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MARTAPURA AND CEMPAKA |
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| MARTPURA , 40km east of Banjarmasin, is famous for gems , especially
diamonds, mined nearby at the village of Cempaka (except Fri). Orange
bemos leave Banjarmasin's Terminal Km6 throughout the day (Rp1250) and
terminate at Martapura's plaza. Even if you have no intention of buying,
it's fascinating to look around the trays of diamonds, turquoise,
tiger's-eye, topaz, amethysts and tektites, but don't deal with the
hawkers unless you can tell coloured glass from the real thing; the
nearby showrooms offer a more reliable place to shop. Martapura's single
losmen refuses to take foreigners - the last bemos return to Banjarmasin
after dark. Green "Mart-Cemp" minibuses depart regularly from
Martapura's plaza for CEMPAKA (15min; Rp500), where a muddy, two-kilometre
track leads past a monument to the diggings. Most of the excavations are
worked entirely by hand: a hole in the ground marks a shaft with a human
chain reaching down into the water 10m below. |
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