Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2019 | Page 90

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Travel | Lampung
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Just across the water from Java and the bright lights
of Jakarta, Bandar Lampung may not be well-known
to international visitors, but that’s part of its attraction.
The capital of Lampung province is the
perfect starting point for an exploration of
Indonesia’s oldest national park, where you
can meet elephants, tigers, and Sumatran
rhinoceros in their natural habitat.
Bandar Lampung lies on a bay shaped
like half an ellipse. The eastern part would
join with Java if there was no Sunda Strait
to divide the two islands. Travelling from
the port of Merak (in Banten, Java)
to Bakauheni port in Sumatra takes only
an hour by ship, and travellers can visit
the tiny white-sand islands such as Sindu
and Sakepol, stopping off at the magnificent
Siger Tower or at Tanjung Tua, the
southernmost tip of Sumatra.
“Bandar Lampung is actually the result of
two cities becoming one: Telukbetung and
Tanjungkarang,” explains Salsabila Taher,
a local friend who accompanies me to
climb Klutum Hill, a grassy observation
point from which we enjoy a panorama
across the city.
With more than a million residents, the
multicultural diversity of Bandar Lampung
is obvious from the presence of houses
of worship for various religions. In the
afternoons people like to gather around
Al Furqon Grand Mosque, striking with
its tall tower, the mosque is a great source
of civic pride among its residents.
Churches are plentiful, and there is also
an attractive monastery built in 1850.
The architecture of the monastery, which
is called Thay Hin Bio, is still original,
with distinctive detailing and ornamental
work up to the ceiling. The building
withstood the devastating eruption of
The morning landscape in Ketapang Port,
Lampung. Dozens of boats prepare to take the
tourists who want to cross to Pahawang Island.
The Rafflesia Arnoldi that grows in Bukit
Barisan Selatan National Park, home to
diverse flora and fauna.