Jambi doesn’t deserve to be one of the most forgotten regions of Indonesia. Comprising 60% tropical forests, the area is astonishingly rich in natural attractions – the Kerinci Seblat National Park and the
Berbak National Park for starters.
The rainy capital city of the province, also called Jambi, is a thriving river port on the south bank of the Batanghari River, about 200 kilometers north of Palembang and 150 kilometers from the sea.
Its population of around 300,000 is very ethnically very mixed: Minangkabau, Chinese, Sundanese, Javanese, Batak, Arab, Indian, Pakistani, Japanese, Malaysian and Kubu.
Tours along the Batanghari in a motorized perahu or in any other weird watercraft is an unforgettable visual experience. The city serves as a pit stop for travelers and truck drivers heading northwest through the Sumatran hinterlands to Padang or for those waiting for the ferry to Pulau Singkep in the Riau Islands.
Along with Sriwijya, Jambi developed as a minor trading and piratical state on the Strait of Malacca during the fifth century. After Sriwijaya’s fall in the 11th century, Jambi rose to replace it as the dominant power on the strait and remained a major player in inter-island trade until the fall of pepper prices in the 17th century.
Most of the city's river traffic is connected to rubber, oil or timber activities, the city serving as a connecting point for ships and motorized prahu traveling down the Batanghari 150 kilometers to the sea and on to Jakarta and the Outer Islands.
Lying on the banks of Sumatra’s longest river, Jambi was an important area for Dutch rubber estates and even today ranks among the top four rubber producing areas of Indonesia.
Sights
The tourist office (tel. 0741-25330) is on Jl. Basuki Rachmat 11 (take a green bemo from Rawasari five kilometers south of town), open 7:30am-2pm Monday-Thursday and Saturday and from 7:30am-11am on Friday. Let them recover from the surprise of seeing you before starting to ask questions.
The Museum Negeri Jambi (Rp200 entrance, open 9am-4pm) is on Jl. Prof. Dr. Sri Soedewi Masjahun Sofwan, four kilometers from downtown. It features a small but fascinating archaeological and ethnographic collection.
Explore the myriad alleyways around the sprawling market behind Jl. Raden Pamuk and Jl. Sultan Taha which run along the southern bank of the river. A few old Chinese shophouses survive on Jl. Sam Ratulangi.
Tour companies Jambora Kencana, Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto, tel. (0741) 23926; Mayang, Jl. Hayam Wuruk 7, tel. (0741) 25450) offer trekking tours to visit the Kubu people, among the last tribes still practicing a hunter-gatherer culture in Indonesia.
The Muara Jambi complex, a significant early Hindu archaeological site dating from the 7th to 13th centuries - the cradle of the Melayu civilization - lies only 26 kilometers south of Jambi.
Accommodations And Food
Jambi is not a bargain-oriented town as its hotels mostly cater to businessmen. Most are located in the downtown area where it's only a short walk to a multitude of restaurants.
Hotel Anggrek, Jl. Iskandar Muda, Lorong Camar 94 III (tel. 0741-25545), on a quiet alleyway behind the Novotel and Matahari, offers a wide variety of clean, basic doubles from Rp50,000 with outside mandi to Rp100,000 for a/c rooms with inside mandi.
Hotel Jambi Raya, Jl. Camar 45 (tel. 0741-34971), has both a/c or fan-cooled double rooms with bath in different classes running from Rp110,000 to Rp150,000.
Abadi, Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto 92-98 (tel. 0741-25600), set back from the busy road, is quiet, comfortable and well-located. Double rooms (Rp130,000-Rp275,000) in the new wing have a/c, hot water and TV; there’s also a pool and a noisy tatty disco downstairs. Don’t stay in the musty old wing.
Four-star, centrally located Hotel Novotel, Jl. Gatot Subroto 44 (tel. 0741-27208), offering 150 rooms from Rp350,000, is the class act of Jambi with international standard amenities and views over the city. Live music nightly in the bar on the ground floor, fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts.
Getting There And Around
Reach Jambi by a long bus ride from Palembang; the city is also serviced by riverboats. Buses pull into the new Simpang Rimbo Terminal two kilometers west of city center. Yellow bemo head for the Rawasari Terminal in the downtown. Boats depart from the pelabuhan in the center of town for Batam and Bintan in the Riaus.
From Sultan Taha Airport (tel. 0741-22244), six kilometers south of the city, take red bemo or a taxi (Rp15,000) to the city’s Rawasari Terminal.
Garuda and Merpati fly from Jakarta to Jambi in only one hour; Jambi is also accessible by air from Palembang and Medan.
The Garuda office is located at Jl. Dr. Wahidin 95, tel. (0741) 22401 or 22303; Merpati occupies Jl. Damar 55, tel. (0741) 22184.
For getting around, there are no becak, but different colored bemo run all over town at a fixed rate of Rp800, or take metered taxis anywhere for no more than Rp10,000 (if unmetered, accept half of the fare offered).
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2004 PakBill
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