Pekanbaru, Riau, May 28 (Antarariau.com) - A group of Malaysian tourists visited Riau Province during Ramadan and their leader said they felt welcome and safe and had no regrets about ignoring the terror threat warning.
The head of the Malaysian tour group, Mohd Rezwan Bin Alias, said here on Monday that although the Malaysian government had issued a travel advisory on the threat of terrorism, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the 13 tourists in the entourage.
"After the tragedy of terrorism, we initially felt hesitant, but after arriving in Riau we feel safe, comfortable and experienced the hospitality of the Riau people," he stated.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, 14 countries have advised their citizens to be careful while travelling to Indonesia. These are the UK, the United States, Poland, Singapore, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Philippines and France.
"I urge and invite other foreign tourists to come to Indonesia, especially Riau Province, because many tourist places are very interesting and safe to visit. We deliberately conduct this activity to coincide with the month of Ramadan," Rezwan Bin Alias said.
On the first day, the group from Malaysia visited the Great Mosque An-Nur in Pekanbaru City and performed zuhur prayers there. Then, they stopped at the monument of Pump Angguk oil in Minas area.
InSiak, the tour entourage stopped at the bridge of Tengku Agung Sultanah Latifah to break their fast and in the evening they performed tarawih prayers at the Islamic Centre Siak Sri Indrapura.
The second day, they visited the As Shidiqie Orphanage and Madrasah Sultan Mosque, then went to the Siak Palace to see the Kato ship, mosque and Sultan's grave, High Density Hall, Tionghoa Village, and Plaza Sungai Jantan.
On the third day, the tourists travelled to Pasar Bawah to buy souvenirs, followed by a visit to the heritage area (Hinggap Palace, old port, Bandar Syah house, Zero Point monument Pekanbaru and woven house) and the Hikmah orphanage.
They flew back to Malaysia after the subuh prayer. ***1***
Ignore Travel Warning, Malaysian Tourist Still Visits Riau During Ramadhan
