Jambi

Jambi or Kota Jambi (Jambi City), is the provincial capital city of Jambi province in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Sultan Thaha Airport (DJB  ^IATA) (in the southern part of the city). It serves only domestic destinations with frequent flights from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and scheduled flights from Batam, Palembang, Pekanbaru, and Medan.  

Get around

By public transport

• Common public transports are taxis, ojek (motorcycle-based) and angkot (small minivan with numbers and uniform color that has fixed route).
• Online-based transport are also growing in popularity such as Grab & Gojek.

See

Gentala Arasy Pedestrian Bridge

• 1 Gentala Arasy. A museum and pedestrian bridge dedicated to the former governor of Jambi, Gentala Arasy, an icon of Jambi city. The pedestrian bridge was built in 2012 over the Batanghari River, with an S-shape if viewed from the top. There's a clock tower and museum just beneath the tower. At night, the bridge is beautifully lit with colorful light. free. (updated Sep 2018)
• 2 Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds (Candi Muaro Jambi) (about 18 km northeast). Seat of the Melayu Kingdom and Srivajaya Kingdom in the 4th-13th centuries, and Sumatra's largest archaeological site. There's a museum on site housing several artifacts. Rent a bicycle to explore the whole site. There's no public transport to here, you have to rent a car or taxi, or you can hitchhike (not recommended for safety issue). You can also rent a boat and cruise along the Batanghari river until the Muaro Jambi village. (updated Sep 2018)
• 3 Taman Tanggo Rajo, Jalan Raden Pamuk (beside Mall WTC Batanghari). Taman Tanggo Rajo is a kind of park alongside Sungai Batanghari river bank. If you go there in the afternoon, you can find a lot of snacks like grilled corn, bakso, chicken noodle, and sugar cane juice. free. 

Buy

There are only several smaller malls in Jambi city, compare to other large cities in Sumatra such as Medan.

• 1 Jamtos, Jl. Kapten A. Bakaruddin No 88, Sipin. One of the largest malls in Jambi city. Jamtos stands for Jambi Town Square. (updated Sep 2018)
• 2 Mall WTC Batanghari, Jl. Sultan Thaha No. 17 (very close to Gentala Arasy bridge, alongside Batanghari river). One of the oldest malls in Jambi city, WTC stands for Wiltop Trade Center. There are a lot of shops inside, for example: A&W, KFC, J&CO donuts, Bread Talk, Hypermart, and Ramayana. (updated Sep 2018)
• Matahari, Jalan Gatot Subroto. 10:00-21:00. Matahari is one of the city's department stores. There are a lot of shops in front of Matahari. It is next to Novita Hotel. 

Eat

• 1 Pempek Asiong, Talang Banjar (across Lippo Plaza Jambi). 10:00-22:00. Pempek Asiong, in business since the late 1960s, is a very authentic and traditional restaurant in Jambi. This restaurant sells an Indonesian traditional food called pempek. Pempek is a kind of fish cake, made from a mixture of fish, flour, and water. It may take various shapes: some are cylindrical, some are curly, and some are round. In addition, they also serve a large variety of other fish dishes, such as model, tekwan, lenggang, and otak-otak. If you are fancy of durian, do try the es durian. Rp 4,000/pcs. (updated Sep 2018)
• Mie Pangsit Jambi, Easy to find around Jambi City. 07:30-22:00. Mie Pangsit Jambi is one of the most famous noodles in Indonesia. It could only be found in Jambi, thus, it is one of the must-eat dish in Jambi. There are two kinds of Mie Pangsit; first is the normal size and shape noodle and the second one is called Mee Pokk, which means that the noodles are thinner and bigger compared to the normal noodle. Some stores in Jambi sell this noodle with pork soup and some stores sell it with chicken soup (due to Halal qualification). Rp 15,000/portion. 
• Durian, Sold along the pedestrian walk. 24 hours. Durian is a kind of fruit found in Indonesia. It has a very strong smell but is considered by many in the region to be the "King of Fruits," due to its unique, rich taste. In Jambi, durian is cheap because it grows here. 
• Sate Padang, Alongside pedestrian walk. 17:00-22:00. Sate Padang is a kind of roasted beef on a skewer, marinated in a traditional rempah (spice mixture). It is a little hot. 
• H.Hussin Restaurant, Talang Banjar. From 18:00. This is a traditional Indian restaurant. It has been in business for many years and is said to be the most popular Indian restaurant in Jambi. They serve roti canai, Indian martabak and nasi briyani. Rp 15,000. 
• Saimen bakery and restaurant, Pasar Jambi. 07:00-22:00. Saimen bakery and restaurant is in the heart of Jambi city. They serve many kinds of cakes and other baked goods, in both traditional and modern styles. Attached to the bakery is a restaurant that serves fried chicken, french fries, noodles, fried rice, and traditional foods and beverages. variable. 
• Holala Restaurant, Mr. Asaat street. From 09:00. Holala restaurant serves many kinds of Western and Eastern foods. Rp 20,000. 

Sleep

• 1 Abadi Hotel Suite Tower, Jl. HMO Bafadal no 111. 124 rooms, 24-hour room service, rose garden, coffee shop & pub grill. Lotus Chinese Restaurant. Anggrek Executive Lounge. Sakura VIP Karaoke Room. Kusuma VIP Jacuzi & Massage Room. Meeting room. Waterpark. Indentified elevator. Safe deposit box. Private mini bar. Hot Spot Internet. Access Satellite TV channel. Shuttle bus to airport. 
• 2 Cosmo Hotel, Jalan soekarno Hatta 07. 
• 3 Novita Hotels, Jl. Gatot Subroto no.44, ☏ +62 741 50808. Single, double, suite rooms. Restaurant & bar. Karaoke, discoteque. Swimming pool, fitness center. Conference room, convention hall. 
• 4 Ratu Hotel and Resort, Jl. Slamet Riyadi No. 40, Broni, ☏ +62 741 64667. Single, double, suite rooms. Restaurant & bar. Karaoke, discoteque. Swimming pool. Conference room, convention hall. Souvenir shop. 
• 5 Wiltop Hotel, Jl. Sultan Thaha No 17 (adjacent to Mall WTC Batanghari), ☏ +62 741 7837088, fax: +62 741 7837499, wiltop_hotel@wiltopgroup.com. 80 rooms with friendly staff, clean and good service. Close to Mall WTC for shopping. From Rp 498,000. (updated Sep 2018)
• Hotel Fortuna. Jalan Jend Gatot Subroto, Kt 001, Kal. Sel Assam Pasar Jambi. That is, it's between the J Trust Bank and Abadi Hotel and Convention Center. Rp 185,000 (July 2019) for a standard (single) room. There are no windows, but with the combination of the air conditioner and the bathroom exhaust fan, it is relatively comfortable. Very quiet during the night. Hot water most of the time. Wi-Fi is OK. And surprisingly, the food served at the small attached restaurant is rather good for the price. A small supermarket can be found 50 m from this hotel.
• Hotel Jambi Raya. Jl. Camar I No. 45-48, Sungai Asam, Kec. Ps. Jambi, Kota Jambi. Five minutes from Hotel Fortuna. 160,000 for a standard room (July 2019).

Go next

Kerinci Seblat National Park for climbing highest volcano in Indonesia Mt. Kerinci.

Jambi to Palembang. Shared Taxi. Company is Ratu Intan Permata on Jalan Prof. Dr. Moh Gamin (Google Maps) diagonally opposite Hotel Harisman. Its a six passenger plus driver vehicle. Cost is Rp 155,000 (July 2019). Travel time is 7 to 8 hours. Morning departure times are 07:00, 08:00 and 10:00.