Beasts in Jungle

April 1st: Kota Tinngi to Johor Bahru – 41 km; Ferry to Batam Centre, Indonesia; Batam to Sekupang Ferry Terminal – 21.3 km

Apr 8, 2014

Day 170

When taking a new form of transportation or entering a new country, we plan as much as possible to make the transition as smooth as possible. But today we had little hiccups all along the way. We knew where our ferry was going to leave from but we didn’t know that our travel would be along a highway without a shoulder in rush hour traffic. Traffic is always stressful, and without a straightforward route we had to merge multiple times while keeping a sharp eye out for traffic. We knew that the ferry for Batam leaves every hour, so we didn’t stress too much over the time and stopped to have lunch before arriving.

Google Maps indicated that there is a Johor Bahru International Ferry Terminal but when we arrived, we saw signs for “The Zon” and our map also showed a duty-free zone. We made the right choice but wandered around after passing through the security gate. Seeing the water on our right, we looked for the terminal there but only found an abandoned building. We finally found an inlet behind the mall which lead us to the ferry terminal. Following signs past the security gate to the left takes you to taxi drop off area. I entered the building and was directed to a large elevator and found that the ferry terminal on the second floor. Thankfully the large elevator accommodated one fully loaded trike and we easily moved both trikes into the terminal lobby.

For ticketing, you pay and give them your passports and in ten minutes they call your name and return your passports with your change and tickets. Not wanting to have any spare Ringgit once we entered Indonesia, I bought a large Carlsberg for 5.50 and was surprised that in Malaysian sin tax on beer was twice as much as the beer. With my remaining 2.20 I bought a soda and was happy to have spent every last Ringgit.

We paid 30 Ringgit total for the two trikes when we bought our tickets. We cycled out onto pier and unloaded our bags. Immediately some workers put our trikes on the boat and then turned to demand another 20 Ringgit for each trike, to which I told them the truth, no money. Their sour looks made us both nervous about the safety of our trikes. These same cargo loaders boarded the ship and would unload them as well. Needless to say when we arrived Cher and I unloaded them ourselves. I picked up one and while standing on the narrow rail I passed the front over to Cher, who lifted the trike to put the front wheels on the pier. As I passed over the second trike, we struggled a bit. Perhaps they feared we would hurt ourselves and they would be blamed or they were impressed by our team work, whatever the reason they put out their cigarettes and gave us a hand.

Having moved only 10 meters we were met by another cargo crew who informed us that we couldn’t take our trikes through immigration. Again, they asked for money for helping us go through the cargo channel. Once again we had none and they left us. Fed up we marched into immigration who once again told us we couldn’t take them through. Surveying immigration we immediately realized why we couldn’t take them through. A steal labyrinth of pipes bolted to ground prevented anyone from carrying anything bigger than a rolley suitcase through immigration. Which conveniently required them to use the baggage service. As we began to disassemble our trikes an immigration officer repeatedly yelled h”ey hey hey pst pst”, and Cher gave him the death stare. We repeated that we didn’t have money for the baggage handlers and we were finally told it was free! But it was too late, we had disassembled our trikes and carried them across the immigration counter. I paid my 25 USD fee for my visa on arrival and carried my trike through. Cher, being a Hong Kong citizen the visa was free.

More than an hour after leaving the ship, just 20 meters away, we had entered Batam, Indonesia. We piled our trikes and bags on the other side and now that we were through, they began to rush us. Quickly quickly they ordered. Cher was fed up and couldn’t stop her sarcasm as we were rushed out:”Thanks everyone for being so helpful! Can’t wait to see you guys again!”

It was impossible, not being able to carry everything at once we reassembled our trikes, piled our baggage on top and rolled them into customs. We placed our bags on the conveyor for the x-ray machine. Pointing at our trikes the official, then said x-ray. Without folding or unloading them, in our trikes went. Once again it’s ok to have food, cannisters filled with gasoline, lighters and knives in our bags. We stepped out of immigration into a modern shopping mall. We assembled quickly as some curious onlookers watched and got back on the road. We still had to find the ferry we would take tomorrow.

We dragged ourselves up several steep climbs in the afternoon sun. I amused myself squirting some locals filming us with smart phones while they were driving, with a squirt gun Cher bought for this purpose. We were lucky that they found it hilarious and gave us a thumbs up instead of running us over.

We found the ferry terminal, which to our surprise has nothing around it. We found several hotels nearby on Google maps, but they didn’t exist. We cycled another 3km to KTM Resort, and were astonished at the 50 USD price tag. We asked if we could camp, but they wouldn’t allow it, and we needed a shower and some rest before we set off on our 30 hour ferry ride to Jakarta the following day. It was long, stressful day, but some solid planning helped us avoid being overwhelmed, although we came close.