Tour Guide, Palembang, Indonesia
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Carrying a lot of non-Rupiah currencies (including USD) to be exchanged with Rupiah by necessity is not recommended. Like in most other cities in the country, banks and private forex dealers will usually find some “convenient excuses” to purchase your currency at lower rates, more so for smaller denominations (e.g. below 50 USD).
Most ATMs in the city are familiar with Visa and Mastercard, with some serving Alto. But only the ATMs of 3 banks are serving Maestro; and due to my experience I only recommend ATM of Panin Bank for Maestro card services.
Although having been successfully fighting off malaria and dengue fever, Palembang (and Indonesia in general) is still a region in the tropical part of the globe that is naturally inhabited by mosquitoes. Despite non-dangerous, most mosquito bites will temporarily leave a red and somewhat itchy mark on the skin. It is highly recommended to wear shoes (not sandals) and (not-too-thin) pants that completely cover your legs during your walks --let alone for mountainous/jungle-ish/swampy trips. Better yet, use also mosquito repellent lotions/ topical oils around your arms and neck (local brands available).
Similar to many other cities throughout the world, giving money to mendicants (especially children) in public areas will likely result in an unpleasant situation of having even more of them "tailing" you, whereas it is not possible to gratify all. It is however still safe to make purchases from street vendors (after consulting with your guide).
Adjusting to the situation of the city, we recommend to bring and wear comfortably-fitting shoes and be mindful of your steps whenever walking on the pedestrian terrains.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, tap/ faucet water in hotels’ rooms is NOT drinkable!
Some religious establishments have non-public areas that are preferred for adherents. Consult your guide on what is “politically correct” for your situation. In some museums likewise, you will be requested to take your shoes/sandals off (the only way to access the area). Kindly have your guide notified in advance should you find this objectionable.
The former the Dutch Villages in Plaju District (now belonging to Pertamina; the State’s Oil Drilling Company), are not actually designated for tourism. For your visiting convenience, entrance permit is therefore a necessity to be obtained in advance (which will be slightly more challenging for weekends and national holidays). Kindly consult your guide on this.
If you wish to undertake culinary "street eat" adventures by dining in the highly-popular yet less-convenient street-based restaurants/taverns (the ones not paying restaurant taxes), it is advisable to consume your meals there with (chewing) raw garlic. It has potent organic antibiotic properties that naturally kill remaining germs from imperfect food-hygiene conducts (should there be any). There are also herbal tablets that can substitute garlic, like Diapet (non-prescription; available even in most small shops; extracts of similarly-benefitting guava leaves and turmeric).
Most restaurants (especially the ones serving Padang-style dishes) do not serve alcoholic drinks. To outsmart this situation, either bring your alcoholic drinks in the car (to be consumed after leaving the restaurant) or inquire your guide in advance for restaurants that provide them.
Most restaurants do not serve starter/ appetizer, main course, side dish and dessert as different servings, mostly because the concept is not familiar amongst Indonesians. Translated into Western concept of dining, you will have to expect “main course with plenty of choices”.
Like most other cities in the country, Palembang exhibits a different living pattern (of most of its citizens) during the Islamic month of fasting (Ramadhan), whereas museums close earlier; (some) restaurants not operating in daytime; and congestion of main streets, shopping centres and recreation areas. Kindly consult your guide on the best timings to visit the city.
It is advisable not to shop and/or dine in the malls during weekends or national holidays, since they tend to get considerably crowded; making shopping and dining less convenient --as well as car-parking more difficult. Your guide can help to get a low-pay stay next to the two adjacent malls of the city (an area belonging also to 2 fitness centers and an English bookstore); allowing you to shop more and dine better while paying less for your (still-decent) room.
For requests of Special Interest Tours that involve nature exploring/ hiking, kindly consult your guide on whether it is necessary to bring a portable stove and cooking pan (for example when planning to hike Dempo Mount in Pagaralam; another city in South Sumatera Province), or whether it is suffice to carry only instant breakfast cereals and ready-to-serve cans of sardines, which means exploring more by carrying less (for example if you planned to hike non-mountainous jungles around the Thumb and Elephant Hills in Lahat Regency). Also kindly acknowledge that situationally you might need to hire a local guide in each area/ region.
Whenever obtaining your permit to enter ANY National Park in the country (including in South Sumatera, with the exception for Aceh/ NAD Province), never say or tell that you will be “doing filming or video-taking activity” (which will cost you IDR 10 million for that permit alone, as stipulated by the Government Regulation Number 12/ 2014), unless, of course, when you are indeed planning (as well as being sufficiently-budgeted) to take professional-filming crews along. The regulation is rather vague on regulating filming activity by/from cellphone cameras, but it is likely (still) categorized as “doing photographic activity”, in which permit for is much less costly. It is likewise compulsory to take along --and pay the services of-- 1 forest ranger during your visit/ stay, in addition to some smaller fees based on your vehicle and engine types, length of stay etc. Your guide can provide you with rough estimates in advance for you to decide upon.