Pontianak, capital city of West Kalimantan Province, is one of largest towns in Kalimantan Island. It is located at the junction of Kapuas River (the greatest river in Indonesia) and Landak River. There’s nothing really special about this town, except one of three towns in Indonesia which lies fit in equator.
Does Pontianak have any tourism objects? Yes it has, but so few. They are Equator Monument, Keraton Kesultanan (Sultan’s Palace), Province Museum, and several others. Frankly speaking, they are even not so interesting. How about traditional foods? Well, not everyone likes tempoyak, a fermented durian, are they? So I won’t talk nonsense ask you to visit Pontianak. I just want to tell why I love this town.
The reason is Pontianak is a good example how a town should be. That’s what I think. First is the environment, the air in this town isn’t much polluted, since there are still so many trees and not so many vehicles. The weather is always sunny and windy, but when rainy season comes, it rains a lot. When sea-tide happens, water from sea flow into the river and could cause minor flood inside this town. The soil here is not fertile because Pontianak was a swamp a long ago, so people here live from trading or working for government. That would explain why there are many market here.
Talk about people, second reason why I love this town is the people. Generally, they are heart-opened, polite, and friendly. There are three largest ethnics: Malay, Dayaks, and Chinese, besides immigrant like Bugis or Javanese. Thank God, massive conflict never happen because of its difference, at least until now. They get along very well. I think it’s because they have a simple life. Simple life in real: many of them live in wooden houses, and kids often take an evening bath in the river beside a busy street. But don’t imagine they do it because they have no choices (like what happen in Jakarta), they here do it because they like it. Simple life in ‘not real’: They know their neighbors well, even who live in street’s end. They prefer to spend afternoon visit each other, or hang out in town square, than to stay at home. Most important, they don’t care about what others have, higher or better than them, as long as they aren’t bothered. And luckily, they don’t like to bother each other.
I think it’s hard to find such nice environment in a large town, a capital of one province. Every time I visit Pontianak, I feel a nice and peaceful atmosphere that I can’t feel in Jakarta or Bandung. I feel very welcomed by people here. It’s true that Pontianak is not a cleanest town or tourism’s heaven. Above of all, Pontianak is a warm and simple town.
Does Pontianak have any tourism objects? Yes it has, but so few. They are Equator Monument, Keraton Kesultanan (Sultan’s Palace), Province Museum, and several others. Frankly speaking, they are even not so interesting. How about traditional foods? Well, not everyone likes tempoyak, a fermented durian, are they? So I won’t talk nonsense ask you to visit Pontianak. I just want to tell why I love this town.
The reason is Pontianak is a good example how a town should be. That’s what I think. First is the environment, the air in this town isn’t much polluted, since there are still so many trees and not so many vehicles. The weather is always sunny and windy, but when rainy season comes, it rains a lot. When sea-tide happens, water from sea flow into the river and could cause minor flood inside this town. The soil here is not fertile because Pontianak was a swamp a long ago, so people here live from trading or working for government. That would explain why there are many market here.
Talk about people, second reason why I love this town is the people. Generally, they are heart-opened, polite, and friendly. There are three largest ethnics: Malay, Dayaks, and Chinese, besides immigrant like Bugis or Javanese. Thank God, massive conflict never happen because of its difference, at least until now. They get along very well. I think it’s because they have a simple life. Simple life in real: many of them live in wooden houses, and kids often take an evening bath in the river beside a busy street. But don’t imagine they do it because they have no choices (like what happen in Jakarta), they here do it because they like it. Simple life in ‘not real’: They know their neighbors well, even who live in street’s end. They prefer to spend afternoon visit each other, or hang out in town square, than to stay at home. Most important, they don’t care about what others have, higher or better than them, as long as they aren’t bothered. And luckily, they don’t like to bother each other.
I think it’s hard to find such nice environment in a large town, a capital of one province. Every time I visit Pontianak, I feel a nice and peaceful atmosphere that I can’t feel in Jakarta or Bandung. I feel very welcomed by people here. It’s true that Pontianak is not a cleanest town or tourism’s heaven. Above of all, Pontianak is a warm and simple town.
Thanks for posting, your writing is still very much influenced by spoken language.
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