Road trip to Singapore

Reason for trip - to get passport stamped and a new Indonesia entry VISA.

normally I would fly to Singapore and back in a single day, but unfortunately, the VISA credit card people have cancelled my card, just because I missed a few payments. The road trip is going to cost just as much as the on-line air fare, but cannot pay cash on-line and the counter price is twice as much as online, hence the road trip.

The over the counter air ticket is around Rp2,400,000 but varies from day to day, so I am expecting the road trip to cost less, hopefully less than Rp2,000,000 leaving me enough to survive the rest of the month. However, I will be taking Rp3,000,000 with me, just in case things go wrong.

Sunday - night before start of trip.

Packing lists made over the last couple of days, to ensure that packing is efficient and minimal. Included are a plastic groundsheet, sleeping bag and inflatable pillow, just incase there is a problem finding somewhere to stay. I have packed my card reader, camera charger and a thumb drive big enough to handle a months worth of images.

The ojek (motorbike taxi) has been organized for a 7am pick-up. I will call again at 06:30 just to remind Jaja, but he has always been very reliable. Jaja's job will be to get me to the bus terminal. Ironically, the ojek will probably cost more than the bus ride.

The first leg of the trip is from the Lewipanjang bus terminal in Bandung to Merak, the port for the ferry to Sumatra. Hopefully there will be a direct bus, otherwise it will be to Jakarta first and then find a connection.

Lots of research has been done on the trip and recorded with links in a DOC file, stored on the thumb drive. Also I have written the basics down on page one of my notebook. I will be recording costs for future reference, also this has the potential for a lonely planet, backpackers article so all costs and ticket details need to be recorded.

Let the journey begin.

Road trip to Singapore - day 1

Reference - exchange rates:
one pound approx Rp15,000
one US$ approx Rp10,000

Jaja arrived on time. 07:00 and already the Bandung roads are very busy, life starts early here as most people are asleep by 21:00. Ojek was Rp50,000 just as I expected it to be.

Lewipanjang is a large bus terminal and quite daunting when you don't know the system. Do I look for a bus or look for a ticket office! A vertically challenged man saw that I was looking a bit lost and came over to offer help. I just said "Merak" and he escorted me across the terminal to a bus. I had no small money, so a couple of ciggies, a thank you and he was happy, as was I.

It was 08:05 and the bus started moving, but I had not paid yet. Bought a few snacks and water off vendors and loose change for the musicians and I use that term loosely. Caught up with my little guide and slipped him Rp2,000 for helping me. All the extras got off at the first traffic lights and we were away.

A young teenager approached and collected Rp60,000 for the ticket, fair and reasonable, a good start to the day.

The bus arrived at Merak port at 13:00. The sea was in front of me and looking around, I suspected to the right, but wanted confirmation before I started walking. An ojek (motorbike taxi) pulled up and quoted Rp10,000, I had no idea how far but the price was not excessive even though I was pretty sure I was being ripped off.

Sure enough, after only a couple of minutes, we were at the ferry, well and truly ripped off, but there you go, that is what foreigners are for. Followed the crowd to a locket and bought a ticket, Rp11,500 and onwards to board the RO-RO ferry. Found an English speaker to confirm the destination of the boat, Bakuheni, pronounced backeeuney. All good, the day is going well, the boat started moving at 13:35.

The economy seats were on the top deck. This was fine by me until the DJ arrived with his MIC and started rabbiting excessively and very loudly at his captive audience and then blasting out recorded Indonesian music. Funny how western music hasn't really caught on here even amongst the teenagers, they prefer the local music. I too would have been happy except for the volume.

I went inside to the air conditioned cabin and was soon accosted for an extra Rp8,000 for executive class, money well spent I think. Thin mattresses were laid out on the floor, so a good opportunity to store up some sleep time for the journey ahead. But, that did not last long as another guy woke me and demanded another Rp9,000 for the use of the mattress. Here I drew the line, vacated the mattress and found a vacant upholstered bench and with my inflatable aircraft pillow was actually more comfortable.

The boat docked at 17:30 after a four hour ferry trip and I was now in Sumatera. As I exited the ferry terminal I found myself in the bus terminal, how convenient. The next target was Pekanbaru.

As soon as I mentioned my destination, lots of guys started pestering me with ticket offers. I picked one and followed him to his office. He pulled out a printed list of destinations and prices and wanted Rp350,000, I was shocked. The Bandung to Merak distance was 200Km and cost Rp60,000 so I estimated the Pekanbaru trip to be around Rp250,000. I tried a few more lokets (ticket offices) but all wanted similar prices. What stressed me more was they each offered me the pen to write down my price, in other words, this was a bartering situation but they would not come near to my price.

After several goes, I decided to try for an interim city, of which I had taken the precaution of making a list. They kept telling me about the air conditioning, I kept telling them that I didn't want A/C, it is too cold anyway. In the end I wandered around the buses, trying to bypass the ticket sellers who I was convinced were going to rip me off. I wanted to pay on the bus, just like I did in Bandung.

A driver babbled at me and mentioned Pekanbaru, but his bus was signed Bandar Lampung. The cost was only Rp17,000, so I decided to go for it, even though BL was not on my list. I really had absolutely no idea where I was going, I just wanted to go somewhere else, start moving. Time now around 18:30.

It was a tatty affair that rattled and creaked constantly. No A/C, but that was not a big deal with most of the sliding windows open. The driver was very enthusiastic and made very good progress. I would have settled for less, as my knuckles were beginning to ache from gripping the seat.

The roads were a nightmare, a twisting, winding series of potholes, which the driver just seemed to ignore and plough through, no wonder the vehicle was in such a state. Most of the road users were large trucks, with all the mining and logging operations going on and this driver was determined to pass them all, blind corners be damned. A scary ride, no chance of any sleep.

Survived the journey, arriving at Bandar Lampung at 20:45. More ticket sales offices only this time, the cost had risen to Rp385,000 with the offer of negotiations. This ticket thing was getting to be frustrating, but I had surpassed my travel expectations for the first day and decided to look for somewhere to sleep and start fresh in the morning.

The hotels were another bus ride away, so I decided to pass on that and find me a piece of floor. There was a large hall selling food, so I took a plate of fried noodles and a cup of coffee. I noticed a balcony that was not used, so when things quietened down, I sneaked up the steps and broke out the plastic sheet and sleeping bag. Quite a day.

To be continued

Edit - map location added. If you drag the map and follow the road, Bandung is Jawa Barat, at the end of the road, in the middle of the Island.

Dave