Pulau
Kembang
One
of the famous tourist attractions
in Kalimantan Selatan is Pulau Kembang.
Pulau
kembang is located on the west of Banjarmasin. This island is about 1,5 KM from
Banjarmasin. It is a delta on Barito River. Pulau kembang is habitat for
Long-tailed Monkey and several species of birds. This place is a tourist attraction
in Barito Kuala district.
Pulau Kembang can only be accessed by river path, using Kelotok. To get there,
it takes about 15 minutes.
The first
sight is the long-tailed
monkeys that had been waiting at the dock. They
look could not wait to welcome
us. It is because
they usually get
food from visitors, so do not be surprised if
they dare to unpack
our bags to find
some food. Although they look
a little aggressive, but the monkeys are
tame enough. As long as we do not
intimidate them, they will not attack.
In the middle
of the island there is an altar. It is used by Chinese people to put
offerings for "The
Guard of Island". The Guard is represented
by two statues shaped as White Monkey named Hanuman. According
to the story, Pulau Kembang comes from the English ship were
destroyed by the
Biaju in the 1750s
on the order of the Sultan Banjar. The debris of the ship then overgrown trees
and turned into an
island inhabited by a group of monkeys. Residents around Pulau Kembang believe that these monkeys are the incarnation,
and led by
the huge white monkey.
