Musi River

The Musi River is the reason Palembang exists. The city straddles both banks for about ten kilometres, and the river itself remains a working artery, busy with motorised long-tail boats, freighters bringing rubber and palm oil down from the interior, and ramshackle wooden houseboats moored along the shore.

The standard way to see it is by ketek — small wooden river taxi — from the jetties just east of the Ampera Bridge. A one-hour cruise typically takes in Kuto Besak, the floating market at Pasar 16 Ilir, Kemaro Island with its Chinese pagoda, and a swing back under the bridge. Negotiate the price at the jetty before boarding.

things to do sight
A story
The Srivijaya empire, founded on the Musi River in the seventh century, controlled Indian Ocean trade so completely that pilgrims from China heading for the Buddhist universities of India routinely stopped here first to brush up their Sanskrit. The empire's capital is thought to have stood somewhere along the river bank near modern Palembang, but the exact location has never been found.

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