Parts 1 and 2 have dealt with the official business of the championship event. Naturally we couldn't miss a chance to see some of the sights of Palembang by night. We hired 2 of the local transport vehicles ("angkots") and set out. The vans are typically "heavily used", in other words - in very bad condition. The first stop was the River Musi near the famous Ampera Bridge, at 1177 meters long it's one of the longest in Asia. It was built in 1962 by the Japanese.
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| The night lights of the Ampera Bridge |
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| A worn out tourist rests on the river wall near the Ampera Bridge |
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| Dhyana Pura and Singaraja teams, with hosts at our "refreshment stop" by the bridge. It was easier to stand as the stools were a bit low for me. |
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| Refreshment break by the bridge. |
The section of river bank near the bridge is a popular market and meeting place. It's a popular place for sellers of T-shirts, key rings and all sorts of souvenirs, as well as foods and drinks. There are small rides for the children and some simple amusements.
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| "Fishing" for balls in the wading pool. |
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| Not the "Opera House" but the "Ampera House" - so goes the local joke. A shelter on the opposite bank. |
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| One of our two angkots for the night |
When we'd eaten, looked and purchased souvenirs we crammed into the angkots and crossed the bridge. As many other vehicles were parking on the bridge, we did the same. All the better to see the towers.
The bridge once had a lifting centre span - the large concrete slab at the centre of the picture is the now unused counter weight for this tower.
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| Fitri and Ria, from Singaraja (north coast of Bali) pose by the tower. |
Crossing the bridge we drove away from the river, past the modern Jakabaring sports centre to a local landmark. Most of the city statues tend to be in the "patriotic" style - famous people or figures in heroic poses. This modern statue in an abstract style was different. I don't know what it depicts or signifies, but was unusual and interesting.
We crossed back to "our" side of the river and after a couple of loops around the Masjid Agung Palembang (Palembang's main mosque) we found a parking place which allowed me to at least capture the minaret through the surrounding trees. The haze in the air around the mosque was lit by ground lighting producing the "grey" skies in pictures.
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| Masjid Agung Palembang |
Our last stop for the night was at an illuminated "wall of water" feature - but without water that night as it was undergoing maintenance. The bright lights left us in no doubt about our location.
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| Our 2 angkots parked at the water feature for Palembang |
So ended our night tour of Palembang.
Paul in Bali
September 2013
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