Senggarang is one of the housing village in Bintan Island, Riau Archipelago province. Located in the north of the Gulf of Riau; Senggarang is the unseparated part of the Tanjung Pinang town – the capital of Riau Archipelago province. This place is well-known as the Chinese district of Tanjung Pinang.
 |
Courtesy of Google Maps
The map of Riau Archipelago province - Senggarang is located in the north of the capital: Tanjung Pinang |
It is believed that Senggarang was the first place situated by the Chinese immigrants before they were spread out to other islands in the province. As this history, the locals named this place as “Tua Po” (which means "big city" in Teo Chew language).
Majority of the population in Senggarang (98%) is Chinese (around 250 families). Their main communication language among themselves is Teo Chew (one of the Chinese dialects). They only speak Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and Mandarin to visitors / foreigners. Very few people understood minimum English.
Houses are built above the sea with the model of “houses on stilts”. Some of the houses which had been constructed more than twenty years ago were still looked firmed standing above the waves of the sea; although some of the villagers had renovated their houses with concrete pillars, wall and flooring. When the sea level tides, the distance between the floor of the houses to the sea is very near while the low tide, you may see the houses’ pillars very clearly.
 |
| Modernly constructed house in Senggarang - built from concrete |
 |
| Traditionally constructed house - built from wood |
The paths that connect people houses are called "pelantar". The wide of the pelantar is about 1.5 to 2.5 metres with different length but most of them are dead-end. These paths are also served as the main access for the villagers to travel from one place to another in Senggarang. The natives usually walk or ride on their bike to move around. There were very few people ride on their motorbikes or cars otherwise they are coming from the hills area next to Senggarang.
 |
| One of the locals cycled with four kids |
The people of Senggarang practiced the Chinese culture diligently. At every Chinese festivals, you may observe that the houses and the streets will be decorated with the red Chinese ornaments.
Majority of the population practice the Confucian teachings although some of the people believe in Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. There were 9 temples dedicated for the Chinese gods and Budha. While there is only two churches (one Christian and one Catholic) and one mosque built in this place. Interfaith believers tolerance is very high here as everybody respects others’ beliefs.
High solidarity and kinship feeling among the people can be felt here. The villagers share the ups and downs together. If a family faces a problem, others will come to help. If a family celebrates happiness, others will rejoice too.
The villagers do not discriminate certain ethnicity although they are minorities. Kids from the Chinese families playing footballs, hide and seek, swimming in the sea with the kids from the Malays and Bugis families. This habit is also practiced by the fathers and mothers when they chit chat in the coffee-shop or in the market. Differences in family backgrounds are not considered as the barriers to make friends with each other.
The Senggarang community depends their livings from the sea. Some families work as the fishermen, boatmen or workers in ferry / cargo / cruise ships. Others do trading in Senggarang and Tanjung Pinang. Mothers take care of their kids and do the domestic works as housewives. A few of them produce some home industry products such as prawn / fish crackers, otak-otak and fried onions.
 |
| The homemade prawn crackers were dried under the heat of the sunshine |
The History of Chinese Community in Senggarang The Chinese came to Senggarang during the sovereignty of the Excellency of Riau II / Daeng Celak (1728 – 1745). During that time, Senggarang was the industrial estate for cloves as one of the export commodities. Chinese were hired as they were considered having more experiences compared to other ethnicity in Tanjung Pinang. Later on, the king allowed the Chinese workers to situated at Senggarang and built their homes here.
The region of Senggarang was developed significantly when Daeng Kamboja governed the kingdom as Excellency of Riau III. Then, during the supremacy of Excellency of Riau IV (King Haji), the Chinese were asked to work as the bullets and amunition makers for the government. Subsequently, this region developed well as the housing estate.
Gastronomic Guide Around Senggarang
As it is located at the seaside, Senggarang is famous with the seafood. The gong-gong clam is well known for Senggarang and Tanjung Pinang. This white yellowish clam has its own unique taste. The preparation is also very simple: just boil them into hot water until they are fully cooked and serve with chili sauce. You can also cook gong-gong with other ingredients like rice, noodles, eggs as you like.
 |
Courtesy of www.us.detik.com
The gong-gong clam |
Usually, tourists are brought to the only restaurant here: Lumba-Lumba (Dolphins) Restaurant. The locals call it as Ah Keng – the name of the owner. This restaurant serves seafood with local recipes. When you have your meals, you also can enjoy the view and the waves from the Gulf of Riau.
Don’t forget to bring food souvenirs from Senggarang. Try the “ceker ayam” - the local snack, made from the mixture of flour with brown sugar. It was rounded in shape and looked like nets.
You can also try the home made "prawn / fish crackers". They were still produced in traditional way: made from the fresh fishes and prawns caught from the sea and dried under the sunlight. The crackers are very rich in the taste.
One more cuisine to be shared with your friends and families back home: "otak-otak". In Indonesian, otak means brain but don't worry, otak-otak is not made of "brain" from any creature. It is just the name of it. Wrapped using the banana leaves, the mixture of grilled fish, prawns and cuttlefish will make you miss the city of Gurindam when you are back home.
 |
Courtesy of www.langsungenak.com
The otak-otak |
Weather in Senggarang Similar to the other parts of the country which has the tropical climate, the temperature here rated between 210-320C with the average of 260C. The sun shines brightly the whole year although in October to November, during the north monsoon season , you may experience extreme weather change with storm and heavy rains.
Tourism in Senggarang
Senggarang is also well known for its tourism. Tourists are introduced to the unique natives’ houses in Senggarang as well as the temples which have high historical values.
Dharma Sanana Temple
Mentioned as Lo Yao Keng by locals, this temple complex had been built about 200-300 years ago. After major renovation in 1988, this temple can be seen standing up very gloriously from the seaside of Lampu Merah (which means Red Light) region in Senggarang. This temple complex consist of four buildings - three of them which facing the sea, were the ones built in the 18th century. These buildings are dedicated to different Chinese god each. While, the one which was located up the hill, was built lately, dedicated to worship the Budha.
 |
| The main gate of Lo Yao Keng |
Every year during Chinese New Year and other religious and Chinese major festivals, this temple is visited by numerous worshippers to pray for the ancestors. This temple has attracted a lot of foreign tourists especially those from Singapore and Malaysia who purposely come here for praying.
Tien Shang Miao Temple
The building of this temple was originated as the home for Captain Chiao Ch’en from China in 1811. Afterwards, as he did not stay here anymore, the locals made it as the worship place. This temple is twisted by the roots of fig and banyan tree. The building seen nowadays is the new construction while the leftover of the old construction was only the front and side wall.
 |
| Tien Shang Miao Temple from the front view |
Travelling to Senggarang The main entrance to Senggarang is via Tanjung Pinang. To reach this town, the Sri Bintan Pura Harbor (located in the town center) is the main transit point for the ferries from Batam and other parts of the Riau Islands province, neighboring provinces and the capital of the country: Jakarta. This harbor also connects Tanjung Pinang with Situlang Laut in Johor, Malaysia and Tanah Merah in Singapore.
 |
Courtesy of www.visqueraient.tripod.com
The Sri Bintan Pura Harbor of Tanjung Pinang |
By air, Tanjung Pinang is only served by three daily flights from and to Jakarta through Raja Haji Fisabilillah International Airport (IATA Code: TNJ). Besides, there are also some flights to the smaller towns in the province. This airport is located 12 km away from the town center.
 |
Courtesy: www.flickr.com
The Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport of Tanjung Pinang |
From Tanjung Pinang, you may reach Senggarang through two ways: sea or land. Locals choose to travel by sea as the jetty (Pelantar 1 Jetty) for the water taxis to go across the Riau Bay is just a walkway from the town center. From here, people can ride on the pompong (small boat / water taxi which can fit 10-12 people) to reach Senggarang in 5 to 7 minutes for only Rp 5,000 (S$ 0.75 / US$ 0.50) one way.
 |
| Pompong - the water taxi serving as the transportation vehicle for crossing over the Riau Bay (from Senggarang To Tanjung Pinang and vice versa) |
By land, you need to go through the provincial road that connects Tanjung Pinang to the neighboring towns in the island. From the town center, it takes you 40-50 minutes to reach Senggarang by driving. It also costs you more as you need to rent a car / motorcycle for travelling if you do not own any transportation vehicle. There is still no land public transport serving this route.
