TARAKAN THE ISLAND OF OIL, AT A GLANCE

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ave you been to Tarakan ?  If you have never been there, start from now on you have to make a plan to go there. What makes Tarakan so special? Tarakan Island is located in East Kalimantan Province. It has a water territory of 406, 53 km2 which is almost twice wider than the land’s one (250, 80 km2). Tarakan is well known as an island of the best oil quality and known world-wide as world purest oil.  Besides having best quality of oil, Tarakan also has abundant of natural gas and coal.

The inhabitants of the island are “Tidung”. That is why the word “Tarakan” originated from Tidung language. It consists of two word i.e. “tarak” which means a place to stop by and “ngakan” means eating something. Beside Tidung, the other ethnics who settled down the island are Javanese and Chinese people. The population is getting higher from time to time since there are many people who are coming in from outside the island. 

Tarakan was also called “Pearl Harbor of Indonesia”. Why is that? During the Pacific war in the World War II, there was a time when Tarakan became a place of big and horrifying battle field. Japanese against the aligned troops. At that time approximately 250 Australian and 1700 Japanese were killed.

         Nowadays Tarakan has a significant role in supporting the economic development within East Kalimantan Province.  The local government works very hard to improve various facilities.  Transportation both sea and air as well as accommodation facilities become the most important part to uphold the development of the island.  Some airlines like Sriwijaya , Batavia and Mandala fly almost everyday from Jakarta to Tarakan via Balikpapan. Two and three stars hotels are available and now five star hotels are in progress to serve those who are going to be the visitors.

         Want to enjoy sea tourism object, we can go to Amal Indah Beach, Coral Reef or diving resort in Derawan Island (2 hours from Tarakan by speedboat).  Mangrove forest conservation is another place where we can see Bekantan (kind of monkey) lives in the forest. To trace the remnants of World War II we can go to historical tourism object like Japanese bunkers and cemetery, Australian monument and Dutch cemetery.

          Beside all the beauty of the nature, we can see also the uniqueness of the people.  Don’t be surprised when you see some women with white mask in their face riding a motorbike or even browsing around the market. This is because they really care with their beauty. The mask which is actually the face powder is to protect the face against the sun’s light. You might be also surprised when you see some people with the helmet still in their head go inside some public places. Since there are a lot of helmet thefts, no wonder they keep the helmet in their head wherever they go.

         Are you sea food lovers? There are various kinds of fish with cheap price.  You may enjoy a party of fish barbeque or maybe you like crab?  Kind of crab known as “kepiting kenari” which is so tasty when it cooked and served as “kepiting lada hitam or kepiting asam manis”. The mouth watering taste will not be found in any other places.

         Enjoying all the beauty of the nature, tasting the various kind of delicious seafood, interacting with the friendly people, will be the unforgettable experience. So why are you still waiting?  Reserve the ticket, pack the things and let’s fly to Tarakan. You won’t be sorry!

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