Kemaro Island, Romance in The Middle of Musi River

Once upon a time, a princess of Palembang, Siti Fatimah was sent to marry a prince from China, Tan Bun An. The Princess asked nine gold jars for her wedding gift. To avoid pirates, that gold jars were covered by vegetables. When The Prince opened it, he saw that jars are only filled by vegetables, so he threw them to Musi River. Fell ashamed and disappointed, The Prince decided to fell himself to Musi River and he sunk. Knowing that, The Princess  fell herself to Musi River too, following her lover. A moment before, she left a message: “If you see a tree grow on the land where i sink, it will be our love tree”. Then The Princess sunk, and suddenly appear a land above the river. People believed this is the grave of both lover, and called it “Pulau Kemaro/Kemarau” (lit. Dry Island) which means even high water happened in Musi River, this island would always dry. And that was the story goes.

Kemaro Island is located in the middle of Musi River, Palembang. To go to Kemaro Island, you must rent a boat from Ampera Bridge, and it takes 30 minutes to get there. A round trip rate with boat is from Rp.50.000-Rp.70.000,-. But if you want faster, you can rent a speedboat. Speedboat can cut your time till 15 minutes, and surely it’s more expensive. A round trip rate with speedboat is from Rp.100.000-Rp.150.000,-. A boat/speedboat can accommodates up to 10 people, so it’s a better way if you bring many of your friends to go there. It’s getting cheaper, right?

Besides the story of Siti Fatimah and Tan Bun An, there is another romance lies down on this island. And that is the myth of Love Tree. That Love Tree is an old banyan tree. People say, if you write your name and your lover on that Love Tree, then your love story will last forever. But if you are single, and you write your name and your crush, then someday you will be a brand new couple. Believe it or not. It’s myth.

Kemaro Island is identical with China’s ethnic. Chinese people use this island as their worship place, so they build temple and pagoda there. Also you can find many Budha statues in there, including Tong Sam Chong or Tripitaka statue, along with his pupils such as, Sun Go Kong, Ti Pat Kai, and Sha Wu Jin. No wonder if on Chinese New Year’s Day or any other feast days, this island always be busy by local visitors or even foreign tourists. At that moment, this island will be lovely decorated with lanterns everywhere and enlighten a whole island beautifully. Not excessive if we say like we are in China now.

Old Book Hunting in South Jakarta

Do you love books? Want to grab some old rare books you can’t find in bookstore? Luckily, there is a place you must try. Located in Basement Floor of Plaza Blok M, South Jakarta, "Loak" Bookstore maybe your best choice to stop by. Literally, "Loak" means Flea Market, and in this content, it certainly referred to Flea Market of Books which provided books, magazines, comics, dictionaries, literatures, textbooks, holy books, and many others. 

Before moved to Plaza Blok M, "Loak" Bookstore took place in Kwitang, Central Jakarta. It had been popular since Ada Apa Dengan Cinta movie mentioned it in a scene where Rangga, the main actor, asked Cinta, the main actress, to look for some old book there. Due to crowded and caused traffic around, sellers were forced to move to proper location, and spread to Pasar Senen, Tanah Abang, Jatinegara, and Blok M. 

Not only new books, you can also find old books, used books, rare books, translated books, foreign language books, or even out-of-print books, from all categories such as music, cooking, novel, and many more. For student, there are so many textbooks from elementary school till college. But to find a book, you must take a closer look, slowly, and patiently from one seller to another. Some books are still in good condition, although the others maybe have some minor damages in cover or paper, but they certainly still can be read well. 

All books in here are incredibly cheap, either they’re new or used. You can save 10-20% for new book than you buy it in bookstore. Bookstore is fixed price, but here, you can bid all the books you want. With some persistent bargain, and a bit of luck, you can get book till 50-70% cheaper for used books. The cheapest book can be found in "Obral" sign, which start from Rp.10.000,- Amazing, right? "But, what about quality?", you asked. Don’t worry. For new books, they’re all sealed tidily, and have no different than you usually see in bookstore. But for used books, you must be careful and pay more attention. Although some of them are sealed too, you must check them again from cover, paper, and color, till you satisfied and really meant to buy them.  

There is nothing wrong to get one or two books from here. Besides you can have some good time, read book can enrich our knowledge too. So, if you want to experience different atmosphere of travelling, you must try to visit "Loak" Bookstore.