This is a long overdue piece that I had planned to write since I came back from the Riau islands. Unfortunately, time constraint and laziness overwhelmed me. Then, enough is enough. I told myself I had to share this.
Warning: This is going to be long!
My old friends, Linda and Stephen, posted a really nice picture of themselves and the places at Singkep island, where they were at, doing their voluntary work - teaching. I was really amazed by the beauty of Dabo Singkep when I found myself exchanging some messages in the comment under the instagram picture and later I texted her on whatsapp.
"Hi, when do you think I can visit you at Singkep, is July good for you?" I asked excitedly. July was the holiday for Idul Fitri, the biggest celebration for the Muslims, where I got 9-day holidays from work.
"Fi! That's awesome! Please come and visit us in July! You can stay with us for as long as you want!" uttered my friend reciprocating the excitement.
Linda has always been a good friend and not only that, she has been a family member too for me. She used to stay in my house when I was really young for at least 5 years. She always calls me with my nickname "Fi". I had not met her since 2007.
That's how my journey began. I booked my ticket right after texting her, 16 July to Batam (the city where I could take a ferry to Dabo Singkep as there was no direct flight there) and back to Medan on the 23rd.
My initial plan was to visit Linda for 6 days, dropping by Batam for one or two days to meet my newly married cousin and her Taiwanese husband. I texted my cousin, Julisa, and she was as excited as Linda. Feeling grateful, I started counting my days to July. It was May then.
***
Peter Biddle, my co-worker and a friend that I have spent a lot of my free time with - having conversations over
coffee, avocado juice or chocolate milk drinks, is one of the friends I treasure. This friend of mine, despite being English, does not display any characteristics that are associated with being western. He does not like tea, coffee, nor alcoholic drinks. His lifestyle is healthy and he likes to keep fit. Once we went to hike Mount Sibayak together when I stopped to rest around 75 times for a supposedly 2-hour hike. It took us around 4 hours in the end to reach the summit. He is one of the most tolerant people I've met and joyful to be around with. Serious, shy, but fun and deep.
That time in early July, he told me how he did not know what to do for the 9 days off work and blamed me jokingly that I left him in Medan, rotten and lonely.
"Come with me to Batam, I may extend my days in Batam and I'll shorten my trip to Singkep, but I'll depart to Singkep by myself", I suggested, thinking that my friends at Singkep (not knowing how to speak English at all) would have felt inconvenient if I had brought Pete with me.
He googled it and was interested. He talked it to our friend, Meilina, the crazy cat lady in the office, our close friend. Surprisingly, Meilina had actually lived in Batam for a few years. She suggested that we go to Bintan island.
"Cath, let's go to Batam and Bintan, then you go to Singkep!" He texted me.
"Sounds like a good plan!" I welcomed the idea as I wanted to explore as many places as possible. Sharing holidays with a friend is one of the best things that I love.
The next day, he booked his round trip ticket.
***
Batam with its friendliness, elegance, history and sea food.
"All packed up?" Mom asked.
I had so much work on Wednesday but I managed to pack everything I needed till around midnight. I slept only for about 4 hours.
It was 3.30 a.m. and I replied and yawned at the same time. 'Yes, Mom'. I felt bad that my mom woke up that early to just make sure I was all ready to leave.
Bluebird taxi arrived at 4 a.m. I asked the driver to fetch Pete and then off we went to the airport. We were both still sleepy, but the excitement for the travel was leaping inside.
Airport was uneventful, the usual routine was there, and the waiting was not too long. We got on the plane, and it took off at 7 a.m.
***
Batam, the closest part of Indonesia to Singapore, the third largest city in Sumatra, after Medan and Palembang, was actually a moody city. When we arrived, it was a very hot day as the sun was very bright up there. Pete and I expected that because we knew it was located around the coastal areas.
"We made it to Batam, Pete!" I shook his hand until both of our thumbs met, the handshake I used for my close friends. We took a bus as it was cheaper. My eyes were gazing outside the bus window. So, this is Batam, I thought. We arrived at a stop where it took us around 20 minutes to walk and arrive at the hotel.
Earlier last month, my friends and I hung out with Jonta who came back to visit Medan prior to his leaving to Jakarta and Europe. We used to work together, and Jonta is a liberal man. His ideals are based on freedom, making him an interesting person to confabulate with, about issues like homosexuality. During the hangout, he brought a friend with him. Welly, his name and he is from Batam. Last month when I told Welly I would come to Batam in July, he asked me to contact him as he promised to bring me around. Jonta planned to visit Batam as well, the same day I went to Batam from Medan, Jonta went from Jakarta, although he arrived two hours later than our arrival time.
That day finally came.
Welly fetched Pete and me and then after fetching Jonta from the airport, Welly asked me where I would like to see. Without hesitation, I replied "Vietnam Camp! The Barelang Bridge!"
Jonta smiled and expressed his agreement "
Ayuk, mari kita berangkat!"
It was a long way from the city to those places. So at around 1, we were all starving.
"Near the bridge, there was a nice seafood restaurant. We'll stop there to eat first. All of the sea foods are fresh", suggested Welly.
Seafood is my favorite, I did not mind at all. Pete did not as well, although I knew it was not his favorite food. He is a tolerant person after all.
As soon as we arrived, we went to an area where we could choose the fish, crabs, oysters and different types of seashells ourselves.
Gong-gong, as the locals name it, is a type of seashells and a popular dish in Batam. After a few suggestions and discussions, Welly and Jonta eventually picked fish, shrimps and
gong-gong. We ordered rice, some sauteed vegetables to accompany the seafood. We could see the bridge from there.
My stomach was rumbling. I could eat the white rice without any extra dish, I thought. Due to courtesy, I waited patiently for the food to arrive.
Heaven was there when the food arrived.
We gobbled the food fast, everyone was busy with their food. I was a mess. Welly decided to pay for all of the food, making me feel a bit uneasy. I thanked him for the seafood and I told him he would have to let me repay him with the same kindness if not more when he is in Medan again someday.
We continued our journey to reach the Barelang Bridge, the icon in Batam. It is a bridge to connect a few islands such as Rempang and Galang islands. We finally made it there. Remember how I said Batam is a moody city? It is. It was very sunny and hot in a minute, and then the rain poured down heavily in another minute. That was what happened.
 |
| Welly, Jonta, myself, and Pete |
We could see the dark clouds moving fast and we ran to Welly's car as fast as we could. When we went into the car, our shirts were already sprinkled with the raindrops. Consider ourselves lucky. It was raining in torrents. We laughed.
Our next destination was the Vietnam Camp or the actual name is Galang Refugee Camp. Once, that camp accommodated around 250,000 Indo-Chinese. Galang camp was well equipped, with a camp administration office, Indonesian Red Cross Hospital, school, Catholic church, Buddist
temple, cemetery, and a Youth Center (set up and run by the refugees
themselves).
Most refugees stayed in wooden houses. All the refugees had been reassigned to new locations by UNHCR in 1997. Even though no refugees reside in that camp today, the history stays in Indonesia.
I was humbled by the experience, how little did I know about my beloved country, Indonesia. I was glad to visit this place and had the chance to scan the vast area, look at the artists' paintings, and contemplated on the life of the 'boat people' at that time in the history.
We went back to the hotel after a 1.5 hours of car ride. We could not thank Welly and Jonta's hospitality enough.
***
At 7 pm, my cousin, Julisa, came to bring me and Pete for dinner. I missed my cousin. Her laugh is always infectious, making her to be a fun person to be with. We went to the nearby mall and ate there. Surprisingly, I did not feel that hungry but I still ate a lot. We chatted for a long time even after we left the mall and went back to the hotel on foot. Her husband fetched Julisa from our hotel and impulsively I told her I would come back next week after Singkep just to spend more time with her. She was flying to the moon. I guessed she missed me, too!
Pete and I went to the hotel rooftop after Julisa left. There, I was mesmerized by the elegance of Batam with its sparkling beauty. The air was not too cool and not too warm. I was glad Peter came along this trip. The day was only the beginning of our journey and it was a day well-spent. That night I slept like a pig.
Bintan and the long, long and long journey to the beautiful beaches
It was Friday. Pete and I took a taxi to the port to take a ferry to Bintan island. The port was buzzing with crowd. There were a a lot of counters that sold ferry tickets, much to our confusion. Bintan, as I knew it, was famous for Lagoi, a resort that has many good beaches. So, I thought Bintan was Lagoi. I approached one of the ticket sellers, and I asked,"Excuse me, which ferry should we take if we want to go to Lagoi?"
"Oh, Lagoi? You have to wait until 4.30 pm. That's the schedule for the next ferry." He replied with his heavy teo chew accent. Teo Chew is a common Chinese dialect spoken at Riau islands. To my surprise, I always understood the language, although what I speak at home is Hokkien, another dialect. It was 11 am at that time. Pete and I would not want to waste our holiday just sitting in the port for many hours, so I asked the him if we had other options.
"You can take another ferry to Tanjung Uban and take a taxi for around Rp 300,000 to Lagoi, the journey takes around 3 hours." Pete and I agreed to take that ferry instead.
The ferry was actually a fast boat. It was so crowded inside the boat - no seats left. Pete and I stood up the whole trip, but we did not mind. In just around 45 minutes, we arrived at Tanjung Uban.
As soon as we went out of the port, there were a few
ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers approaching us. I took out the hotel voucher and the hotel where Pete and I were going to stay was Hotel Laguna. I asked the
ojek drivers.
"How much does it cost to drive us to Laguna Hotel?
"Rp 80,000 per person"
So then we decided to take
ojek instead, as the cost would be lower compared to the price of a taxi. It was 12 pm at that time.
The journey began. I was so excited, I looked around. Tanjung Uban looked like a small town or a big village. There was so much greenery. We passed a lot of bridges where we could see mangroves on the left and the right. It was hot, but the wind was blowing strongly against my face as the driver sped up.
***
Two hours had passed and I felt the pain of stinging heat, my butt felt numb and I started to count the minutes when the motorbike would stop. I could not wait to just lie down on the bed in the hotel room. Why is the location of the hotel this far? It does not seem right! I debated and struggled to understand. With bike, we should have arrived much earlier.
"
Pak, are you sure that you know the location of Laguna Hotel?" I queried, trying to not be panicked.
"Of course, don't worry." He assured me.
It started to rain heavily. I was quite worried about Pete who was in another bike but soon my worry went away. I saw them stopping to put on the raincoats. I could not be bothered to wear a raincoat, it seemed that the weather was just like in Batam, heavy rain in one minute and then sunny in another.
So the journey went on. It seemed endless, accompanied by the rain, the view seemed to be boring after some time. The good thing about this trip was the smooth road. Unlike the bumpy roads in Medan, Riau islands seem to have good infrastructure, road in this case. I was with a backpack, and it's not light and so my counting went on. Then we went into a complex that seemed to be Lagoi area. The area there was surrounded by trees, quite beautiful actually. I started to enjoy it again, and I saw a sign around the area "LAGUNA RESORT". I was relieved.
We were stopped by two security guards near the gate, and they would like to see our hotel voucher. I showed them and their reply shocked me like a bomb to my already flattened butt.
"Ma'am, Laguna hotel is in Tanjung Pinang, not here." The guard explained politely. I looked at Pete in disbelief, there's no way we could find a taxi or bus that provided better comfort, I was totally helpless. It seemed that the only people we could rely on were the
ojek drivers who just dropped us there. With the fee now almost tripled from the original price, they agreed to drop us at Hotel Laguna, at Tanjung Pinang, which was another 2,5 hours away as we had to pass Tanjung Uban again and then Tanjung Pinang.
"Oh well!" I could not even be angry with the drivers who claimed they knew the location of the hotel I was referring to. I could only blame myself for being stupid and careless.
***
We've finally arrived at Ho after that long detour. I don't have to explain in details what my back and butt felt at that point. I just wanted to shower and rest.
That day, Pete and I were both tired, but we had a good conversation when we dined out. There was no nice beach around Tanjung Pinang. There was a port near our hotel, at a walking distance. Then later that day, I just found out that we could take a ferry from Batam earlier that would take around 45 minutes straight to Tanjung Pinang port.
 |
| The view from the rooftop of Laguna Hotel |
We both felt stupid, but what is a vacation without a little adventure anyway?
***
The next day was a better day.
We woke up early and we had breakfast in the hotel. Feeling so much rested, Pete and I strolled around the street and decided to rent a motorbike. We went to Trikora, known for its beautiful beaches. I was again very excited.
It was a more relaxing journey, we made a few stops whenever we wanted to, taking breathtaking pictures and went on. We stopped at the locals' houses. Most of the people there were fishermen. I could barely open my eyes. The sun was scorching brightly.
I wish I could have a nice chat with the locals there, but there seemed to be very few people in the houses at that time. There were a few kids running but I did not really see the adults around. We hopped on the bike and we drove on.
*Just like that, the writer lacks the motivation to continue this piece so it has to end here for now.
