rock for you???

    =))

    [Reply]

  19. Si Kurus Says:

    foto2nya keren2

    [Reply]

  20. dio Says:

    trip to the kemaro island ?
    dio´s last blog ..Sumbang Saran atau Saran Sumbang My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

  21. xonket Says:

    What a great post sir… the pic is very very intresting to the human life shown us the activity around the musi river. thx 4 promote our city to the world ;) .. i’m member of wongkito.net too…

    [Reply]

    anthony Reply:

    It’s my pleasure! I saw the very best of Indonesia with this trip, and Wongkito treated me like a king in Palembang! I loved every second of it!

    [Reply]

  22. anne Says:

    The Musi river is magic and so are the people of Palembang.

    [Reply]

  23. Garth Wayne
    Twitter: properrandom
    Says:

    Wow those pictures are fantastic! It must be strange living on water like that, I’d fall in all the time.
    Garth Wayne´s last blog ..Why Single Men Can’t Go To Bangkok My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

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  1. Tweets that mention Palembang, Indonesia - Little Bangkok -- Topsy.com Says:

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