Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine September 2016 | Page 120

118

Travel | Bukittinggi

As I strolled around wondering just
how much Bung Hatta would recognise
of modern Bukittinggi, I stepped out into
the back garden and caught sight of
a familiar object.

are at their most peaceful
these days with couples and
families strolling among pretty
little pavilions and between
the ancient iron cannons left
behind by the Dutch. The great
soaring parapets of Limpapeh
Bridge link the fort with the
upper quarters of the town
that became known literally
as ‘High Hill’ in 1949.
This bridge (now a pedestrian
overpass) was one of Sumatra’s
great colonial engineering
triumphs when it was built and
today offers the best views over
the sweeping, buffalo-horn roofs
that are typical of Bukittinggi’s
traditional Minangkabau
architecture. On the eastern
end of the bridge you find
Bukittinggi Zoo and beyond that
the tangled alleyways of Pasar
Atas (Upper Market). While the
market at the bottom of the hill
has always been a trading place
for produce, the Upper Market
is now a fascinatingly sprawling
bazaar selling everything
from clothes and locally made
hardwood furniture to unique
relics of Japanese and Dutch
occupations. Still further up the
hill, in Taman Bundo Kanduang
park, you find Bukittinggi’s most
famous landmark, the Jam
Gadang clock tower, which was
first placed here by the Dutch in
1926. It was originally decorated
with a roof that was mounted
with a rooster (then a Japanese

Bukittinggi holds an important
place in Indonesian hearts as
the centre of the struggle for
independence and there was
one particular place of homage
that I really wanted to visit,
which was a little further from
the centre of town. It was late
afternoon when we arrived at
the house where Mohammad
Hatta (affectionately known as
Bung Hatta), one of the founding
fathers and first vice president
of Indonesia, was born. He was
born here in 1902, and the
house has been preserved as
the Birthplace of Bung Hatta
Museum, which offers
fascinating insight into
what life was like for young
Hatta growing up under Dutch
dominion. This well-maintained
timber house with its simple
furnishings is an enchanting
glimpse into an Indonesia
that almost disappeared.
As I strolled around wondering
just how much Bung Hatta
would recognise of modern
Bukittinggi, I stepped out
into the back garden and
caught sight of a familiar object.
Parked in the back yard was
a perfectly restored bendi
carriage that had belonged
to Bung Hatta’s family
when he was a small boy.
It was almost identical to
the vehicle with which Andi
Taufik was waiting on the
road outside. I realised then that,
among the many historical riches
of this ‘300-horsepower town’,
there would certainly be more
than a few aspects that Bung
Hatta would very much
appreciate if he could
see them again.
Bukittinggi Upper Market is a bustling
area that is worth exploring for any visitor.
Limpapeh Bridge (which connects
Fort de Kock and the zoo) offers some of
the best views over Bukittinggi old town.

© Mark Eveleigh

ornament during the war)
but after independence it
was replaced with a more
fitting Minangkabau-style roof.
(The clock is unique in another
way too: only the long-dead
clock-maker could ever have
explained why the number
4 is represented with IIII
instead of the usual IV.)