FIELD TRIP [ August 8, 2020 ]

With a small additional fee (IDR 300.000 / $30), you can have fun traveling around: floating market, siring, bekantan park, batik sasirangan industry, bamban craft industry, borneo park, diamond and precious stones market Martapura.

Floating Market

Banjarmasin is known as the City of a Thousand Rivers, and the floating market is arguably, the most iconic tourism attraction in this city. In this floating market, you can see a reflection of how Banjarese people are tightly connected with the rivers. In this traditional market, merchants offer their products from jukung, a traditional rowboat while wearing tanggui, a traditional wide hat to cover their head from the sun. The trading activities typically begins as early as 4.30 AM and ends at around 7, so make sure to be an early riser to enjoy this unique experience. While enjoying the sight of beautiful sunrise from your boat, have some of the tasty traditional snacks and other delicacies offered by the merchants. Don’t forget to also taste the seasonal fruits, like rambutan, buah bundar¸ oranges and others.

Pulau Kembang

Flower Island, a literal translation from its original name: Pulau Kembang, is a small island in the middle of Barito River. Legend says that this island was originally what was remained from a British ship. Around the 1750’s, under the order of the Sultan, Banjarese fighters destroyed the ship. Long abandoned, the debris from the ship was slowly overtaken by trees and plants growing on it, until it finally turned into an island. The island is now a natural habitat for some long-tailed monkeys and several bird species. If you are lucky enough, you might catch a glimpse of bekantan, the long-nose monkey with reddish hair. This monkey, which is also known as the proboscis monkey, has been declared as an endangered species. The island itself is easily reached by a 20-minute trip with kelotok (the traditional motorboat) from Banjarmasin.

Sasirangan Industry

The richness of Banjarese culture also comes in the form of Sasirangan, a distinctive traditional pattern on fabrics. The name sasirangan is derived from the word sirang, which means to stitch together. The name portrays the process of creating this pattern, where the crafter stitch and weave the fabric with string or yarn. The fabric is then dipped into dyes. While the fabric gets its color from the dyes, the string that was weaved previously would block the dye, creating patterns that are similar to tie-dye. While it was originally only worn by the nobles, or for spiritual and religious ceremonies, sasirangan is now commonly worn by people of South Kalimantan, to proudly show their Banjarese identity.

Martapura

Martapura, around 40 kms away from Banjarmasin brings the term a sparkling city into a new level. This vibrant city is widely known as the center of diamond cutting and polishing, and also the place where diamonds, jade stones, amethyst and other precious stones are sold. You can find and buy the stones in form of beautifully crafted jewelleries or as separate polished stones. The diamonds mostly come from Cempaka, less than 10 kms away from Martapura. Cempaka itself is a site where diamonds and gold are traditionally mined by local people. When visiting Cempaka, watch how groups of mine workers spend their days in the mining pit where water goes up to their neck. Among the workers, buckets of silts are passed to be washed and sifted in their search for gold specks and diamonds. Although any official records are yet to be found about it, people believe that the mining activities in this place have started since the Dutch Colonial era. After looking around and maybe shopping for jewelleries and stones in Martapura, don’t forget to get yourself some unique South Kalimantan souvenirs in the Martapura Market, as mementos of your trip to South Kalimantan.