The Madurese Connection

As someone who was born in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, the name Madura meant something to me. The Madura people were everywhere during my formative years. They thrived on public transport sectors, either driving oplet, the minivan-sized vehicle shared by passengers of the same route, or pedalling becak, a localised rickshaw. They were also doing house chores such as laundering, sweeping, etc. Then of course some were selling the delicious Madura satay. When I was working in Jakarta, the Madura food vendors were my dinner providers. They'd go around the housing complex and hit the bamboo hung on their pushed cart, indicating their whereabouts. They sold fried rice, kway teow and noodles at a very reasonable price of IDR 4,000 per portion. It couldn't get tastier and more pocket-friendlier than this!

Based on what I observed, I could tell that the Madurese were the hardworking bunch. However, they were also notorious for their hot temper and their habit of carrying a sickle, their weapon of choice. These eventually led to the extremely violent massacre at the turn of the millennium, one that we wouldn't discuss here. But I was curious about their origins. There should be some explanation about why they had such characters. When I had a chance to visit Surabaya again recently, I had some time to spare, so I visited the island where they came from.

Lunch at Layar seafood restaurant.
Photo owned by Angela.

First of all, I was in Surabaya for some dining event. Some Singaporean colleagues were in town, too, so we hung out for a while. The lunch at Layar seafood restaurant was good. My favorite was the stir-fried ferns better known as pakis in West Kalimantan and midin in Sarawak. The few days I was there were spent for food and sightseeing. If I wasn't visiting museums or other places of interest, I'd be busy eating cuisines such as soto, gado-gado, batagor, kwetiau siram, swikee and many more! It was like eating spree!

Then finally came the day I was waiting for. Together with Jerold from Singapore and my childhood friend Jimmy, we eventually departed to Madura on a rented car. We crossed the 5.4km Suramadu bridge, the longest in Indonesia. Once we reached the other side of the bridge, we arrived in Madura. I had to say that I had a mixed feeling about it as I looked out of the window. I always imagined Madura as the harsh land of the savages, so I was both fascinated and spooked by the fact that I was really there. Everywhere we went while we we were in Madura, I couldn't help noticing that we were the only three Chinese in the island!

Jimmy at the limestone mine of Jaddih Hill.

The land was indeed harsh. It was hot, dry and most of the area that I passed by was underdeveloped. Upon seeing it, you'd get the idea that life must be hard down there. It also explained why the locals would jump at the chance to relocate to other provinces, including West Kalimantan. However, the only town that I visited, Bangkalan, was surprisingly clean and tidy. We were there for a while to see the Madura batik and chat with the shop owner. It was quite amusing to learn that the traditional house and culture was influenced by Admiral Zheng He, the Muslim eunuch from China.

Our first destination was Jaddih Hill, a limestone mine we accidentally passed by since we drove in from the wrong entrance. It was pure white and when we stepped out of the car, it was so bright that I had to squint! A really spectacular view to behold, if we could see anything at all! Pote Cave, the actual spot for tourism, was located on the other side of the mine, but after what we saw earlier, it looked less impressive than it should be.

From Jaddih Hill, we went to Arosbaya. Just like the previous destination, the road to the limestone hill was below par. It was so narrow, bumpy and not exactly easy to find. Unlike the first limestone mine, this one was rather brownish in color. The privately owned hill had a unique shape and it was likely to be accidental. I seriously don't think the miners from yesteryear gave much artistic thought to how the hill should look like for future generations. They were struggling to make ends meet under the scorching sun! 

Visiting Arosbaya with Jimmy.
Photo by Jerold.

After visiting Arosbaya, we headed back to where we came from and had our lunch at Bebek Sinjay, the famous eatery in Madura. The duck meat was good, but the chilli was too spicy for me. Luckily it was separated from the meat. There were some suspicious looking meatballs with bones that came as a side dish, too. Only God knows what that was, since none of us seemed to like it and we ended up skipping it after a bite or two, haha.

Then, as we were taking a break, I looked at other destinations and checked their locations on Google Maps. Most of them are on the other side of the island. Madura is roughly 5.5 times the size of Singapore and it'd take us three hours to travel by car from the west to Sumenep, a town on the east side of the island. It'd be six hours for round trip and I definitely wasn't prepared to do such a long and arduous journey within one day. As we walked to the car, I also noticed that the sky had become cloudy and dark, so I thought we should call it a day. It was the right decision, because suddenly there was a heavy downpour that would last for hours!

Under the heavy rain, we made our way back to Surabaya. I had one last look at Madura. My curiosity was finally sated. Life was indeed hard and the weather was bad down there. Whoever lived in such a harsh condition, the person's character would be shaped by it. But they persevered and survived the hardship. In Bangkalan, I remember seeing the playful students leaving their school. The Madura people, they really made the best out of the worst situation. Respect...

A plate of Bebek Sinjay.

Wisata Ke Madura

Sebagai seseorang yang lahir di Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat, nama Madura memiliki arti tersendiri bagi saya. Ini dikarenakan orang-orang Madura ada di mana-mana saat saya tinggal di kampung halaman. Mereka ada di sektor angkutan umum, bekerja sebagai supir oplet atau menarik becak. Mereka juga mengerjakan kesibukan rumah tangga, misalnya mencuci, menyetrika, menyapu dan lain-lain. Tentu saja beberapa di antara mereka juga berprofesi sebagai penjual sate Madura. Sewaktu saya berada di Jakarta, saya menjadi pelanggan mereka yang mendorong gerobak dan menjual nasi goreng. Tidak hanya itu, mereka juga menjajakan kwetiau atau mie yang direbus atau digoreng sesuai pesanan. Harganya sangat terjangkau, hanya 4.000 rupiah. Kalau misalnya mau ekstra telur goreng, maka tambahkan lagi 500 rupiah.

Berdasarkan apa yang saya amati, orang-orang Madura ini adalah kaum pekerja keras. Akan tetapi mereka juga terkenal temperamental. Saya penasaran dengan asal-muasal karakter mereka. Tentunya ada penjelasan kenapa sifat mereka terbentuk seperti ini. Baru-baru ini, ketika saya berkesempatan untung mengunjungi Surabaya lagi, saya lantas rencanakan kunjungan ke Pulau Madura.

Sayur pakis di restoran Layar.

Kunjungan saya ke Surabaya adalah dalam rangka menghadiri sebuah acara. Beberapa teman dari Singapura juga datang, jadi saya pun turut bergabung dengan mereka dalam beberapa kesempatan. Saat mendarat di Surabaya, kita makan siang di restoran Layar. Favorit saya adalah tumis pakis. Selama beberapa hari di sana, kalau tidak sedang berkunjung ke museum atau tempat wisata lainnya, saya sibuk makan-makan, mulai dari menyantap soto, gado-gado, batagor, kwetiau siram, swikee dan masih banyak lagi. Pokoknya puas! 

Kemudian tiba hari keberangkatan kita ke Madura. Bersama dengan Jerold dari Singapura dan juga Jimmy, teman saya sedari kecil, kita berangkat dengan mobil sewaan. Kita menyeberangi Suramadu, jembatan terpanjang di Indonesia yang panjangnya 5,4km. Ketika kita tiba di Madura, perasaan saya bagaikan bercampur aduk. Saya selalu membayangkan bahwa Madura itu tempat yang tandus dan dihuni oleh orang-orang berwatak keras, jadi saya agak takjub sekaligus cemas dengan keberadaan saya di sana. Ke mana pun kita pergi, saya melihat bahwa yang namanya orang Tionghoa itu hanya kita bertiga!

Jerold di House of Sampoerna, Surabaya.

Madura bukan hanya gersang, tapi juga panas dan kering. Banyak tempat yang terbelakang dan hanya dibangun seadanya. Kalau anda lihat langsung, anda akan merasa bahwa hidup di sana pastilah sulit. Hal ini menjelaskan kenapa orang-orang Madura ikut serta dalam program transmigrasi, termasuk ke Kalimantan Barat. Bangkalan, satu-satunya kota yang sempat saya kunjungi, ternyata bersih dan cukup rapi. Saat berada di sana, kita melihat-lihat kerajinan batik Madura dan rumah tradisional yang dilestarikan. Dari hasil perbincangan dengan penduduk setempat, baru saya ketahui bahwa budaya mereka juga dipengaruhi oleh kunjungan Laksamana Cheng Ho, kasim muslim Cina yang pernah berlabuh di Indonesia. 

Bukit Jaddih adalah tempat wisata pertama yang kita kunjungi. Kita salah mengambil jalan dan akhirnya masuk lewat tambang batu kapur. Tempat ini putih dan terang-benderang, begitu silau sehingga mata langsung menyipit. Pemandangan di pertambangan ini sungguh spektakuler. Goa Pote, tempat wisata yang hendak kita kunjungi, berada di balik tambang. Akan tetapi, setelah apa yang kita lihat barusan, Goa Pote jadi tampak kurang menarik.

Jerold di Goa Pote, Bukit Jaddih.

Dari Bukit Jaddih, kita pergi ke Arosbaya. Seperti tempat wisata sebelumnya, jalan menuju pertambangan di Arosbaya juga sempit, tidak terurus dan agak tersembunyi. Berbeda dengan Bukit Jaddih, tambang batu ini berwarna coklat. Perbukitan yang merupakan milik pribadi penduduk setempat ini memiliki bentuk yang unik dan kelihatannya terjadi secara kebetulan. Saya kira para penambang zaman dahulu tidak pernah berpikir dari sudut pandang seni bahwa daerah perbukitan ini yang mereka pahat tiap hari di bawah sengatan panas matahari ini kelak akan menjadi tempat wisata. 

Setelah mengunjungi Arosbaya, kita kembali ke jalan utama dan singgah untuk bersantap siang di Bebek Sinjay, restoran ternama di Madura. Daging bebeknya mantap, tapi sambal cabenya terlalu pedas untuk saya. Untungnya cabe disajikan secara terpisah. Selain itu ada pula semacam daging bulat bercampur tulang. Entah apa itu sebenarnya, tapi saya lihat tidak satu pun dari kita yang menyukainya, haha.

Jimmy di Arosbaya.

Selagi kita bersantai seusai makan, saya melihat tempat tujuan lainnya dan memeriksa lokasinya di Google Maps. Hampir semuanya berada di sebelah timur pulau. Madura ini luasnya kira-kira 5,5 kali Singapura dan perjalanan dari tempat kita berada ke Sumenep yang berada di arah timur bisa memakan waktu tiga jam. Ini berarti kita butuh waktu enam jam untuk pergi dan pulang. Saat kita berjalan ke mobil, langit pun terlihat mendung. Akhirnya saya mengurungkan niat untuk berwisata lebih lanjut dan memilih untuk pulang. Keputusan itu tidak keliru, sebab hujan deras pun turun dan berlangsung hingga malam! 

Di bawah lebatnya hujan, kita kembali ke Surabaya. Saya melihat pemandangan di Madura untuk terakhir kalinya. Rasa ingin tahu saya sudah terpenuhi. Hidup di Madura tampak keras dan cuacanya juga tidak bersahabat di sana. Siapa pun yang lahir dan tumbuh dewasa di sana, karakter orang itu akan terbentuk oleh lingkungan tersebut. Kendati begitu, mereka tabah menjalaninya. Saya jadi ingat dengan murid-murid di Bangkalan yang bercanda saat pulang sekolah. Orang-orang Madura ini melakukan yang terbaik di tengah sulitnya hidup ini. Salut...

Jajan di warung Bukit Jaddih.