Touring South Sumatra Watching Dragon Boat Race – ipadguides

I was able to watch the Musi Triboatton competition which was held on May 11-15 2016 on the Musi River, South Sumatra.

When we hear the Musi river, we definitely think of the Ampera bridge in Palembang. But maybe I should remind you, the Musi River is more than 750 kilometers long (that’s roughly the distance from Jakarta to Malang via the north coast route!).

The Musi River divides the city of Palembang into two parts. Also passes through some areas of the province of South Sumatra.

Usually this boat race called bidar is always there when there is a festival or for example the celebration of the seventeenth. But this race is different. Not between villages or sub-districts as usual. But between provinces and countries!

Some of the foreign Musi Triboatton participants who were seen from neighboring countries were Malaysia, Brunei, China, Macau, and Singapore.

Musi Triboatton, as the name suggests, Tri, there are three types of boats that are contested. The first is the rafting boat, the second is the kayak boat, and the last is the dragon boat.

The dragon boat is in the spotlight because of the shape of the boat with a colorful dragon head. Another unique thing about this dragon boat is that it has a drummer who functions as a command for the athletes to row the oars.

I started my journey to watch the first stage at Empat Lawang. Approximately eight hours drive from Palembang.

I’ve imagined the route across Sumatra that goes up and down winding and can make the pempek and pindang I just ate come back out of my digestive tract.

Luckily, there is a night train with the Palembang to Lahat route which can cut 3/4 of the journey on the train, so I can still write this on my laptop and fall asleep.

In Empat Lawang, apart from short-distance rafting competitions, there are also long-distance races that end in high cliffs. The distance is about 30-40 km which is taken in 2-3 hours.

I can’t imagine the athletes whose muscles are bent all this doing this in the hot sun. At the finish, some of them looked very tired and had to be helped when they got off the boat.

Continuing to the next stage in Musi Rawas Regency which is famous for its pindang, the types of competitions are added.

Not only rafting, but also kayaking boats that only one athlete can ride. Kayaking/canoeing is not as exciting as rafting because there are fewer people so it doesn’t look more exciting than rafting. Even here they only compete “drag race” aka short distances.

I am waiting for the appearance of the dragon boat. As it turned out, the dragon boat only arrived when the stage reached the capital of the district of South Sumatra in Sekayu.

Sekayu seems much more developed than the district I previously visited. On the banks of the Musi River, the Sekayu section looks neater and quieter than Palembang. There is even a beautiful garden on the banks of the Musi River named Sekayu Waterfront. This is the most popular hangout place for Sekayu children.

Sekayu waterfront has umbrellas similar to the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, even though they are only miniature. Beautiful 🙂

I missed the stage in Banyuasin to go straight to the last stage as well as the final that closed the 2016 Triboatton Musi in Palembang. The sky was black, the Musi river current was strong. I felt an unusual wobble while eating at one of the floating pindang stalls near the Ampera bridge.

I got ready on the stage where the starting line was. Shortly before the race started suddenly heavy rain fell. However, the athletes were already at the starting line, the whistle sounded, the drummers began to beat the drums, followed by the compact rowing of the athletes. I took cover under the stage where the invited guests watched while continuing to take pictures.

Musi Triboatton has a noble goal to raise the Musi River as a tourist destination in South Sumatra.

Unfortunately, of the five stages in five different places, only the city of Palembang was quite ready to accommodate athletes and tourists.

In the river area around the Ampera Bridge, there are many interesting tourist attractions such as Kemaro Island, Al Munawar Arab Village, Captain’s Village, to culinary stalls under the Ampera Bridge.

For other regions, maybe next year can be much better, right?

Oh yes, congratulations to the team from Jambi Province who won the 2016 Musi Triboatton overall champion!

Maybe I should learn to row so that my muscles can be toned like these athletes….

Regards!