Solar Eclipse in Palembang Indonesia

This solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, resulting in the moon fully or partially blocking the sun and creating darkness in the day.

She also mentioned that based on weather forecast information, there will be no rain, and the sky over the city of Palembang will be bright when the total solar eclipse occurs on the 9th March 2016.

Prior to that, I was informed by my tour guide that another huge tourist group from Belgium will also be in Palembang to see this natural phenomenon before heading on to Bali.

The traditional Limas House in Palembang which is featured on the 10,000 Rupiah Note

Most Malaysians would know of Parameswara or Iskandar Shah, who was the first Sultan of Malacca as he fled Palembang during the Majapahit era in the 14th century to then Singapura (Singapore) and then to Malacca (Melaka).

The Sriwijaya Museum

Therefore, Palembang holds a very rich history of the Majapahit empire, especially for those who want to know more about this. 

There is quite a strong influence of Chinese and Arab influence dating back centuries therefore, there are pure Arab villages or Kampung Arab and Kampung Cina in Palembang.

There are also some beautiful temples, pagodas and centuries-old Arab houses to see here. I would recommend visiting;

Songket weaving is also well known here and there are a number of home industries that offer visits to see how the Songket is made and then showing you the amazing collection of fabrics.

One of them that I visited was the Fikri Koleksi Batik and Songket Shop in town and they have a pretty wide range of fabrics available, for both men and women. 

Without this trip, I would have very little knowledge of this historical city in South Sumatra and hopefully, I can come here once again to fully explore this place.

For more information, you can visit the official Palembang Tourism Website as they have an English section there too.

18th Asian Games Palembang

Also to mention, Palembang will be the host to the 18th Asian Games alongside with Jakarta as this is also the first time in history that two cities will be hosting the Asian Games. The dates have also been set from 18th August to 2nd September 2018.

The South Sumatra’s provincial government is also ready to host at least 18 sport disciplines with their existing Jakabaring Sport City Complex which is undergoing renovations for some of the facilities here.

They are also performing a capacity upgrade of Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium from 40,000 to 60,000 seats and also lengthen of the Jakabaring Lake to 2,300 meters.