Balikpapan - Kota BERIMAN

Itulah motto Kota Balikpapan - Bersih, Indah dan Nyaman.

In short BERIMAN.

Indonesia is the land of the acronym(??). They are really good at this. I mean afterall, Kebersihan itu separuh dari iman kan...

I am enjoying my first trip to Balikpapan, the first one in 7 years - the last being in mid Feb 2003. I love the view as we land as the Sepinggan airport is located by the sea, and the runway is parallel to the beach.

I had wanted to take pics at the tarmac, but I thought they would not allow us to do that, like the LCCT. The sun was setting and the architecture of the airport is traditional, so it was quite beautiful.

But I am told that I should have, since I am a tourist!

I don't disagree with the motto to be honest. I have been to town and cities throughout Indonesia where the Pertamina refineries are located and I am most impressed with Balikpapan. No road or roadside being dug up and construction debris everywhere. It is spot on as far as street cleanliness is concerned. Our MPKj or DBKL should be visiting Balikpapan to learn how they do it.

From Pasir Ridge where the housing complexes are located, it is so beautiful.

Pasir Ridge is a small hill overlooking the sea. Tree lined street with a view. It is beautiful as it is wellkept, that you would think you are in a posh suburb in the west. The lawn is immaculate.

I can live here for sure.

May be I will get bored soon, but it will last me for quite sometimes. After all the longest I have stayed here is 3 weeks, and I had survived Balikpapan then.

And I had survived Kerteh in the late 80s!

If I could head to Pasir Ridge tomorrow, I would take some more pictures to illustrate my point here.

The centre of town where the happenings are as far as normal Balikpapan citizens are concerned.

We headed the next day to two offices where the fifth refinery is, visiting. I love this old building. I do hope that they will not tear it down to build non-descript matchbox building.

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Aah, the flare. The heart of everything as far as I am concerned! I can see the money being churned out here. The fire is so beautiful!

Pelabuhan Semayang in Balikpapan. It was a beautiful day with blue sky, but in the afternoon, the sky opens up and rains comes thundering down, literally. One can feel the vibration in the building we were in just now. The thunder is that loud!

The office building of a French company in Balikpapan.

I love tongseng, especially tongseng kambing (bowl on the left). The bowl on the right is tongseng ayam. Satay is also a must, and these were the dishes for our lunch. For three.

Have you eaten kerepek usus ayam? Hehehe I am not really a fan - I can imagine eating the usus from lembu or sapi, but I would normally throw away the chicken one. But I would not dry it and turn the perut lembu into a kerepek.

But the Indonesian with over 200 millions people would turn it into keropok. It is crispy and tasteless if I can described it that way. Anything that can be eaten will be eaten here in Indonesia.

But the tongseng is great. I just love the taste. If they have pre-prepared ingredients, I would want to take it home and try it.