Posted March 20Mar 20 comment_7648 Lubuk Linggau (or Lubuklinggau) is a city in South Sumatra, Indonesia. There is a train that goes from Palembang to Lubuk Linggau, so that was the only excuse I needed to visit. I didn’t want to backtrack to Palembang, so I decided to stay in Lubuk Linggau and then find other transport to Bengkulu on the coast. The train from Palembang to Lubuk Linggau takes 7 h 15 m to travel the 306 km. Palembang to Lubuk Linggau might seem like a random city pair to build a passenger railway, especially when there are bigger cities in Sumatra that should be connected by rail. As I discovered on my first train trip in South Sumatra, this railway was built to extract coal from the South Sumatra coal fields. The passenger railway is just a side benefit of the railway that is mostly used by freight trains. [Lubuk Linggau Train Station.] Lubuk Linggau has a population of about 200,000 people, and the city is built in a valley along a river. There is basically one main road as the city can’t expand outwards. The train station is off this main road, so it’s easy to walk from the station to most places in the city. [Rail crossing in Lubuk Linggau.] Whenever I am in a provincial city without a clue of what to see or do, I head to the market and work it out from there. [Market in Lubuk Linggau.] There are some old shops and villas scattered around the city, but they are few and far between. There is an old cinema that has is hidden behind a shop. It’s roof gives away its Dutch heritage. [Engaan Theatre.] Indonesia had no interest in preserving colonial-era architecture. I wondered what Lubuk Linggau might have looked like if there was an intact old town area. The city is on a river, so that seemed like the most logical place to explore. There is a great riverwalk which is the most interesting thing to do in the city. The riverwalk is an elevated platform that runs alongside the river. The river has some shallow sections with rapids, and the sound of the water helps to break the still and humid air. Parts of the walkway had become overgrown. The jungle overtakes man-made structures quickly if they are not maintained. After walking along the river, you can exit and walk towards Bukit Sulap. This is a rainforest nature reserve, and there is a funicular (inclinator) that goes up the mountain. There was no one at the funicular office, but someone eventually saw me after I was walking around. They then went and got the key to open the funicular. It’s a steep ride, so I was glad I didn’t consider hiking to the top. Needless to say, there are great views of the city from here. There was no one else here, so the funicular pilot just waited at the top until I was done wandering around. This being Indonesia, selfies with the foreigner were required, and I always ask for a selfie in return. [With the funicular pilot on Bukit Sulap.] In the afternoon I had to work out how to go to Bengkulu. I had wondered why the train didn’t continue to the coast as it is not far away. Lubuk Linggau is at the edge of a mountain range, and it’s evident why the train stops here when you see a topographical map of Sumatra. I went to a travel agent near the station, but they were confused about why I would get a bus to Bengkulu. [Travel agent at Lubuk Linggau Station.] I asked my hotel to help me, and they said there were no buses. They made a call and booked a shared taxi car that goes to Bengkulu. The railways of Sumatra are fragmented in regional sections, so the railways are only useful for local provincial travel (and train nerds). One day there might be a Trans-Sumatra Railway, but is decades away from being a reality at this point. There is an airport in Lubuk Linggau for onward travel, though there are only flights to Jakarta. If you are figuring out how to get around Sumatra, I made a map of airports in Indonesia that shows all of the airports in Sumatra. I stayed at the Hotel Royal, which is on the main road in the city centre. After Lubuk Linggau, I went to the historic coastal city of Bengkulu. View the full article
