WHEN TOURISTS used to ask about places to visit in West
Sumatra, one of the most common answers was the city of Bukittinggi. Today though,
that answer includes Sawahlunto.
The next question would then be: “What
is there to see in Sawahlunto?” And the
answer is that the city has as many – if not more – tourist objects than
Bukittinggi.
Sawahlunto, like Bukittinggi, is a
small city, but it has a rich historical heritage. It is home to seven museums
and old buildings from the Dutch-colonial era that are quite well preserved. They
all reflect that past way of life in the coal-mining town.
In 2015 Sawahlunto was shortlisted
on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage list as an Old Coal Mining Town. And in
2019, the government will include Sawahlunto in its list of proposed sites to
the World Heritage Committee.
The list will be expanded to include
the remains of the supporting infrastructure for coal production in the 19th
century. These include a 155.5-km railway crossing six regencies and towns in
West Sumatra, all the way to Teluk Bayur Seaport, which used to be called Emma
Haven, a docking location for coal bound for exports.
Sawahlunto is situated in a valley. It
was founded by the Dutch in 1888 when a big reserve of high-quality coal was
discovered in the area. Until today, the coal is still mined in small volumes;
large-scale mining activities, or deep mining, were halted in the early 2000s.
Mining-related building boasting
Dutch style architecture are common sight in the region, including the main
office of the coal mining company founded in 1916 and now the icon of
Sawahlunto. There are also three silos in the form of giant concrete cylinders
40 metes in height that were used to store coal.
Tourists can also visit the Cultural
Building, which in the colonial era was dubbed the Ball House. It hosted
billiard tournament s and cultural events. Another building is a cooperative
building called Ons Belang. Constructed in 1920, it was used as the office of the
cooperative whose members were the Dutch and the Indo-Dutch. Hotel Ombilin,
meanwhile,was constructed in 1918 and used to house Dutch mining engineers, and
the graceful St. Barbara Church was built in 1920.
But one of the more popular sites
among tourists is the Mbah Soero mining tunnel, the area’s first coal mine that
opened in 1898.
The mining tunnel’s attractions
include a sad story of the “chained people”, thousands of convicts sent to West
Sumatera from prisons in Java and other regions in Indonesia. They were shipped
by the Dutch colonial government, their feet in chain, to work as miners. Many of
these chained people lost their lives in Sawahlunto.
Tourist can enter the tunnel accompanied
by a guide for only 56 US$ cents per person. Outside the tunnel is a statue of
the chained people, and in the building’s Info Box, tourists can view various
tools used by the miners.
Related to Mbah Soero is the Goedang
RAnsoem Museum. Constructed in 1918, it was used as a soup kitchen for mine
workers. Visitors can see the cooking utensils used in that era, including
stoves and cauldrons.
In front of the coal mining company building,
PT Bukit Asam, is the Ombilin Coal Mining Museum, which is managed by Bukit
Asam’s Ombilin Mining Unit. The museum also functions as the company’s
documentation and archive center.
In front of the museum, viistors are
greeted by the statue of Ir. J.W.Ijzermen, a Dutchman who held the Ombilin Coal
mining project in Sawahlunto until it become productive in 1892. Inside are
pictures of Willem Hendrik de Greve, who discovered the coal reserve in Sawahlunto
in 1867.
Three other museums in the city are
not directly related to the history of Sawahlunto, but they can offer visitors
an enjoyable day of culture and entertainment. They are the Etno Kayu Paint
Museum, which display modern paintings and wooden crafts; Museum Seni Musik,
which houses a collection of musical instruments from various regions in
Indonesia and abroad; and Museum Tari, displaying a trove of accessories for
Minangkabau traditional dances.
Tourists can visit all seven museums and
historical buildings in one day on foot as they are located in the Old Town
area.
Sawahlunto also has family
entertainment facilities located some 12 kms from Old Town. One of these is
Kandi Zoo, wehre visitors can not only see animals but also paly paintball and
engage in other outbound activities.
Every December, to commemorate its anniversary,
Sawahlunto holds a horse race at its 1,400 –m track, the second-longest in the
country. The arena can accommodate 30,000 spectators.
Other family-friendly destinations
are the Rantih tourism village, Fruit Garden and Waterboom Waterpark, as well
as sites to enjoy the area’s beautiful scenery, such as Cemara Peak and Polan
Peak.
Also in Sawahlunto is the grave of
national hero Mohammad Yamin. The grave is situated in Talawi, 15 km from the center
of town. Yamin was one of the early concept writes of Indonesia’s ideology and
a proclaimer of the historic Youth Pledge.
Sawahlunto is only 95 kilometers
from Padang and 88 kilometers from Bukittinggi. If visitors don’t have time to
stay the night, they can still enjoy what the town has to offer by making a
one-day trip from either of these cities in a rental car.
Backpackers can easily visit Sawahlunto
on a budget. From Minangkabau Ekspres airport train to Simpang Haru Station
(the last station). Currently tickets for the Minangkabau Ekspres cost only
$0.8.
From the station, visitors can walk
350 meters or take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) t oa minibus shelter. From there,
they take a minibus to Sawahlunto in Tugu Api. The bus fare is 1.3$ and the
minibus is available every hour from morning until late afternoon. The minibus
stops at a terminal in the center of Sawahlunto, and visitors can stay at one
of the budget homestays that are abundant in the area.
[Sources : by The Jakarta Post |Words: Syofiardi
Bachyul Jb]