Day 2 | Siak - Centre for Malay Culture, Indonesia

When my aunt ask me (last year) to accompany her to Pekan Baru on a mission to trace our Malay Heritage (and perhaps to visit few of our relatives here), without a doubt I jump to the opportunity. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone sounds too good to be true.

Day 1 was great where we met Pak Tenas Effendy at his home where we learnt on Malay Heritage and Culture, it was an eye opening for all of us. You can read further HERE.

The plan was that early morning of 2nd day, we will all travel to Siak which is about 2-3 hours from Pekan Baru (depending on which rood you take) to learnt and see more of what Pak Tenas mentioned the day before.

A little bit on Siak (for those ignorant few like me, heheeheheee...) extracted from Wikipedia :

Siak Sri Indrapura is a town in Riau province of Indonesia and it is the capital (seat) of Siak Regency. Siak Sri Indrapura was the centre of an islamitic Malayan kingdom which enjoyed its golden age from the 18th through 20th century. Sultan Abdul Jalil Rakhmad Syah founded the kingdom in 1725. He was the first in a family tree of 12 sultans who would reign until 1945. In November 1945, the last sultan, Sultan Syarif Kasyim II, sent a cable to the president of the Republic of Indonesia stating his loyalty to the republic, and he contributed his properties to the struggle of independence. 

Hard to believe that Indonesia use to have Sultanate huh, we are so use to it being a republic.

A little of geography for everyone.... For those who wonders where in the world Pekan Baru is; it's practically "facing" Melaka (Malacca) on Indonesia soil. You can travel either via air or sea, obviously the later takes longer in time.

The journey takes us pass a few "famous" bridge. Kinda forgot the name :p

The road heading to Siak can be very barren at times.... that can make the road trip abit mundane.

After a few wrong turns and hours of delay, we finally reach Siak, the first sight was amazing. As I said in my previous entry, their mosque trademark is colourful dome!

We decide to stop for lunch first, note on the restaurant name - Selera Setia Raja (Royal Taste?! Hope my translation is accurate). The food is very similar to Malaysia local Malay food - masakan padang.

We finally arrive at Siak Palace (Istana Siak), it was built by a German architect hence the architecture doesn't resemble our local's. One of the most valuable collection is the Sultan’s Throne Seats are wrapped in gold.

No!!! As we arrive there very late, we didn't manage to take a walk inside. Gerammm...

One thing I notice here is that Siak is superbly clean, SQUEAKY CLEAN.... See it for yourself, despite that they have stalls in front of the Siak Palace, the road cleanliness is their highest priorities. Respect!

I don't know why this picture was taken, but I guess I like the yellow colour bridge. Hahhah....

Masjid Syahabuddin in Siak.

Makam Pahlawan Sultan Syarif Kasim II dari Siak or basically it's tomb.

This is the most fascinating thing I experience in Pekan Baru, buying petrol from bottle. Serious!

Makes me laugh like crazy!

 

We reach Pekan Baru at dawn, it was a long drive.

*Scheduled post*

Hyperlink : Wikipedia, RanselHitam

Hashtag : #PekanBaru, #lilyriani #lilyrianitravelholic #Indonesia