I had bought tickets at a bargain to go there back in 2010 but Mummy wasn’t feeling well just before the trip so we cancelled it. As it turned out, big bro passed away on the day we were supposed to travel back so on hindsight, it was a good thing the plan didn’t fall through.
Finally, after another ticket cancellation, Abah and I flew there on Saturday. It rained on our way to Subang and was still drizzling when we boarded. Thankfully, despite the thick clouds, there wasn’t any turbulence. Despite taking off later than scheduled, causing us to suffer noisy tykes terrorising the boarding room, we landed just after 10 am local time.
We took a taxi to our hotel; there’s a flat Rp50K fare from the airport to the city. It was a good thing we managed to check in immediately. After a brief rest, we went out to check out the city and have lunch. Lunch was had at a restaurant selling Nasi Padang. If you like Nasi Padang, you’ll be happy there as there are a lot of Nasi Padang eateries there.
My watch had stopped ticking (only discovered it in Subang) so I was looking for a good watch shop to change my watch battery. After showing Abah the way back to the hotel, I went to search for a reputable watch shop. I finally found one in Pekanbaru Mall, only to be told that the battery was still alright although the watch still wouldn’t tick. I was not happy; this is my precious Tag Heuer watch and one my parents gave me upon graduation. It survived the fall I had when I had my bag snatched with some scratches on the bracelet which I eventually changed after some time. It has been with me since my parents bought it and the fact that it has survived this long is testimony to the fine Swiss craftsmanship.
It had started raining while I was in the Pekanbaru Mall so I hung there waiting for the rain to stop. Good thing I brought my novel with me. The rain finally stopped, and I headed back to the hotel, picking up a brolly and setting off to explore the hotel vicinity. It was a good thing I picked that hotel situated as it was and not some other hotel at Jalan Sudirman for that was the main artery of the city and hence very noisy.
Our room was a simple one, quite modern like the Mervit Hotel we stayed at in Padang. I had requested for two single beds in my booking (they still gave us one king bed when we arrived so I had to ask for change of rooms). There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall and we had some cable channels (except I couldn’t watch the Arsenal match that night because it wasn’t shown on either ESPN or StarSports. Which was a good thing because I read we played like shite). There was no kettle but there were two water dispensers at each floor. No tea/coffee facility but you can help yourself to some in the lobby. Our room overlooked the magnificent Masjid An-Nur, the largest mosque in Riau Province. Oh, and the WiFi connection in the hotel was sporadic. If it’s a piece of cookie, its logo is ‘Now you see it, now you don’t’. If it’s Robin van Persie, its trademark is ‘It connects when it wants’. Seriously.
On Sunday, we headed out to Pekanbaru Mall after 10 am. We crossed over to check out Plaza Senapelan and that was when my sunglasses decided to break on one end. I went to three optical shops and all three said they couldn’t fix it. Strewth times 1000!!! What a blinking weekend: first my watch, then my sunglasses and Arsenal managing to play like shite and lose in between. I wear shades not because I’m vain but because I want to protect my eyes from UV. The potential cataract. The risk of glaucoma which Mummy had. The fierce tropical sun. I wear my shades often and hence am not accustomed to the sun glare.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to rest. I didn’t venture out in the afternoon.
It rained later that night, a very heavy torrential rain too. There were two very brief spells of blackout too. I guess the rain was inevitable after the extra humid day and evening. I felt like I was in a sauna while having dinner. It was so uncomfortable eating dinner when you we perspiring throughout.
On Monday, we ventured out to Jalan Sudirman again as Abah wanted to buy prayer attire for Akak. I don’t like Indonesian-made prayer attire - I much prefer the Vietnamese prayer attire - and hence didn’t buy any for myself. To me, they are mainly made of transparent material which beats the purpose of covering oneself while performing prayers. What’s the point of covering oneself when your skin is visible? It was totally an un-enjoyable shopping experience because I don’t like Indonesian-made prayer attire, because that’s one thing I don’t enjoy shopping for and because the atmosphere was sauna-like.
I had lunch at a small resto across the hotel while Abah had Nasi Padang to go. Another meal had in sauna-like condition.
Time to head back home on Tuesday. As usual, Abah wanted to leave for the airport early. Even though we had to wait a long while before we could check in our bags (as the passengers before us had a lot of luggage to check in), we still had plenty of time to kill at the boarding gate. Too much time in fact. I had already finished my novel the day before and was simply bored. I never liked waiting too long at the airport. If the airport has some shops that can provide some browsing delight, I wouldn’t mind so much but as it turned out, there was hardly anything to sustain my interest.
Thankfully the flight from KL arrived 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. As the passengers were already waiting in the boarding area, the airline didn’t see the need to wait so we took off half an hour earlier and landed in KL at noon. Shortly after we made it into the terminal, it started to pour (and it continued to rain until early evening).
My conclusion is, Pekanbaru is not a tourist destination. Oh, you can find beautiful materials there (one thing I did notice was the numerous textile shops there) and if you like, prayer attire. The local specialty is songket and as the locals are supposed to be Riau Malay, you can find some Malay dishes and sweet dessert there. Asam pedas ikan patin is the famous local dish and I was glad I managed to sample it on my last night there. The city is also pretty clean by Indonesian standards with beautiful buildings, manicured lawns and roads in working condition But I don’t think I will return there. Well, at least that’s one destination ticked off my list.
Finally, after another ticket cancellation, Abah and I flew there on Saturday. It rained on our way to Subang and was still drizzling when we boarded. Thankfully, despite the thick clouds, there wasn’t any turbulence. Despite taking off later than scheduled, causing us to suffer noisy tykes terrorising the boarding room, we landed just after 10 am local time.
We took a taxi to our hotel; there’s a flat Rp50K fare from the airport to the city. It was a good thing we managed to check in immediately. After a brief rest, we went out to check out the city and have lunch. Lunch was had at a restaurant selling Nasi Padang. If you like Nasi Padang, you’ll be happy there as there are a lot of Nasi Padang eateries there.
My watch had stopped ticking (only discovered it in Subang) so I was looking for a good watch shop to change my watch battery. After showing Abah the way back to the hotel, I went to search for a reputable watch shop. I finally found one in Pekanbaru Mall, only to be told that the battery was still alright although the watch still wouldn’t tick. I was not happy; this is my precious Tag Heuer watch and one my parents gave me upon graduation. It survived the fall I had when I had my bag snatched with some scratches on the bracelet which I eventually changed after some time. It has been with me since my parents bought it and the fact that it has survived this long is testimony to the fine Swiss craftsmanship.
It had started raining while I was in the Pekanbaru Mall so I hung there waiting for the rain to stop. Good thing I brought my novel with me. The rain finally stopped, and I headed back to the hotel, picking up a brolly and setting off to explore the hotel vicinity. It was a good thing I picked that hotel situated as it was and not some other hotel at Jalan Sudirman for that was the main artery of the city and hence very noisy.
Our room was a simple one, quite modern like the Mervit Hotel we stayed at in Padang. I had requested for two single beds in my booking (they still gave us one king bed when we arrived so I had to ask for change of rooms). There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall and we had some cable channels (except I couldn’t watch the Arsenal match that night because it wasn’t shown on either ESPN or StarSports. Which was a good thing because I read we played like shite). There was no kettle but there were two water dispensers at each floor. No tea/coffee facility but you can help yourself to some in the lobby. Our room overlooked the magnificent Masjid An-Nur, the largest mosque in Riau Province. Oh, and the WiFi connection in the hotel was sporadic. If it’s a piece of cookie, its logo is ‘Now you see it, now you don’t’. If it’s Robin van Persie, its trademark is ‘It connects when it wants’. Seriously.
On Sunday, we headed out to Pekanbaru Mall after 10 am. We crossed over to check out Plaza Senapelan and that was when my sunglasses decided to break on one end. I went to three optical shops and all three said they couldn’t fix it. Strewth times 1000!!! What a blinking weekend: first my watch, then my sunglasses and Arsenal managing to play like shite and lose in between. I wear shades not because I’m vain but because I want to protect my eyes from UV. The potential cataract. The risk of glaucoma which Mummy had. The fierce tropical sun. I wear my shades often and hence am not accustomed to the sun glare.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to rest. I didn’t venture out in the afternoon.
It rained later that night, a very heavy torrential rain too. There were two very brief spells of blackout too. I guess the rain was inevitable after the extra humid day and evening. I felt like I was in a sauna while having dinner. It was so uncomfortable eating dinner when you we perspiring throughout.
On Monday, we ventured out to Jalan Sudirman again as Abah wanted to buy prayer attire for Akak. I don’t like Indonesian-made prayer attire - I much prefer the Vietnamese prayer attire - and hence didn’t buy any for myself. To me, they are mainly made of transparent material which beats the purpose of covering oneself while performing prayers. What’s the point of covering oneself when your skin is visible? It was totally an un-enjoyable shopping experience because I don’t like Indonesian-made prayer attire, because that’s one thing I don’t enjoy shopping for and because the atmosphere was sauna-like.
I had lunch at a small resto across the hotel while Abah had Nasi Padang to go. Another meal had in sauna-like condition.
Time to head back home on Tuesday. As usual, Abah wanted to leave for the airport early. Even though we had to wait a long while before we could check in our bags (as the passengers before us had a lot of luggage to check in), we still had plenty of time to kill at the boarding gate. Too much time in fact. I had already finished my novel the day before and was simply bored. I never liked waiting too long at the airport. If the airport has some shops that can provide some browsing delight, I wouldn’t mind so much but as it turned out, there was hardly anything to sustain my interest.
Thankfully the flight from KL arrived 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. As the passengers were already waiting in the boarding area, the airline didn’t see the need to wait so we took off half an hour earlier and landed in KL at noon. Shortly after we made it into the terminal, it started to pour (and it continued to rain until early evening).
My conclusion is, Pekanbaru is not a tourist destination. Oh, you can find beautiful materials there (one thing I did notice was the numerous textile shops there) and if you like, prayer attire. The local specialty is songket and as the locals are supposed to be Riau Malay, you can find some Malay dishes and sweet dessert there. Asam pedas ikan patin is the famous local dish and I was glad I managed to sample it on my last night there. The city is also pretty clean by Indonesian standards with beautiful buildings, manicured lawns and roads in working condition But I don’t think I will return there. Well, at least that’s one destination ticked off my list.
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