Singkawang

Singkawang is a city located in the province of West Kalimantan as the prime tourist destination in West Kalimantan because of the beauty of land, beach and sea. Singkawang even has a worldwide tourist attraction such as the Cap Go Meh (Chinese New year Festival). The word “Singkawang” comes from Khek / Hakka dialect “San Kew Jong” which literally means "Mountain Mouth Seas", its refers to a place between the mountain and the sea. This is because geographically Singkawang borders the Natuna Sea to the west, and mountains such as Raya, Pasi, Poteng and Roban to the east and south, while the river flows through the city into the Natuna Sea.

People in Singkawang are heterogeneous so Singkawang is also known as a multi-ethnic city. From the various ethnic groups, the cultures and traditions of Chinese, Dayak and Malay embellishes the Singkawang life. Singkawang also known as “China Town of Indonesia” or the “city of a thousand temples” because 42% of the population is Chinese. It also makes Singkawang known as "Amoy City", referring to the pretty Chinese Girl. In daily life, they use Khek / Hakka language. Cap Go Meh is the prime tourist atraction in Singkawang, there are lantern and Tatung parade.

History

Singkawang growth began during the gold mining era in Monterado, many workers came from mainland China. Before the miners would go to Monterado, they would transit to rest in Singkawang to continue their journey, workers who had been working in mining would rest in Singkawang. Because of the promising development in Singkawang, the miners switched professions to be a farmer and merchant in Singkawang and eventually these miners lived and settled in the city.

Get in

Take a bus from Pontianak to Singkawang. The trip takes about four hours or 150 km and cost about Rp 30.000/pax.

Take a taxi from Pontianak city center to Singkawang the trip is about Rp 90.000/pax by a big car max 5 passengers)or Rp 100.000/pax by a small car(max 3 passenger). From Supadio Airport it is takes price about Rp 120.000 to Rp 150.000/pax. By using a taxi you can request Any place you Would like to be picked and dropped.

See

You can see pasir panjang one beach, and pasir panjang two beach, this beach is 20-30 minutes if you are from singkawang city by car, another place is Tanjung bajau, this is in the Bajau hill, this place is 200-300 meters from water surface, in this place we can see all around singkawang city, and we can look Villa bukit mas, this is in the heart of singkawang city in this place we can enjoy an panoramas and eat from mas hill restaurant You have more places tourism to go, like : Agro tourism Bougenville hill, you can enjoy the flowers, tree and fruits at there and also was ready for fishing place. Bagaksahwa tourism village, the Dayak Salako tribe was ready accepting you for feel village tour package, forest tour package and Nyanto' Durian tour package. Setapuk Besar Agro Tourism Village, pineapple, Nephelium three with similiar fruit like lychee (rambutan), green sweet orange. You can get knowledge about how to plant of those fruits and enjoy the show of Malay culture. the place of pottery workshop, you can go to Sinar Terang workshop, try to meet Mr. Abui and get explenation how to make traditional pottery from their family.

Pasir Panjang Beach

Do

Besides visiting the many temples, especially the main temple at Tri Dharma Bumi Raya, Singkawang is famous for its food centres which come alive at night. Most popular is the Pasar Hongkong, where you can find a large variety of food, including porridge, nasi lemak, Rujak Ju Hie (hot fruit salad with dried squid) a specialty of Singawang, and tofu Singkawang. The city also has many coffee shops known as Kopi Tiam. For recreation, locals go to Pasir Panjang Beach, (or Long Beach) 17 km from the center of the city. Besides enjoying the beautiful tranquil scenery, the beach also offers beach activities including boat rental, water bikes, go-karts, souvenir shops and plenty of food stalls.

Buy

Joss sticks,candles,and Buddhist accessories from Toko Tanjaya (Jl. Niaga 155) Tel : 0562-631102. This shop is one of the biggest of its kind in Borneo Island in terms of trading volume. Expect crowd of buyers, especially during Capgomeh festival (15 days after Chinese New Year). You can get special singkawang tshirt, at 'KAKI LIMA' t-shirt trader, Jl. Sejahtera, in front of Kopi Nikmat shop, since 18.00-22.30 at night.

Eat

Singkawang has many types of vegetarian restaurants, bistros and coffee shops. Usually vegetarian restaurants serve Indonesian food menu, whereas bistros may serve different sorts of dishes depending on the type of food itself, such as Chinese Food, Malay Food, etc. Traditional food vendors can also be found still selling food in a simple way using barrows such as “bubur gunting” and “Mi Tiaw” vendors. At night traditional food vendors can be found in the “Pasar Hongkong”(Hongkong market) along store entrances in Singkawang. The latter stores make up of old buildings in the city center. There are three major types of food in Singkawang, which are Chinese Food (non-halal), Malay Food and Vegetarian Food.

Some of the famous dishes are: Chicken Rice, Curry Rice, Chicken Noddles, Fried Rice Noodle, various cakes and sweets. Not forgetting the local tropical fruits.

Sleep

• Hotel Sentosa, Jalan Kom Yos Soedarso No 27, ☎ +62 562 639131. Set back from road from Rp 168.000 promo.  
• Hotel Restu, Jalan Stasiun No 77 singkawang, ☎ +62 562 636904. Rp 145.000,-.  
• Villa Bukit Mas, Jalan A. Yani Gg. Batu Mas, ☎ +62 562 3335666. Rp 350.000- Rp 790.000. 
• Hotel Mahkota, Jalan P. Diponegoro No 1, ☎ +62 562 631244. Rp 313.000- Rp 371.000  

Villa Bukit Mas