Sumbawa Besar Things to Do

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Sumbawa Besar is predominantly a Muslim community although there are small numbers of Balinese/Hindu and Christians.
As I was walking along the streets I came upon the Catholic Church. I entered the grounds to have a look at the building and chatted to some women who were sitting there. They were very friendly and asked if I would like to go inside. At the entrance to the church are some interesting photos and text about its history. It is quite a beautiful church and in the garden at the rear there is a small altar for reflection.
Alhough there has been some recent conflict in Sumbawa Besar involving Muslims and Hindus, I am always pleased to see that in the great majority of the towns I have visited in Indonesia, people are supportive of each other no matter what their religious beliefs are.

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The Old Sultan's Palace or Dalam Loka was originally built in 1885 and then restored in the 1980's. The huge wooden structure is quite incredible - made of wood and supported by 99 wooden columns, no nails were used in its construction.
Today it is used for important ceremonial occassions and as a museum. It is not always open for viewing inside but you can walk onto the grounds for a close look at the construction.

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The fresh produce market in central Sumbawa Besar is a friendly, bustling environment where a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and meat can be purchased. The narrow alleys of the undercover area have stalls selling an assortment of grains and dried breans along with household items and clothing. There is a lot of noise as buyers haggle over prices but it is all done in a friendly way. Store owners and locals are open for a chat with the men especially keen to show off their broken English. Mornings are the best time to see the fresh fish. A lot of fun.

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Sumbawa Besar is the capital city of Sumbawa, but with a population of just 60,000, it is not much more than a busy provincial town. As such, it is fairly easy to walk around. Apart from the market area, traffic isn't bad. The city has been well designed with wide one way roads set a block apart ensuring traffic congestion is kept to a minimum. Most of the larger roads have foot paths so it is easy to walk around the town.
Sites include the new palace on Jalan Merdeka, the 'Yellow House' - home of the last Sultan - near the corner of Jalan Dr Wahidin and Jalan Merdeka, the old palace on Jalan Sudirman (you can enter the gronds around the corner) and the market on Jalan Setiabudi. All these are within a km of each other.
Some guide books say you can make an appointment to enter the 'Yellow House' and view some fo the artifacts but people have found it difficult to make such an appointment.

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About 20km south of Sumbawa Besar is Desa Semongkat. It is well known for selling traditional honey. Locals go into the jungle and collect the honey from wild bees - no built hives, just smoke the bees out of the trees and take the honey comb.
Cafe Semongkat sells the unprocessed honey along with a range of products made from honey including a refreshing honey and ginger tea. The owners are extremely friendly - we were invited in and asked if we would like to try the tea before any mention was made about buying anything. The tea was elegantly presented in fine chinaware.
We were told about the honey collecting and were advised that the best time for fresh honey was March to May as there were a huge range of flowers in the jungle at that time so bees create the tasiest honeycomb during these months. We were even asked if we would like to stay a few nights as there was a house available for tourists. The village did seem such a relaxing place that with a little more time, I could see myself staying for a week or more. Perhaps next honey season!

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Desa Semongkat is located in the hills south of Sumbawa Besar. If you want an afternoon away from the heat, there is a delightful picnic ground - almost manicured lawns - with great views overlooking a clean jungle stream in which yoiu could easily take a refreshing dip. Apparently the area was once the bathing place of the Sultan. There is a swimming pool - but although it looked in relatively good condition when I was there (January 2013), it wasn't full. And a river is far more inviting anyway!
I'd highly recommend this spot as a quiet getaway - especially during the week when there are very few locals around.

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About 20 minutes by ojek from Sumbawa Besar is Desa Pamulung. The village is known for its cultural attractions including buffalo riding , traditional dances and music. I went to the village to see the traditional weaving.
The narrow village streets are very well kept and lined with beautiful houses.
We were invited into a lovely old wooden house where the grandmother was working the traditional loom and shown some fine examples of the finished product. Prices are low especially given the amount of time it takes to weave a single piece and much cheaper than if you tried to buy a simialr product in town. Even if you are on a budget, buy one of the brightly colored scarfs (less than US$ 10 for a hand woven scarf).
We were also shown how to play the 'serunai' or traditional flute. A great souvenir at just rp 20,000 (US$ 2).
If you are in Sumbawa Besar, I'd highly recommend a short trip to Desa Pamulung.

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Moyo Island (Pulau Moyo) lies at 3km from the coast off Sumbawa Besar. The only accommodation is the Amanwana Resort that only the jet set can afford. (They advertise with the late princess Diana having admired Mata Jitu waterfall on the island.)

We contented ourselves with visiting the south-eastern end of Pulau Moyo, named Tanjung Pasir or Sandy Cape. When we asked around at Ai Bari, the small fishing community facing the island, it so happened that the forest police were about to leave for an inspection tour. For Rp 200,000 the two of us could join them in their speed boat. They dropped us off at Tanjung Pasir and three hours later they came walking down upon us from the forest, at the same time as the boatman reappeared at the beach.

In the meantime we had enjoyed us throughly, had the beach all for ourselves. For underwater photo's see travelogue The Sea Garden at Tanjung Pasir

Directions: Ai Bari lies 22 km from downtown Sumbawa Besar, the greater part of the road being in bad shape, it took us almost an hour to get there. From the old town go north, at Sabewe turn left, and at 18 km from Sumbawa besar take the road left to the beach.
At Ai Bari ask for either Ibu Hanipa (mobile: 082 144 550 451) or Bapak Abdulahi alias mr Bent (mobile: 081 339 540 767). Mr Bent functions as boatman for the forest police.

Or make an appointment with the PHKA police captain, Bapak Alimudin (mobile: 081 917 575 040). His office is at Kantor SKW II Sumbawa, phone 0371.23941, in Nijang village 4 km southwest of town on the western ringroad