Leaving Kambang Island

After stopping briefly in front of the Kambang Island, then we continue the journey to get back to town and back into the Martapura River from Barito river. We left Kambang Island and also floating market and may at some point in the future we will come back to this place. Why do I say so, because when I visited it then this is my second time to visit both places. But the context and the friends who accompany my journey in the past in the 80's are the students of the University of Lambung Mangkurat. As for this second visit I was accompanied by friends who work at same office with me in Jakarta. Both are also quite different context, because the first is in order to survey the role of the trade sector in creating employment and now is in order to carry out focus group discussions at the Grand Mentari Hotel in Banjarmasin about institutional capacity of local governments.

Barito River is Really Wide

When we were on the edge of the Barito River or even when we're sail on it then it will be obvious to us that the river was very wide indeed. This can be seen from the small houses that are on the banks of the river, especially if we see it from across the river. At the moment if we are just on the motor boat houses already look small and petite. In addition we can also see the large ships that transport the goods of the earth from Southern Kalimantan or ships that carry oil from the outer islands to consumption in South Kalimantan. What is clear is that small boats are a lot of sailing about on the river.

More Close to Kambang Island

When crossing the Kambang Island in our tour to the floating market, it was seen from motor boat that took us a few people who were in the dock. In addition we can also see quite clearly in written that the island is also one of the many attractions visited by people from outside Banjarmasin particularly and outside Kalimantan or even from abroad. The view of the monkeys also can be seen even if it turns out that we were on a motor boat. Some monkeys are running around the dock or just sit in silence.

Scenery on the Edge of Barito River

This is the scenery on the banks of the broad Barito River. Houses are visible on the banks of the river from a distance and looks very crowded. This suggests to us that the Barito River was settled many residents. Barito River is classified as a wide river in its banks inhabited by the community. Less clear is where the community of the river banks originally from because we did not go down to the ground and asked them where they came from. Are they native tribes of Banjar, ethnic Javanese, or Dayak tribe? Or maybe they are the Bugis tribe of southern Sulawesi?

Monkey Island

Kambang Island is an island inhabited by monkeys. The island is located in our journey to the floating market and are in the Barito River anyway. Most visitors who come to this island just in front of the island and does not come to the inside. This is due to the contents on the inside of the island is inhabited by monkeys alone, so it is quite scary for tourists to get into the island. There are some tourists who only stopped at the dock or even just a pass to just see monkey island inhabitants from a distance.

Transactions on the Water

Transactions that occur on the water at the floating market in Bajarmasin is a transaction involving the seller and the buyer with the trade of goods and above all is the food as main type of goods. Whether it's food is still raw, the result of the vegetable from the garden or agricultural products or processed foods that have been cooked, or even foods that are processed and ready to eat, all of them are traded on floating market of Banjarmasin.

Banana is Also Sold at the Floating Market

Floating Market traders were also selling bananas. They turned out to not only sell oranges, musk, kecapi (harp) and rambutan. Merchants will usually be to bargain with buyers who are usually the tourists who visit purposely to enjoy this floating market. The price agreed upon between the buyer and the seller is usually not too expensive though indeed traders seek to profit more. Bargaining can take quite a while and sometimes traders also offer wares with quite aggressive.

Traders in the Floating Market

What was traded by traders in the floating market is the result of their farms and plantations that are taken directly to the floating market by boat at their disposal. These merchants will offer goods wares to visitors who are also visiting floating market by boat. If the visitors are tourists, then usually they will hire a boat which was ready at the dock in the morning from the city of Banjarmasin because this floating market can also be reached via rivers streams of Martapura and Barito River. Barito River is a wide and deep river as big ship can sail on the river.

Many Fruits are Sold at Floating Market

By the time we travel to the floating market in Bajarmasin it will be a lot of fruit crops that will be offered to us by the traders. So many fruits are offered; from fruits like oranges, musk, harp, and rambutan. Rambutan is a fruit that is typical of Indonesia and some other Asian countries like Thailand so that people in America or Europe do not know the types of fruit like this, except through rambutan fruit that has been canned.

Floating Market in Banjarmasin: a Phenomenon of Tourism on the Water in the Morning

When we visited Banjarmasin it is interesting to wake up in the morning and seeing the tourist attractions that draw on the water. Tourist attractions that are in the form of a transaction or trade conducted by communities and visitors who deliberately visited that place and also purposely get up in the morning in order to enjoy the opportunities and see this floating market. Floating market take place on the water and trading a wide range of commodities of residents from farm commodities until the ready to eat foods such as soto banjar and so on.