Soengai Doerian is the old Dutch spelling of Sungai Durian, the river of durians, and the name is one of the nicer details in a story that is mostly about hard labour. The mine here opened in the early years of the Ombilin coalfield, when the colonial government cut shafts into the hillsides around Sawahlunto and dragged out the black seams that fed steamships and railways across the Indies. Of the old workings in the region, this is one of the places where you can feel what the industry actually asked of people.
The coal lay in narrow seams under steep, jungle-covered ridges, and the first miners worked by lamp in tunnels shored up with timber. Convict labour, known locally as the chain people, did much of the early digging, and the mining brought deaths from collapse, gas and fire. A tall chimney, rusted rails and stone retaining walls survive in some of the old compounds, and the engineering of the little tramways that wound down the slopes is a miniature of the larger railway to the coast.
The countryside is greener than you would guess. Banana, cocoa and rubber grow among the old pits, and in the evening, damp mist drifts up the valley. The road from Solok is steep, twisting and pitted in places, with lorries grinding uphill. Heavy rain is common in the afternoon and turns clay verges into slick patches, so aim to arrive in the morning. The cooler, clearer months, roughly June to August, give you the best views.
Solok, about nineteen kilometres off, has fuel and food stalls, and Sijunjung is a similar distance in the other direction. Sawahlunto itself has small restaurants serving Minangkabau dishes, usually rice with a dozen small plates of curry and chilli. If a local offers you durian from a roadside stall, remember that the smell is worse than the taste for many people, but the season is short and the fruit is fabulous.