Singkawang Voyage Tips and guide

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The city of Singkawang is along the west coast of Kalimantan, about halfway between the provincial capital Pontianak and the border with the Malaysian state of Sarawak. About 70% of the population of Singkawang is of Chinese descent, with most being Hakka people. Singkawang is a small trading town, famous for being multicultural and multi-religious. Singkawang has many nicknames, such as "The City of One Thousand Temples", or Amoy City (Amoy means "Girl" in Hakka).

Indonesian government honored Singkawang for being one of the cleanest cities in Indonesia.

Singkawang has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Almost all of the Singkawang people use either Indonesian or Hakka Chinese for conversation.

Map of Singkawang

Inadequate road infrastructure across West Kalimantan means a 140 km road trip from Pontianak is going to take three hours.

Bus services between Singkawang and Pontianak are almost non-existent these days, apart from the once daily DAMRI Pontianak-Sambas service that stops by the city. Locals prefer pre-arranged 3-seater shared taxis (popularly known as travel) to get to anywhere along the Sambas-Singkawang-Pontianak route. Fare to/from Pontianak costs Rp150,000 per head, and Rp100,000 for Sambas as of August 2024.

Singkawang Airport, located about 20 km south of the city centre, opened in early 2024 but has yet to have regular flights as of mid-2024. Supadio Airport near Pontianak remains the air gateway to Singkawang, with travel taxis to/from the airport available for Rp200,000 as of August 2024.

The route beyond Sambas also leads on to Kuching in Malaysia via the Aruk/Biawak border. As of August 2024, DAMRI and Bus Asia run a joint daily service to/from Kuching Sentral. Bus to Kuching leaves from Singkawang Grand Mall at 6am, and in the opposite direction at 9:45am. Journey time around 7 hours with a half-hour lunch break near the Indonesian border included. Fare Rp300,000 or RM100.

International travellers may find it easier to fly to Kuching first before crossing overland into Indonesia.

• 0.869722108.8936111 Bajau Cape, Sedau, South Singkawang. 08.00-17.30.  

• -0.266199110.819262 Cidayu Monument, Nanga Mahap. Cidayu stands for Chinese, Dayak and Malay. The monument depicts the life of the surrounding community, harmony of different ethnic groups. 
• Hang Moi River (Hangmoy River) (6 km from Singkawang downtown). 
• Lotus Lake (Danau Teratai), Pasiran Village, West Singkawang (2 km from Singkawang downtown). An artificial lake. Aside from viewing the lake, you can ride water bike, swimming in the pool, or eat at the restaurants available in there. 
• 0.845948108.8796913 Pasir Panjang Beach. A 3-km-long beach. This beach could be reached within 20-30 minutes if you are from singkawang city by car.  
• 0.90955108.988994 Vihara Tri Dharma Bumi Raya, Jl. Niaga, Melayu, West Singkawang. Founded in 1878, this is one of the oldest temples in Singkawang. It is used by adherents of three religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism). Every Chinese New Year, there is a ritual to clean evil spirits known as Pawai Tatung. The shamans, known locally as tatung, march around the city and stabbed their bodies with sharp objects. (updated Feb 2022)

• 0.851459108.9998281 Raya Pasi Nature Reserve (Cagar Alam Raya Pasi). Hike Mount Poteng, exploring the dense rain forest of Borneo, if you are lucky you can spot Rafflesia tuan-mudae Flower (The largest flower species in the world which can grow up 95 cm in diameter).  
• 0.867222108.9186112 Sinka Island Park. Ride dog-cart, swimming, or enjoy local F&B.  
• 0.843627108.9692123 Bougenville Hill Recreation Park, Sijangkung Village,South Singkawang (about 20 km from Singkawang downtown). As the name suggests, the park is dominated by colorful bougenvilles. You can find 46 different species of bougenville! Some of them were imported from other countries, as well. There is also another types of flowers like orchid, antorium, and aglonema. Not to mention several fruit plants grow there including avocado, durian, rambutan, and star fruit. That means visitors can either buy or eat those fresh fruits on site. You can also buy some flower seeds as souvenirs to be planted at home later. 

• Toko Tanjaya, Jl. Niaga 155, ☏ +62 562 631 102. Buy joss sticks, candles, and Buddhist accessories. This shop is one of the biggest of its kind in Borneo Island in terms of trading volume. Expect crowd of buyers, especially during Capgomeh festival (15 days after Chinese New Year). 

Chinese food especially Hakka style dominates the food stalls or small restaurants, but Teochew style is also available. Minang style food can also be found here. Unique food like Rujak Ju Hie (鱿鱼炒; rojak with dried squid) is one of delicacies in Singkawang. Tofu (bean curd) Singkawang is famous in West Kalimantan, also Kembang Tahu (腐皮; silky smooth tofu with sugar gravy) is very popular in this city. Singkawang is also famous for its cakes. The variety of cakes is surprising and available from early morning till midnight. Choi Pan (菜粄:Steamed vegetable dumplings) is one of the many special traditional Chinese delicacies. Believed to be of Hakka origin, it consists mainly of fragrantly stir-fried yam bean wrapped in a slightly chewy translucent skin and is steamed to perfection. There are also have several Malay food such as Bubur Paddas (Malay's spicy porridge), Pedak (fermented shrimp paste) and Nasi Lemak. One may enjoy various food in Pasar Hongkong from porridge, kwetiau, fried rice, nasi lemak, rujak (fruit & vegetables salad), cakes coffee stall. And the prices of the food are surprisingly cheap.

Kopi tiam (咖啡店; local coffee shop) with strong bitter robusta coffee can be found every where. Peaceful and safe feeling for everyone makes Singkawang to be one of the cities with lively night.

• Hotel Sentosa, Jl. Kom Yos Soedarso No. 27, ☏ +62 562 639131. Set back from road starts from Rp168,000. 
• Hotel Restu, Jl. Stasiun No. 77, ☏ +62 562-636904. Rp145,000. 
• Villa Bukit Mas. Located at the heart of singkawang city, enjoy panoramas and eat in Bukit Mas restaurant. 

There have been allegations of human trafficking in Singkawang, based upon the town's mail order bride illegal business. Most of the men who travel to Singkawang looking for young women to marry are from Taiwan, Mainland China, or Singapore. These men arrive and get in touch with brokers, these brokers then approach families with suitably aged daughters and generally offers these parents some money for each girl.

• Pontianak
• Mempawah
• Kuching