TIME 2013, West Sumatera 817 113
Vol. I No.1/10 2013
Bukittinggi, A Charming Historic City
Clock Tower In this city, visitors can also find Jam Gadang
(literally: big clock). It is a clocktower that also serves as the city icon. Every day many locals visit this site and tourists also feel that their trip to Bukittinggi is incomplete before visiting Jam Gadang. Jam Gadang has big clock on all four sides of the tower. The clocktower has a roof that resembles the traditional house of West Sumatra, Rumah Gadang. It is a pointy -roofed house at each end of the roof . Gadang traits also characterize the majority of houses in West Sumatra . Having a large enough yard, the location is often used as a community activities center in the city of Bukittinggi . One of the most unique things from this big clock is the number listed on the clock . Figure 4 which should be written with
the Roman numeral “ IV “ is written “ IIII “ .
Bung Hatta Palace
Ngarai Sianok
Just a few steps right in front of the Clock Tower , we can find Bung Hatta Palace . When Mohammad Hatta served as vice president , this building became the vice presidential palace . Do not imagine a magnificent palaces like those in fairy tales. Palace of Bung Hatta had ample courtyard with two main buildings . The first building is large Gadang house typical of Minang people. Another building is an elongated shaped house. You could call this a mini palace . In front of and beside the complex there is a statue of Bung Hatta . The statue in front of the palace is made half-body only. While the one beside the complex, Bung Hatta statue was made in full body (more than 2 meters high).
Not far from the Palace of Bung Hatta , there lies a breathtaking Sianok Canyon. Anyone who comes must be enchanted with the nature of this green canyon.
Japanese Cave Still in the same area as the Sianok canyon, there is a Japanese Cave. Formerly, this cave served as the headquarters of the Japanese army occupied at Bukittinggi . Now , this place has become a historic tourism spot that is always crowded by visitors.
Upper and Lower Markets Upper market or known by the locals as Pasar Atas or Pasar Ateh are located in the same location with the court of the Clock Tower . There are many stalls here. Sellers sell accessories such as key chains , hair ornaments , glasses , and many more. While Lower Market or known by the locals as Pasar Bawah is a traditional market in the form of grocery stores and vegetables stalls. Upper and Lower Market are connected by dozen of stairs. In the courtyard of the stairs, there are a lot of sellers. They sell food , clothing and souvenirs . Traditional clothes of West Sumatra called Baju Kurung can easily be found in this market.
Bung Hatta Birthplace
photo by tri wibowo
A
row of mountains presented all the way to the city of Bukittinggi , West Sumatra. It takes approximately two and a half hours from the city of Padang to reach Bukittinggi. Bukittinggi city is surrounded by a mountain range such as Mount Merapi and Mount Singgalang. One of the popular cities in West Sumatra, Bukittinggi also have various stories and tourist attractions capable of attracting tourists. Some of the tourist attractions in Bukittinggi are in a nearby location, which make it easy to reach several places once at a time .
Just walking distance from the bottom of the connecting stairs that connect the Upper Market, there stands Bung Hatta Birthplace . In this house Bung Hatta was born and had spent his youth for 11 years . These are only some of the attractions that can be visited in Bukittinggi . Not only tourist attractions , Bukittinggi is also rich in culinary variety that should never be missed. To be able to go to these places , you can use public transport and private vehicles . Most of local public transport in Bukittinggi stops in the Lower Market . In the lower market you can buy snacks or souvenirs before proceeding to the next place . You can also take bendi, the name for the horsedrawn cart in West Sumatra , to get around the city of Bukittinggi . ( * )