A few posts ago, I mentioned that I was
going to get some needed exercise while exploring the city that I've
called home for most of the past 23 years. I've been waiting to get
over a bout of pneumonia, but it's been a long time coming –
getting well that is – so I've decided that the best way to speed
my recovery at this point is to just get out and do some walking. One
thing that I've discovered while planning my walking tour of the city
on a map is just how big Singaraja actually is. That little discovery
has surprised me, I think, just because I've taken the city for
granted. It's a fairly common thing for people to fall into
comfortable routines, and we miss all of the wonder and the changes
around us. So, if I really want to do right by Singaraja, I'm going
to be doing a lot of walking over the coming months.
I've been thinking about how best to do
my little walking tour, and I finally decided that the best place to
start is from home. It makes a lot of sense geographically because we
are right at the edge of the world – so to speak – because three
meters in front of our house is the Bali Sea and that's where
Singaraja ends. So, I'm starting out from home and making little
forays farther and farther out from the house.
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| masjid taqwa, kampung bugis |
My first walk is just a little stroll
out of Kampung Bugis past Masjid Taqwa down Jalan Diponegoro (Singaraja's central
business district – that's probably too grand a title for Jalan
Diponegoro, but I like it so why not) then over to Jalan A. Yani and
back down Jalan Imam Bonjol to the harbor and home again. The route
is traced out on the map of Singaraja for readers who want to locate
the areas that I'm writing about on a map. Jalan Diponegoro is the
central shopping area and the city's main traditional market is
located right in the middle of the street although it can be a bit
difficult to discover because the entrance is just a small opening on
Jalan Diponegoro – the actual market is between Diponegoro and
Jalan Imam Bonjol. The market has fresh fruits and vegetables, meat,
spices, clothes and a variety of other dry goods. Really, I don't
find it all that interesting, although it does seem to attract a
number of tourists who want to see a traditional market.
The street also has electronic stores
(I buy all my electronic equipment there), a few small restaurants,
shoe stores, a few book stores (including a new one that I just
discovered on this walk), a pharmacy, a few doctor's offices, some
fishing equipment shops, a small mini-market, two or three clothing
stores, the main branch of BII (Bank Internasional Indonesia), a few
hair saloons and an assortment of shops selling household goods. The
street is almost always crowded with traffic due to the relatively
new practice of allowing double parking which causes traffic to back
up during the busy shopping hours of the day. I'll get back to
discussing Jalan A. Yani in another post.
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| Jalan Imam Bonjol |
Jalan Imam Bonjol is another busy
street just to the east of Jalan Diponegoro. It is filled with shops
selling a variety of things, such as household goods, furniture, car
and motorbike parts, gold jewelry, and children's toys. This street
also has an entrance to the main market and a new mini-market. While
Jalan Diponegoro is a one way street running north, Jalan Imam Bonjol
is a one-way street running south. Most of the buildings are two
stories with a shop on the ground floor and a residence on the second
story. Running off of Jalan Imam Bonjol to the east and west are
several small streets called gangs in Bahasa Indonesia. I haven't
even gotten to exploring these streets yet, so it should be clear
that my walking tour of Singaraja still has a lot of ground to cover.
