Bengkulu - A Small Relaxed City

Calm Jenggalu river at sunset

Last updated Feb 2nd, 2017 
  
   Bengkulu, a small relaxed city, is the provincial capital of the province of the same name. It is a calm city by comparison to other Indonesia cities facing the Indonesian/Indian Ocean. Bengkulu is the smallest provincial capital in Sumatra, it has only an area of 151.70 sq km (94.2 sq. miles) and a population of 308,756 inhabitants with a population density of  2,136 people per sq km, 95% are Moslems (population census 2010). 

Climate and Borders:
    Bengkulu has a tropical humid climate which is influenced by two seasons within the whole year, the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season lasts from October to March (peaking in December - February), and the dry season from April to September. June to August are the best months to visit Bengkulu. The temperature throughout the year averages 26°C (78.8°F) to 32°C (89.6°F). With the smallest land area and population in Sumatra, Bengkulu has a diverse and simple lifestyle in each of its four corners. The city is bordered by the sunny shores of the Indian Ocean to the west, the rural and forested landscape of Central Bengkulu district to the north and east, the massive rubber and palm plantations of Seluma district to the south. Time zone: WIB (UTC+7).

Bengkulu Timeline

Fort Marlborough

    Bengkulu was the seat of the British power and influence in western parts of Indonesia from 1685 until 1825, which they called Bencoolen. The British persisted, maintaining their presence for roughly 140 years before ceding it to the Dutch as part of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to focus attention on Malacca. From 1939 – 1942 Bengkulu was a home-in-domestic-exile for the Indonesian nationalist leader Soekarno who later became Indonesia’s first president during the struggles against Dutch colonial rule. Bengkulu remained part of the Dutch East Indies until the Japanese occupation in World War 2. 

Popular attractions to visit   

Panjang beach

Bengkulu still lives in the shadow of the roaring 1990s. When visiting Bengkulu for a vacation or business there are many attractions to visit from its good beaches to nearby interesting historical sites. On the edge of the old port, set on a hill overlooking the Indian Ocean fort Marlborough is a wonderful introduction for visitors to the city. The impressive Fort Marlborough stands as a reminder of the British occupation, and there are several other colonial reminders, such as the Governor’s residence, European cemetery, etc. About 2 km (1.2 miles) from the downtown, Panjang beach offers fun hanging out and relaxing spots with more restaurants, hotels, shops, which also bustles with street vendors and nightlife. If you are a surfer, don't miss some hidden good surf spots in Samudera Ujung beach. Bengkulu has a wide selection of mid-range accommodation at along Panjang beach (Jalan Pariwisata). You can get to most tourist attractions on foot.

    Although few foreign tourists visit Bengkulu, it is one of the most attractive cities in Sumatra. With much of its colonial architecture still intact, it retains a languid charm and elegance and has not been scarred by insensitive redevelopment. The shores around the city of Bengkulu are scenic and unspoilt. The city comparatively clean and lacks the frenetic traffic and noise of other cities its size, vehicles seem to be fewer and to be driven with less resource to the horn, while the locals are friendly and have time to spare for foreigners who make it here.

Getting There and Away

The city of Bengkulu is easily accessible by land and air transportation. You can catch regular buses from Palembang, Padang or Jakarta. For now, there are daily flights from Jakarta only.


Getting Around

Samudera Ujung surf

A counter at the airport offers rental cars and taxis rides for Rp. 60,000 into downtown. Alternatively, walk down to the road in front of the terminal building to the main road and turn to your right as you exit the airport and then take a white public city transport locally known as “angkot” (Rp. 3,000) to Terminal Panorama, then take another angkot either yellow or green angkot (Rp. 3,000) to the downtown. This alternative way is much cheaper than taking regular airport taxis.  

Beware and don't get ripped off! The most fun way to get around Bengkulu is by angkot (public city transport), but the angkot drivers sometimes tend to overcharge foreign travelers. To avoid this unacceptable overcharging, you should tell the driver where you’re going before get on. All rides cost Rp. 3,000 (updated Feb 2017) for one route regardless of the distance and anything the drivers may tell you. It is strongly recommended to have exact change for the fare. Give extra Rp. 5,000 - 10,000 to the driver if you bring a lot of luggage with you.

Pros and Cons
Pros: Bengkulu is a safe city, it has many fine beaches and historical sites.
Cons: The locals like to stare at bule (foreign tourist). Shopping is not that great, very few small shops that offer unique wares.
Overall: A small relaxed city with nice beaches and friendly people.

Additional sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengkulu 

Lonely Planet Indonesia 7th Edition

Related posts:
Traces of British Colonial Presence on Bengkulu Soil 
Bengkulu, Getting There and Away 
Tips for Traveling on Rainy Sumatra Days
Panjang Beach Bengkulu

More photos from Bengkulu

Fort Marlborough - a British reminder

Tapak Paderi beach 

Riding a Sumatran elephant 

Photos by Adriansyah Putera and Jeff Doust
Contact: kurt_reyhans@yahoo.com

Natural Beauty of Bukit Daun

Bukit Daun at sunset

Last updated: January 21st 2017

Seeing Rafflesia arnoldii

       Another area of awesome natural beauty in Bengkulu province, Bukit Daun is a nature conservation surrounded by mountains on all sides and rich with traditional Rejang culture. It is home to endangered species such as, honey bear, Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower, and Amorphophallus titanium (locally known as bunga Kibut), the world’s tallest flower. Many kinds of orchid could be found here, too. It is at 800-900 m above sea level, the best way to explore the village is on foot. The air is cool and clean, and the locals are hospitable.

Besides natural beauty, Bukit Daun also offers some great do-it-yourself trekking opportunities where you can explore the fresh and clean outdoors and meet hospitable locals, and stunning sunrises. There is a small Japanese WWII bunker which is constructed of rebar-enforced cement and stone in Bukit Daun. You could also day-trip here for some hiking through forests/coffee plantations and a local lunch. There aren’t any real restaurants in Bukit Daun and most visitors end up having meals and drinks in warung (simple food stall). Basic supplies are available in local shops.

Getting there:

Bukit Daun nature conservation is about 48 km (30 miles) from the city of Bengkulu and can be reached on day trips from Bengkulu, Curup or Kepahiang. Simply take a public transport (Rp. 10,000) to Tebat Monok from Terminal Nakau in Bengkulu or rent a Kijang. 

More photos

The bloom of Rafflesia arnoldii in Bukit Daun nature conservation

Fun hiking through Bukit Daun forest

Japanese WWII bunker

Foggy scenery of Bukit Daun

Photos by Adriansyah Putera and Shirley Utama Adriansyah

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

The Experience of Living in a Different Culture

    I recently heard someone talk about this: there was a comedian on a late-night show whose You-tube video of his appearance has often been sent around in emails. I haven't gotten any of these, so apparently I exchange emails with the wrong crowd... Anyway, I watched the video and loved it. I think he is calling our attention to something really important, and it made me think about how that applies to the experience of living in a different culture. I'll explain some more about the video and then talk about how it is important for those of us living cross-culturally. 

    The theme of the jokes in the video is how amazing the world is and yet how unhappy people are with it. He makes fun of people who complain about their cell phones and airline flights, instead of marveling that we can communicate with people across the planet using something we hold in our hand, or that we can race through the sky like birds while sitting on our backsides. Good points. Here is what he says about the person who complains when the wi-fi on the plane, something impossible just last year, stops working: "How quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only 10 seconds ago." Supervise your kids - there is one word beeped-out.

     The person I heard talking about this was making the same point: the world, the universe, is simply amazing. Many of the things we enjoy daily were only science-fiction only years ago. And yet we tend to focus on what inconveniences us rather than what helps us, and complain instead of rejoice. I think that is true of western culture in general, but it is also my observation that this is especially true of those of us living cross-culturally. It is very easy for us to focus on the things that make us uncomfortable and the things we don't understand rather than the amazing things we have the privilege of experiencing. We saw this when we first came to Indonesia in the ex-pats we were with then, and we see it in people around us now. And we have often seen it in ourselves.

     I think the reason for this is the natural comparisons we are always (often unconsciously) making between our native culture and our adopted culture. We compare conditions, services, infrastructure, people's behavior and their thinking, with the things we're used to. In some of these areas (maybe many of them) our home culture may be superior. In others it may not really be superior, or it may even be inferior when seen objectively, but our discomfort with our adopted culture makes it feel bad. So we don't like it. 

     That's natural, and there isn't anything wrong with in; in fact, we should be critical of things that are wrong, or oppressive, or are wasteful or just unnecessarily difficult. All those things keep people from the quality of life they could have. But the problem comes when we stop recognizing the wonderful things around us because we're so focused on our own discomfort. Here are a couple examples from our life here in Sumatra:

Public city transport locally known as angkot

• Angkots: These little mini-buses are the primary public transportation across Indonesia, and especially in the town we live in. There are times they aren't fun: they don't run on a schedule, they're hot and often crowded, and these days they sometimes have ridiculous sound systems pumping dance music we don't want to be pounded with. It's easy to complain about them. But on the other hand, they are an amazing value: in our town they will go where we ask them to (within the bounds of their route), and everywhere they pick you up where you want to wait (again, along their route) and drop you off anywhere along the road you ask them to. Sometimes we have to wait for them, but sometimes they pull up right when we look for them. They are amazingly cheap - what we get for the price simply can't be beat. 
• Food: It is absolutely true that cleanliness standards here in Indonesia are not like what we're used to in the US. The bugs and animals wondering around markets among the food can really be surprising, the way things are cleaned (or not) can be disgusting, and the smells are not reassuring. If we focus on these things we might never eat. But the other side of the coin is that things are amazingly fresh here. The way meat or eggs are transported and marketed may not meet our clean test, but in many cases it is so fresh there has been very little time for anything to

  

  Traditional fruit stall in Kepahiang

  really be wrong with it. We often eat meat or eggs that was literally harvested yesterday. That certainly isn't the case in Colorado where almost everything we eat gets trucked in from hundreds of miles away. Recent problems with salmonella and other food issues in the US show that the packaging/processing systems there aren't perfect either, however clean they might appear. I am not trying to suggest there are more food-borne illnesses in the US than Indonesia (that would be silly), but I am suggesting that our attitude about what we eat might not need to be as cautious as I often see. We can be suspicious of every bite of food, or we can try to be wise and then enjoy the amazing fresh and abundant variety of food we get to enjoy in this tropical climate.

     The person I heard talking about this suggested that Psalm 104 is a good way to keep our perspective on how amazing things are around us so that we can continue to be thankful and excited about the world, rather than frustrated and grumpy. Everything's amazing (in Indonesia and everywhere else!) so let's enjoy it!

Author: Sean McKelvey Living and learning in Sumatra, Indonesia
Source: http://www.engagetheworld.net/content/everythings-amazing-and-nobodys-happy-0

Tabut - A Cultural Festival

Tabut effigy

Last updated: July 18th, 2023

  Bengkulu has a number of traditions which still continue in Bengkulu people life. One of the cultural assets of Bengkulu is the Tabot/Tabut (an Arabic word which means the coffin) which is an interesting attraction to enrich your cultural experiences particularly to observe one of Indonesian's unique tradition and culture.

Tabot or now is called Tabut festival, the highlight of the Bengkulu people cultural calendar is a colorful and interesting festival, staged at Merdeka square nearby Fort Marlborough. The festival highlights music, traditional and new creation dancing contest, Bengkulu folk song contest, bazaar, telong-telong contest, effigies, and many more at Merdeka square. At the end of the festival the effigies are carried through the streets with much merriment and traditional music, and are finally tossed to the grave of Sheik Burhanuddin.

Tabut festival is held annually from 1st to 10th of the month of Muharram (the first month in the lunar Islamic Calendar). Because the event date is fixed by the lunar Islamic calendar, it moves forward 10-12 days each year. This year, Tabut festival will be held from July 18th to 28th 2023.

The festival which takes place at Merdeka/Tugu square to honor and recall the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein ibn Ali, at the tragic battle of Kerbala-Iraq against Yazid people on 10th of Muharram 61 AH (10th of October 680 AD). 

Telong-telong contest

Tabut ceremony originated from the Iraqi Shiite, brought to Bengkulu by the workers (from Madras – India) who were constructing the fort Marlborough for the British East India Company. It is generally believed that the first Tabut ceremony in Bengkulu was carried out by Sheik Burhanuddin (also known as Imam Senggolo) in 1685. Sheik Burhanuddin married a Bengkulu woman, after he passed away the Tabut ceremony was then inherited to their children, including among others those who assimilated with the indigenous Bengkulu inhabitants. This ceremony has been going on for quite a long time, about 3 centuries. Because of the long period, this ceremony is considered as a traditional ceremony of the ethnic of Bengkulu-Malay.

Location: Nearby the Fort Marlborough, across from the Bengkulu city police station.

The effigies are carried through the streets

Photos by Peter Kimball & Sirly Utama Adriansyah