Indonesia’s ‘rock star’ President Jokowi & Belitung as new Bali

BELITUNG ISLAND, Indonesia — Although most of us here in the Philippines prefer to fly over to Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong for our short-distance vacations, Indonesia three hours away is our huge exotic neighbor down south with 17,000 islands and many reasons for us to explore it. Its tourism promotion campaign has the tagline “Wonderful Indonesia.”

One of its most breathtakingly beautiful isles is Belitung, which is rich in sea and mineral resources like tin, clay, iron ore and silica sands. It is from this former mining isle that the Dutch mining firm NV Billiton Maatschappij derives its company name. Billiton merged with BHP in 2001 to form the world’s largest mining giant BHP Billiton, now an Anglo-Australian firm.

A popular & first non-elite president, exciting tourism reforms

Under its newly elected president and dynamic tourism promotion policies, Indonesia has just recently announced visa-free entry for tourists from China, Australia, South Korea, Russia and Japan, said Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Indroyono Soesilo.

During our trip to Indonesia, still the biggest news in this fascinating nation is its “rock star” — the new President Joko Widodo who is more known by the nickname “Jokowi.” Unlike the country’s past leaders since the 1949 independence who were either part of the military elite or oligarchic political and religious families, the 53-year-old Jokowi grew up in the slum of Central Java, became a self-made furniture dealer and has had solid managerial experience too as mayor of provincial Solo and later as Jakarta governor.

President Jokowi was one of the VIP leaders of the recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit in Beijing, with no less than China President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama having one-on-one bilateral meetings with him. The humble and hardworking Jokowi is now the top international tourism promotion advantage of Indonesia.

Belitung island can be the next Bali, Phuket & Boracay

The Philippine STAR was recently the country’s only newspaper to be invited to the Indonesian government’s special tour of the splendid Belitung island paradise in Bangka-Belitung province. Our tour included two overnight stays in the bustling capital Jakarta on the way there and on the way back via Lion Air and Batik Air (one hour and 10 minutes each flight). We also passed by and toured historic Yogyakarta City. 

Jakarta has many good hotel choices, from luxury hotels like the Grand Hyatt Jakarta to affordable and nice budget places like J Hotel near the airport. Our delegation was accompanied by the cheerful diplomat Madame Basriana Basrul, Second Secretary of the Indonesian Embassy.

Unlike Bali isle of Indonesia which attracts about 10 million tourists a year or Yogyakarta which draws six to seven million tourists annually, no less beautiful Belitung is not too “touristy”; it is literally an island paradise, with a population of only 300,000 people and only four traffic lights on the whole of idyllic Belitung!

Our talented tour guide Agus said the 2005 bestselling Indonesian novel Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata made Belitung an overnight hit among domestic tourists, but the numbers are still small compared to its vast potential. Tourists to Belitung come mostly from Indonesia’s West Java region, with foreign tourists from France and Netherlands.

One of our delegation members, Filipino Indian travel agency owner Arjun Shroff, said: “Belitung is so nice, this is like Boracay 20 years ago before the tourism boom.” Another delegation member, Asean Times publisher and The Other Office resto-bar owner Louie Arriola, said: “The natural beauty of Belitung is better than even San Vicente of Palawan.”

Places to see, things to do in Belitung

Before this trip, I had never even heard the name “Belitung.” I’ve been to famous Bali isle twice and to Jakarta several times already, but wondered how I could have missed this truly wonderful place located just off the eastern coast of Sumatra island, flanked by the Gaspar and Karimata Straits.

Belitung is a charming island with pristine beaches and enchanting scenery; it has a beautiful unique landscape, beautiful pearly-white sands, crystal clear waters, awesome granite stone formations on shallow shores. These are some suggestions for travelers to Belitung:

Enjoy the sea and water sports. Belitung has breathtaking turquoise blue waters which are moderately calm and shallow, ideal for sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming. Belitung is the second place I’ve ever tried snorkeling; the first was Coron in Palawan.

Island hop and experience nature. The popular abstract granite boulders and brilliant white-sand beaches in Tanjung Tinggi, Tanjung Kelayang, Tanjung Binga and Lengkuas island are natural wonders to behold and appreciate. Beachcombing and long beach walks to explore hidden coves and secret beaches are also quite fun. Do not miss climbing up the historic 132-year-old lighthouse built by the Dutch colonizers in Lengkuas isle for a fantastic view!

Indonesian Nasi Padang or Chinese foods. Local Indonesian foods and delicious Chinese foods are abundant, with fresh seafoods and others. Thirty percent of Belitung’s population is ethnic Chinese, so there are many good Chinese restaurants. In fact, Basuki Tjahaya Purnama, nicknamed “Ahok,” the first ethnic Chinese to become governor of Jakarta and a close political ally of the new President Jokowi, was born and raised in Belitung where he also started his meteoric political career.

Coffeeshops. Belitung has numerous local kedai kopi coffeeshops serving great native coffee. The tour guide said there are over 1,001 coffeeshops in Manggar City of Belitung!

Guanyin Buddhist Temple. This is the largest Chinese Buddhist temple in Belitung and a historic landmark built in 1747 atop a hill overlooking the sea.

Museum Batik Belitung. Interesting place to see how local folks weave, dye and design batik textiles; also a good place to buy exquisite batik shorts and dresses.

 Satam stone. This is considered an icon of Belitung and not found elsewhere. A huge replica of a satam stone is on top of a monument in downtown Tanjung Pandan, just across from the Billiton Hotel and the former headquarters of state tin mining firm PT Timah. The unique stone — often called a black meteorite — is reputed to have the power to block evil spirits. The stones are used to make jewelry such as rings, necklaces, brooches and earrings.

Taman Sari. Also called “Taman Sari Water Castle,” it is a site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta and built in the mid-18th century.

Tanjung Pandan Museum. The history of Belitung on display, including a lot of antique Chinese ceramics found in shipwrecks

Kaolin Lake. The blue waters area used to be a tin mining pit, now surrounded by multicolored white sands, thus ideal for photography.

Museum Kata Andrea Hirata. A museum in honor of the writer Andrea Hirata and his bestselling inspirational novel Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors) about nine poor kids of Belitung and their dreams. This novel was made into a movie in 2008.

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