1st Weekend Diary in Banjarmasin

In the land of “The Thousand Rivers” - My 1^st weekend diary in Banjarmasin

Weekend came so fast. Saturday (August 12, 2017) of the week and it’s our first weekend here in Banjarmasin, we foreign exchange students along with our buddies decided to go and check out the public park that they have. It is one of the public park here in Banjarmasin, The Bakantan Statue (Monyet Belanda), it is a statue of a monkey which symbolizes the typical animals in Borneo and as well as symbolizes Banjarmasin City. It is located beside the Martapura River where people can also see the wonderful views of the city lights around the river and around the streets as well.

After admiring the statue, we went on for a 15 minutes boat ride tour by the Martapura River, we rode a small but long boat and people can sit in the roof to have a closer look to the river and the city lights around. The experience of the boat tour in the Martapura River was amazing and unforgettable because of the experience that I had here. The breeze of the river, the ambiance that I feel in the boat tour experience and as well as the company that I have which made my experience more unforgettable and enjoyable. Me together with the exchange students enjoyed the boat ride very much. It was indeed an experience we will never forget.

After admiring the Bakantan Statue and Martapura River we walk around the streets and find ourselves in a place where people usually go to have fun here in Banjarmasin at Saturday nights. It is some what a place to have fun and enjoy the night because it has cafes, fast food chains and disco bars. Many people were there, teenagers to be exact. Drink liquors and some just hang out to cafes. Loud noises can be heard from the DJ and loud crowd noises can be heard as well from the people around us. In the Philippines, places like this exist in so many cities, but much more larger, wider and some of it can be seen everywhere. After looking and observing, we went to one of the fast food chains and ate dinner together. After the tiring night, we head back to the dormitory to call it a night and went straight to our assigned rooms, and hit the sack.

On the last day of the weekend, Sunday (August 13, 2017). We the foreign exchange students are scheduled to wake up earlier than usual for our itinerary for today’s trip. We went to one of the three (3) floating markets here in Banjarmasin, they call it Pasar Terapung. This is said to be the smallest floating market where can be found here in Banjarmasin. Our buddies told us that if we want to see the real and biggest floating market, we will wake up much earlier and leave the dormitories at dawn. I was overwhelmed in the floating market that I experienced here because this is my first time experiencing floating market and I’ve always wanted to visit this long time ago. Each boat has their own vendors and sellers. The majority of what they are selling here are vegetables, fruits and fishes which is freshly caught earlier that day. The market here has the same culture back in my country where vendors tries to call your attention and sometimes force you to buy their stuff and it is a practice here as well when buyers ask for discount, in our country we call it “Tawad-tawad”. Experiencing floating market for the first time is quite an exciting experience for me because of what I see and heard in the televisions and on the internet, and maybe because back in Cebu, we don’t have a floating market that’s why experiencing this is such an unforgettable moment for me. It’s such bummer though that today’s weather is such a very dry and hot weather here in Banjarmasin and the place is so crowded, loud noises and heat from the sun is feeling up my skin which I find it uncomfortable. But overall experience, I enjoyed every second of it.

After enjoying the experience under the heat of the sun, we went to a nearby public museum. Just a walking distance from the Pasar Terapung - Floating Market. It is a free-for-all museum, it consists of traditional costumes/attires for a traditional Muslim wedding, souvenir items, old photos of nearby places here in Banjarmasin, it also has some pictures of the old floating market and some of the exhibits of the famous Sasirangan Cloth which the Banjarmasin is known for. It is one of their offered products here in Banjarmasin. Sasirangan Cloth is a quality fabrics use for hijabs, dresses, clothes and so many more around the world. Banjarmasin is famous for producing these types of fabrics in Indonesia and maybe internationally.

After the morning trip, we head back to our dormitories in the noon. Me together with my co-student teacher from the Philippines, were invited to attend a Muslim wedding. We were invited by our buddy and we agreed to come because bot of us wants to witness a Muslim wedding.

We drove off to Banjarbaru, an hour and a half drive from Banjarmasin city. It is another province which can be found in South Kalimantan.

Witnessing a Muslim wedding for the first time overwhelms both of us because of how extremely beautiful the wedding is. I was so amazed at how Muslim couples prepared for their wedding, because these couple has a very elegant and extravagant wedding. The decorations, the set-ups and the gown of the bride is beautiful, its like seeing Filipino artists get married in front of me.

After the first wedding that we attended, we went straight to the second wedding. It was almost an hour drive from the first wedding that we attended. When we arrive there, the wedding rites was done but its a good thing that we still got the chance to witness how gorgeous the bride is and how the reception set-up amazes us. We even got the chance to have a souvenir photo of the newly weds on stage. Haha we really did ask for their picture so that we will have souvenir when we go home.

After the tiring trip and gate-crashed two (2) weddings. We drove off straight to one of their biggest mosque here in Banjarbaru. We went inside and it was my first time to see a mosque in personal. Because I only see mosque on the television or just pass in front of them from the highways. It was very holy and calmly. I was really happy that I have seen one and got the chance to go inside.

After my experience inside the mosque we went to this little village called Kampoeng Pelangi or Rainbow Village where every single house has a rainbow fence, rainbow roof, rainbow walls and cartoon or animated drawings along their walls. I’ve never seen like it and when we got there it feels so good that you feel like a child and you want to play in the streets and have so much fun. This experience is one of the highlights for me in this week’s trips.