I have always been determined to visit every part of Indonesia and I make sure to go to at least one province every year. In 2012 it was to be Gorontalo. It used to be part of North Sulawesi, but in 2000, Gorontalo became Indonesia's 32nd province. When my friends found out I was going they said, "Say hello to Briptu Norman for me!" I'd really never imagined an expoliceman lipsynching to Indian pop songs could so put a province on the map!
It was a new province, so there was not much information to be found on the internet it made me nervous not to have a hotel booked. I was advised to stay in Gorontalo's only smart hotel, but there was a conference on and it was full of government officials. I had to take the long way around booking a room: I called the operator and asked the number of every hotel I knew of. The receptionists who answered didn't seem to know what I meant by "booking" a room or making a "reservation"! If they did understand me, the answer was always, "Can't do it. There's a government conference." It seemed being a civil servant over there was like being a member of the royal family. In the end I managed to make a reservation online through a foreign website (is that ironic?). The price was higher booking online, but at least I would be less likely to lose my room to a government official.
Through Twitter I had made some new friends from Gorontalo called Vivi and Rio and it was them who had invited me to visit. Even though Gorontalo is the capital of the province, it is still only a small town. There were only six traffic lights and half of them were not working. The most common form of public transport was by bentor (part becak48 part motorbike) and it was cheap because you never had to go very far. There was not a single high rise building in the city, no malls, cinemas, and certainly no night clubs, but at least they had a Kentucky Fried Chicken now! And they also had a small bookstore whose name made me laugh: Ramedia! I guess they got the name from Indonesia's largest bookstore chain, Gramedia.
Historically, the Spanish arrived in Gorontalo via tie Philippines in the 16th century, before the Dutch managed b wrest control of the spice trade away from them. Gorontf* lo itself gained independence from the Dutch in 1942, wei before the rest of Indonesia in 1945. For a city in the east cf Indonesia, Gorontalo has done well to preserve its buildings from the colonial period. The only aspect of Spanish culture that remains is the siesta, and a lot of stores close up for the afternoon. No wonder people here are so friendly! Despite living In a city, they maintain a high quality of life. They have few of the stresses of urban life and they get to take an afternoon nap!
Have you ever heard the song "Binde Biluhuta"? If you are Indonesian and around my age, you probably have, because it was one of the songs you had to learn by heart at school. So, I finally found out that it was actually the name of a dish from Gorontalo: a corn soup with coconut and sweet potato. It tastes a bit strange to me though. Every morning, customers queued for another unusual dish here: the yellow rice served at Sabar Menanti restaurant.
It was pretty good actually. Yellow rice served with dry, shredded tuna, sliced omelette and fried onion. The main difference in Gorontalo is that they have a soup with their yellow rice. The sauce is clear and has a boiled egg in it. My favourite food from Gorontalo though is Pia. Unlike the smaller bakpia found in Jogjakarta, here it is as big as the palm of a large hand. The taste is very subtle, there are a lot of layers and it is dry like a croissant and stuffed with filling. The cheese one branded Pia Ceria was excellent and a box of ten cost only IDR30,000.
However, what really makes Gorontalo such a great place to visit is what you find underwater. An Asian dive magazine labelled it "Indonesia's best kept secret for diving". There are two dive operators, one run by an expat, and the other is local I picked the local one called Bull Shark Divers. At a diving spot called "Sponge Wall" you can see "Salvador Dati", an underwater landmark. It is a huge sponge (Petrosia lignose) with three large vents that look like sharks! It was called "Salvador Dali" because it looks completely surreal! In Gorontalo there is plenty of wall diving and visibility is excellent. There is very little current though so there are not so many fish and no pelagics.
The tourist industry here is still in its infancy. The beaches are clean and fairly quiet when you get away from the town. The most spectacular views to be had are from on top of Benteng Otanaha, a fort constructed by the Portuguese in the 15th century on the shores of Lake Limboto. The most impressive building in the province is the Governor's office. It is huge and looks like the White House... except it is pink!
Another unique building, and also the tallest in Gorontalo, is KeagunganTower which is 65 metres tall and shaped like the Eiffel Tower. It straddles the main road going out to the airport. In the afternoon I went in through one of the legs of the building to find the doors of the lift open and an old man asleep inside. I woke him up so I could get up to the top, only to find that he was in charge of the elevator and it would cost me IDR10,000 for the return journey. If that's the way it has to be... It was worth it for a great view of the city with its zinc roofed houses and lush green trees.
I was told I should visit a hot spring spa in Pentadio where I hoped I might get to relax in the water and enjoy the view... but I was taken to a sort of park full of buildings shaped like Donald Duck and his friends! Apparently, their idea of a spa is washing with hot water from a tap, with your whole family, inside a building shaped like a duck. Definitely a unique experience at IDR50,000 a day.
After four days travelling around Gorontalo, my flight back to Jakarta was due to leave at 3:00 p.m. I was a bit early getting there at 1:00 p.m. and... arrived to find the airport was closed! This was so odd. The man tending a warung in front told me to relax, sit down and join him for a coffee the airport staff had not even arrived yet. I guess they were still having their siesta!
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