Family Trip to Palembang and Bangka
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Started this whole adventure from Tangerang. First stop was Palembang for about a week.
Look, I know Palembang has... a reputation (iykyk). But honestly? The city's pretty lively and way more decent than I expected. I actually had a good time there.
What we did in Palembang
We kicked things off visiting family tombs. After that, checked out this local mosque called Masjid H. Bajumi Wahab. It's well-managed even though it's kinda far from the city center.
The LRT is actually pretty good
We also tried the local LRT system. Ngl, the infrastructure is solid—honstly better than some places I've been to on Java. They've got a station right next to the famous Ampera bridge. The view from there? Ampera looking good here.
Later we just chilled by this lake near Jakabaring Sport City. Nice spot if you wanna escape the busy Ampera area for a bit.
BKB
At night, we went to BKB (Benteng Kuto Besak). This is where things got... interesting.
We wanted to rent one of those small golf cart vehicles. Driver quoted us a price for 15 minutes. We said sure. Then when it's time to pay, plot twist: that price was per person. And there were five of us.
Yeah.
Always ask "is that per person or total?" when dealing with tourist rentals. Learn from my mistakes lmao.
Honestly though, that's on us for not asking the right questions. Skill issue, I guess. But aside from that little drama, hanging out with family was still worth it.
Heading to Bangka Belitung
Eventually my mom, brother, aunt, and I took a ship to Bangka island (near South Sumatra). The view during the crossing was actually pretty sick.
Beach hopping
Once we got to Bangka, it was basically all beaches. I genuinely don't remember what most of these places were called or if they even had official names. But here, just look at the photos.
If you're going to Bangka, just ask locals for beach recommendations. The unnamed spots are sometimes the best ones.
Last stop
To wrap things up, we hit the Kaolin Lake in Central Bangka and then we moved to Bangka Botanical Garden. Both were pretty neat spots.
Would I go back?
Yeah, for sure. It was a solid trip overall. Bangka Belitung especially, the food and scenery are honestly wonderful. Just make sure to double-check and negotiate prices properly when you're in Palembang lol.