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Published: December 2nd 2008
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The plan was to fly into Batam from KL on Air Asia and visit a few islands i had missed in the Riau on my last trip. But you have to expect the unexpected with budget airlines and 2 days before my flight, Air Asia decided to can their KL - Batam service. Instead they put me on a flight to Singapore.
The Lion City is not one of my favourite destinations, especially when you are trying to travel cheap. But the option of catching a boat out of Singapore harbour to Indonesia was appealing. Arrived in Changi and immediately caught the metro system to be shuttled across and under Singapore to the waters edge - bit like a conveyor belt with the end only being moments before you get dumped in the harbour.
The boat to Batam reassures you that you are leaving the western world for grittier stuff. Its pleasantly scruffy and as the skyline of Singapore slowly diminishes in stature, you begin to feel your travel desires come to the fore. Batam is not only Singapore's industrial wasteland, but also its source of cheap labour. Its pretty damn scruffy and doesn't have that much appeal but
its a starting point to wander through the Riau islands and if you look hard enough, Batam is not that bad. One night in Batam can be a bit like Bangkok - enough to make a grown man weak. The boat out was to Bintan and Tanjung Pinang but it was a pretty long ojek ride to the ferry terminal at Telaga Punggur - most people take a taxi but I like a bit more adventure...........
TP or Tanjung Pinang is far far different from Batam. Its a bustling port town with boats and people going every which way. Small laneways leading to the waterfront humming with activity and buildings and walkways extending over the water. TP's waterfront never ceases to amaze - there is always something going on. Right at the main loading and unloading area is the Jaya Laut hotel. I didn't stay there as didnt find it early enough but I sure enjoyed a few good beers there watching the comings and goings.
After a night in TP, I negotiated an ojek (w/o the rider) to go to Trikora. Trikora beach used to be a backpacker stop on the old overland route between London and
Sydney. There were a lot of places on this original route but very few, if any, are as they were. Trikora is one that never got caught up in the mass tourism market but even so, its not a backpacker haunt at the moment but if you want a quiet seaside haven with comfort and charm and at a reasonably cheap price, you would be hard pressed to go past Yasmin Nostalgia bungalows.
Next island on my agenda was Singkep. Not sure what was drawing me to Singkep. other than it being totally off any mainstream travel route. I was also interested in the historical aspect of Singkep and the adjacent island of Lingga - a retreat power base for the old Johor sultanate after it was divided into two by Western imperialism. One half moved from Bintan to the remote maritime base of Lingga- Singkep, while the other half remained in Johor under British hegemony. With its mountain backdrop, the two main islands of Lingga and Singkep and the small island in between (Penuba) provide a setting for a magical destination. Getting to Singkep is not a problem, travelling further on is another story altogether.
The boat
Landmark building
if you are a canoeist, this place has the best oar selection in town from Tanjung Pinang docks at Jago, a very small town on the north coast of the island. Setting is great though looking across the narrow strait to Lingga mountain with low lying Penuba nestled in between. From Jago, 4WD's carry passengers the 20 odd kms south along the coast to Dabo town - the islands main population centre. The road is rough but the coastline is pretty as you pass white beaches with lush vegetation running down and even into the water. Arrived in Dabo just as sun was dipping over the hinterland hills. Not much to the town apart from a few streets with motor bikes and 4WD's. But there are at least 4 hotels to choose from and at 70,000 rupiah a night, you can't complain about the price. Two banks but no ATM's.
Spent 2 nights in Dabo waiting for the boat to Jambi in Sumatra. Visited the morning market, tried to track down a cold beer and hired an ojek without the rider to cruise along the coast to the main beach - Tree Rock beach or Batu Beduan to the locals. The sand is white, the water is perfect and the star attraction is
Tanjung Pinang
from the water a rock cluster in the water with a tree growing out of it.
The boat to Jambi - I had been told one left around 10am in 2 days time. As I didn't want to backtrack to Bintan and Batam, I patiently waited and watched the dogs fighting the main street, did my washing and reported to the wharf at the appointed time. I anxiously looked for something that resembled a passenger boat but the only thing tied up at the dock was an old wooden hulk loaded to the max with 44 gallon drums. The name read Bunga Mas and this was the boat to Jambi. Well, what to do.........
I have had many an interesting day/night journey, the best so far had been the Death Train from Corumba in Brazil to Santa Cruz in Bolivia. But the next 22 hours on a cargo boat to Jambi surpassed that experience. We left promptly one hour late and set out around the coastline of Singkep before we made for the open sea in a beeline to the Sumatra shore. The further out to sea you get, the more impressive becomes the island vista of Lingga/Singkep. The distinctive phallic
The waterfront
from Tanjung Pinang core of Lingga mountain is visible from miles around. As usual just on sunset, we reached the Sumatra coast and headed into a small, narrow distributary of the Batanghari river.
After rounding the first few bends we came upon an amazing fishing town sprawled along one side of the river. No roads, no cars, just motorbikes and bicycles. The boat docked here to unload some building supplies and a few of the passengers wandered along the only street to find a place for dinner. Surprisingly, a co-passenger who was disembarking at this nameless town shouted us. Back on board and with the sound of diesel engines chugging smoothly we dodged overhanging branches in the failing light and finally entered the main body of the river near a large town. This place is no doubt on a map and has road connection to Jambi but we didn't pull in. I slept on the rooftop or tried to but was awakened by the captain entertaining 2 girls beside me. Maybe I was part of the entertainment but when they finally went below, a crew member kept me awake for several more hours as we jabbered away in a mixture of english
Port activity
in front of Jaya Laut hotel and bahasa.
In the wee hours of the morning, it was just me and the bintang (stars not beer) as I huddled up in the dew, wishing i had brought along a coat. As the sun finally peeped through the clouds and the boat became awake, we glided into Jambi. A shower and sleep was foremost on everyone's mind but first you had to disembark into lighters to be ferried ashore. Jambi is not a big city but it bustles with life and has some historical significance as was the centre of power after the Srijaya empire based in Palembang collapsed. A good nights sleep restored my energy but I did come down with the flu and was in no mood to do another 20 hour bus ride to Jakarta. I jumped on a plane and flew the last leg.
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RIZWAN .
non-member comment
HELP.
I WANT TO TRAVEL FROM SINGAPORE TO JAKARTA BY SEA. PLS GUIDE ME