Tjilik Riwut Road Trip

*Picture copyright by FF, taken on November 2009

Palangkaraya, being the capital city of the Central Kalimantan province in Indonesia, is a very quiet city (compared to Jakarta, of course), and is not among the top destinations to visit if you go to Kalimantan. However, since I've never been to Kalimantan, and my friend wanted to go there for a field research in one of the villages in Katingan, I immediately tagged along.

We rented a motorcycle for IDR 50,000 (approx USD 5) per day from a taxi driver that we've met, and that's basically the whole transportation that we need for just the two of us. It was quite a sight for the locals because since I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle, my bule friend was the driver and I was the passenger.

Anyways.

The road in Palangkaraya is pretty simple and straightforward, but if you're not good at reading maps, you can get lost. Thankfully, although I'm not blessed with the skill to ride a motorbike, I can read maps. And I make a pretty damn good navigator. We bought the Palangkaraya Map in a local bookstore, which was pretty hard to find, since they only have one shopping mall, named Palma (short for Palangkaraya Mall).

So we finally decided to go for a road trip along Tjilik Riwut road, which is left from the Bundaran Besar and Palma (if you look at the map from above). Among the sights where we wanted to see is the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, Bukit Tangkiling, and the Rungan Sari Resort.

FYI, if you go on a motorcycle in Palangkaraya, it can get very hot so you can get easily tanned, and prepare yourself with a raincoat in case when it rains.

*Picture copyright by FF, taken on November 2009