After from Semarang City, I continued my Solo Traveling to Borneo Island, precisely in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan using Sriwijaya Travel Pass. When I was heard the name of the city of Balikpapan for the first time, for some reason, my hair goose bumps to hear it. I am reminded of the jokes that are often thrown by the actor in a comedy show on television that likens Balikpapan as a cemetery. In fact, the city is far from the impression of horror instead the pleasant surrounds of the city that once had a great fighting location between the Netherlands, England against Japan.
The first time I touched the foot at Sultan Haji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport, I was immediately amazed by the grandeur of an international airport. I do not believe that on the island of Borneo there is an airport of this caliber. The shape is like a high-end Mall in Jakarta, and because it is still new so clean and comfortable impression. Here’s the video I made on the Airport.
Not many choices Vehicle from Airport to City Center, even when you exit from airportm you have been offered Official airport taxi ready to take you anywhere to the City of Balikpapan and surrounding areas. I chose Taxi Kokapura at a cost of Rp.70.000, -. In Sepinggan Airport there is no Damri Bus so that travelers have no other choice to choose a taxi as the vehicle exits the airport. Grab and Go-Car cars (online) are also not allowed to take passengers here so there is no other alternative to save money.
I ended up staying at 3 Star Hotel, Hotel Neo + Balikpapan for various reasons, cheap and close to downtown. The reason is so that I can easily surround the city of Balikpapan. I never stay at Hotel Neo Jogjakarta and the experience is very pleasant. But unfortunately the great experience was not found in Hotel Neo Balikpapan, very different, especially in terms of food and location. The location of the Hotel is far from the City Center, although still still reachable by Go-Jek and Grab, it is still far from the crowd, but because they provide an amazingly cheap price, about two hundred thousand per night, I decided to stay here. While the breakfast they provide is very different from what is served when I stay at Hotel Neo in Jogjakarta, where many different types of delicious food served at breakfast.
Next I decided to rest before circling the city of Balikpapan considering the day is also late and not much night activity in Balikpapan. I noticed this city is still classified to grow, especially when I’m here is the atmosphere of fasting so people are not too eager for heavy activity. The next day I toured Balikpapan by using a fairly cheap Grab-Bike in Balikpapan. The first place I visited was of course the center of the crowd, namely Balikpapan Plaza located at T-junction BC. This Plaza is said to be the second largest mall in Balikpapan. Just like other Mall in Indonesia, this mall provides a variety of entertainment and many shops stand in it. Because fasting at that time, I decided to lunch at this Mall because in addition to rarely there are food stalls open, I also reluctant to eat on the street because often viewed with people who are not friendly, who do not like to see people do not fast.
I noticed the people of Balikpapan speak like a mixture of Malay and Sulawesi people as well as many ethnicities in this most striking city of ethnic Chinese, where I am surprised because most of them use Indonesian language as a daily introduction, unlike the brothers those in Medan or Jakarta.
The average people in Balikpapan are friendly though if we look at their hard faces but when they speak they are very welcome and want to talk even though we just came to this town, no suspicion at all. So you do not have to worry if you just come to this city because people will not use you like in big cities in Indonesia either in financial transactions or just ask for information, they are very honest.
Balikpapan is already listed as an expensive city where goods and services have greater value compared to other regions in Indonesia. I already feel it, for example Fried Rice valued at Rp17.000 and cold sweet tea worth Rp3.000, so if once ate approximately Rp20.000. The price is in my opinion still level of fairness and still under the City of Jakarta. Because I live in Manokwari, Papua then the price is in my opinion even cheaper, so do not be surprised if I finally decided to try a lot of culinary in Balikpapan.
The first culinary that I try is Soto Balikpapan (Soup), Sop is almost the same as Soto Betawi but with koya and a very thick acid. It feels fresh and tasty especially coupled with typical Kalimantan crackers. Because many food stalls are closed due to fasting, not many culinary I try in Balikpapan, as a result only general food that I taste in this city.
Regarding the vehicle to ride Balikpapan, it is actually cheaper and safer if using the online transport because in addition to cheap you can also see the scenery around the city freely. Another alternative is Angkot, a traditional vehicle. But you should know that the angkot in Balikpapan, although it has been determined route, can sometimes pass certain areas as well. So before boarding it would be nice to ask if this angkot passes through the area you are headed.
The second spot I visited was Pantai Kemala (Kemala Beach) which is famous for its proximity to the city center. Kemala Beach is actually East Kalimantan Regional Police Office but because the area is always crowded then used as public places and visitors are charged entrance fee with different quantities, 10 thousand cars, 5 thousand motorcycles and thousand pedestrians. But since I was wearing Grab-Bike, I was categorized as a pedestrian and how surprised I was when the guard freed me from the entrance fee ,,,,LOL.
The third area I visited was Taman Bekapai, this park is famous for the younger gathering area in Balikpapan. The garden is small but equipped with a Wifi spot so do not be surprised many people are sitting up to the night in this Park City. The food traders are also a lot of hawking merchandise on the outskirts of the park.
The third spot I visited was as far as 16 Km from the city center, namely Manggar Beach which is very popular in the eyes of outside travelers. Usually this beach is very crowded but because I came when the first day of Eid (Lebaran), this beach is quiet gripping but still fun because the weather is not too hot. To reach this beach you can use the online transport and if you want populist, you can do as I do using dark green colored Angkot that will take you directly in Manggar Subdistrict. You just walk by asking the local people the location of beach manggar that many tourists visit.
After coming from Manggar Beach, I plan to visit other regencies in East Kalimantan such as Berau or Derawan. But because I carry limited clothes and goods, I decided to Solo Traveling to the big cities just so that later no trouble finding cheap lodging and vehicles. I decided to Palu, Central Sulawesi.
See you in Palu.!