Since Scoot launched their 4 times weekly flight to Pekanbaru, it has been much easier to visit this capital city of Riau province. The economy was originally built on coffee and coal but now relies on oil. The Riau Province produces half of the crude oil for all of Indonesia, 650,000 barrels per year. Pekanbaru is a large, busy, modern city. The Siak river runs past Pekanbaru.

If you are looking for a city to shop, then Pekanbaru is not for you. If you are looking to try lots of food or to visit some historic sites, then Pekanbaru is the place to be. The Masjid An-nur dates back to the 18th century holding the graves of the fourth and fifth Sultans of Siak. This is one of the finest mosques in all of Indonesia, with an uncanny resemblance to the Taj Mahal in India. Do go during sunrise or sunset to capture better photos. I went in the afternoon when the sun was scorching hot and the sun’s rays were too bright to capture the mosque in a flattering image. Visitors need to be properly covered up, headscarf and long sleeves for women, while men need to be in long pants.

There are some very interesting architecture throughout Pekabaru including some of the official government buildings. During the Sunday that I was in Pekanbaru, there was a car-free weekend where a section of the road in front of the financial district was closed to cars. People came out early to start walking, running, cycling or roller blading on the streets, some even with strollers in hand. It is important to start early because the sun would be quite hot around 8am and the whole event ends by 9am.

After our energetic walk, we went to the open-air market which had a variety of food stalls, drinks, clothes and booths promoting various services. Locals thronged the local market as they shopped around for items or just engaged in window shopping. I bought quite a lot of food here since it was my last day, from roti jala (crepe noodles with durian sauce) to ketan talam durian (durian custard with coconut rice) to nasi bakar (rice with chicken grilled in banana leaf). It was interesting to check out the various stalls and try the types of food available at the market.

For the historic buffs, do visit the heritage walk in Pekanbaru, with the starting point along the Siak river. It flows through the town of Pekanbaru before emptying into the Straits of Melaka. The heritage walks passes through some traditional neighbourhood in Pekanbaru, where the first settlers to the city arrived.

The walk starts off with the house of Sultan Siak. When Sultan Sharif Kasim II visited Pekanbaru, he will first stop at this house, located along of the river. So the Sultan will come down from the ship to this house, have a rest before walking to the Nur Alam Mosque or now known as the Pekanbaru Great Mosque to worship.

From the Kampung Bandar weaving house, the journey continues down the small alleys in Kampung Bandar Senapelan. There, we can see old houses that are at least a few decades old. Their architecture is of typical Malay style, with steps leading up the entrance of the house. It serves as a flood prevention measure and they rear livestock below the house.

The old buildings along the main road to Pasar Bawah Pekanbaru are mostly of Chinese architecture. Naturally, because in this area there were many traders who come from China. Nowadays, these Indonesian Chinese have settled here and Hokkien is the main dialect being spoken in the community. Kimteng coffee shop is one of the oldest and most famous coffee shops in Pekanbaru, a nice place to catch up with friends over a cup of coffee.

From the old harbour, we went on to Tuan Qadhi’s house or also known as Istana Hinggap. It is currently occupied by an elderly couple who serve as the caretakers. The wife is somehow related to Tuan Qadhi. This house used to be the home of Sultan Siak’s place of residence whenever he visited Pekanbaru. After the Sultan descended and stopped at Mr. Qadhi’s place, the Sultan would continue his journey to the mosque, and rest and stay in this Qadhi’s house. The interior of the house looks grand and the furniture looks well-preserved.

The walk ends at this house and after that, we proceeded to a nasi padang place for a delicious local lunch. Other attractions in Pekanbaru worth visiting are slightly out of the city, so having transport is important. I was attracted by one of the scenic places recommended by thesmartlocal – the Rainbow Hills – so I took an gojek (local Moto) to the place. The two-way trip cost S$4 and takes about one hour from town to the village of Jl Kemping. The rainbow hues were nothing much to rave about, because this place got the colours from the excavation of the site. There are nicer rainbow coloured hills occurring naturally in Peru and China. I spent about 15 minutes here taking some photos and left shortly. It was hard to walk on the ground because it has rained earlier and now the soil became clayey, so much of the mud was stuck to my slippers.

Overall, Pekanbaru may not have a lot of attractions or activities for the tourist, but those who are looking to avoid the touristy resorts of Batam, Bintan or Bali, do visit Pekanbaru. A one week itinerary would include more sights in western Sumatera because some of the nature scenes require a 4 to 5 hour drive. Next time, I also plan to visit Medan and Padang, which have been made more accessible thanks to direct flights from Singapore.

SIN-PKU on Scoot: Monday (12.10pm), Thursday (11am), Friday (5.40pm), Sunday (5pm)

SIN-PKU on Jetstar: Tuesday & Thursday (7.35am), Sunday (11.30am)