We're still in Pontianak, due to leave tomorrow.

Achievements from the second part of the week:

1.
Visiting the West Kalimantan Museum, which has an impressive display of ethnographic artefacts from the Dayak, Malay, and Chinese communities. (Outside, there's a vendor selling freshly pressed orange juice. He's proud of his wares: "These are good local oranges. You won't find this kind of thing in Java...")






A couple of minor sights also reside in that neck of the woods: the bamboo monument commemorating 11 Kalimantanese exiled to Papua by the Dutch; the "City Forest", a little park maintained by students from Tanjungpura University (its popularity proving once again that if you give people green spaces they will use them); and a replica longhouse. And of course, the Masjid Raya Mujahidin deserves a closer look.






2.
Effortlessly syncing into Pontianak's coffee-loving vibe.


Seriously. Coffee shops? EVERYWHERE.

Here are a few of particular note:

Aming amazes with its sheer, overwhelming popularity (even the president has hung out here). When we arrived, a young clientele (we were the oldest customers by about 1,000 years) was jammed into all corners, comfortably drinking good solid coffee (which comes complete with chewy beans), chatting, and clicking away on a variety of devices.


Warkop Winny regularly features in the lists of traditional coffee shops, and the kopi susu is definitely good.


But we found Utama Rasa a little friendlier (and they serve really awesome chicken porridge).

D'Soedoet is a bit more upmarket. It's busy, but not frantic, so you can relax on a comfy chair in among the vegetation, and watch the world go by. And if you really want to "not hurry the journey at all", splash out on one of their Vietnamese drips.



Warunk Upnormal is part of a chain (new to us, and relatively new to Pontianak). It serves Gayo coffee from Aceh, and does cool things with Indomie.


3.
Eating.

Pontianak's domestic tourists are mainly there for its food scene. And why wouldn't you be? Aside from the "chicken rice" I mentioned last time, there are a number of other Pontianak specialities that need to be sampled, and Jalan Gajah Mada, which really comes alive at night with all sorts of pop-up stalls, is a good place to start tracking them down.


Local sellers of bakpao (stuffed steam buns) are two-a-penny. Chai kue likewise. (These are little dumplings, which are served steamed or fried. Ours were stuffed with yam, and, as always, came topped off with fried minced garlic.)

Another Pontianak favourite is pisang goreng srikaya (fried banana served with coconut jam). Just when you thought pisang goreng couldn't get any better...


And this was the first place I've come across aloe vera in a guise other than skin lotion. The Indonesian is lidah buaya ("crocodile tongue"), and it's served up very deliciously (with ice, pandan syrup, and basil seeds) as a cooling drink.


4.
Cruising the river. Do this at sunset, when the swifts are swooping, and the call to prayer resounds across the river from an array of little mosques. Atmosphere aplenty.





_*_*_

The "Ternometer" rates new places according to four criteria (cheapness; revisitability; unhurriedness; and purpleness). Pontianak really does pretty well. Apart from our river jaunts and the ride to the Equator Monument, we've walked everywhere. Local food is cheap and delicious. Entrance fees are zero to inexpensive. Our main extravagance has been vast quantities of coffee... But on the other hand, that boosts the unhurriedness score... We would absolutely revisit, both to sample more of the food, and to try to push upriver a little. Purple? Well, not hugely, I suppose. We've done very run-of-the-mill and easy things. Nothing at all outrageous. But we're largely off the tourist trail, so I guess that's at least a little lilac.

Tomorrow we have to start adulting again. We have to start applying for visas, and discussing medications. We will surely miss this carefree week in Pontianak.