GREAT SUCCESS…
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Day 28
Start – Dumi Finish – Dumi Distance travelled – 0 km Words by - Johnny Bang and Swells |
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We woke up at the Comfort Inn in Dumai, where we made our way to the lobby and where rewarded with a strange and average buffet. I have nothing to report except there was a piece of bread stuck in the toaster when I used it (already there when I got there). I ignored it but for the next people who used the toasted it kind of caught fire and send thick black smoke and an accompanying burning smell spewing into the buffet area. They looked at me like I had set them a trap. I just kind of shrugged and smiled, like the useless googely eyed foreigner that I am made to feel like sometimes.
Awaiting to finalise the negotiations with the elusive captain - we headed off to talk to the harbour master in search of a possible alternate boat. We found the harbour master in plane local dress in an old office in a medium sized run down building. Escorting us outside we were shown hospitality at the canteen in the form of free local ice tea beverages. We were placed at a large round table full of sea shanty busyness types of unknown occupations where we made small talk for about an hour. While we chatted phone calls were made and people came and went. Then an agent rocked up - who we discovered to be the very same guy we were already waiting on a reply from. Without agreeing on a price he insisted that we must get our Carnet’s stamped. This we felt was a power play on their behalf as once the carnets where stamped it rended our trump card of Mr Lim’s boat at Medan out of play. As each port has a specific stamp and once used on the carnet the bike must exist via that port. With negotiations at a stalemate we all returned to the comfort of the mosquito filled customs office where Sihar our newly gained trusted friend mediated negotiations. Locking the price down to 2 million Rupiah we shook hands and stamped Carnet’s.
Still unsure exactly of the details we were happy enough we had secured a boat to Malaysia and won the Indo to Malaysia bike boat crossing challenge. Thanks again to our new friend Sihar who won our trust, it was rad to have met you.
All that left us with was a half day to burn in the small ocean port town of Dumi…
Later that night Shaun and I went to investigate the disco bass thump that had kept us up all the previous night. We found a ‘Karaoke’ bar with rooms for hire frequented by what I can only assume where prostitutes. We drank our expensive ($4) beers and left.
Awaiting to finalise the negotiations with the elusive captain - we headed off to talk to the harbour master in search of a possible alternate boat. We found the harbour master in plane local dress in an old office in a medium sized run down building. Escorting us outside we were shown hospitality at the canteen in the form of free local ice tea beverages. We were placed at a large round table full of sea shanty busyness types of unknown occupations where we made small talk for about an hour. While we chatted phone calls were made and people came and went. Then an agent rocked up - who we discovered to be the very same guy we were already waiting on a reply from. Without agreeing on a price he insisted that we must get our Carnet’s stamped. This we felt was a power play on their behalf as once the carnets where stamped it rended our trump card of Mr Lim’s boat at Medan out of play. As each port has a specific stamp and once used on the carnet the bike must exist via that port. With negotiations at a stalemate we all returned to the comfort of the mosquito filled customs office where Sihar our newly gained trusted friend mediated negotiations. Locking the price down to 2 million Rupiah we shook hands and stamped Carnet’s.
Still unsure exactly of the details we were happy enough we had secured a boat to Malaysia and won the Indo to Malaysia bike boat crossing challenge. Thanks again to our new friend Sihar who won our trust, it was rad to have met you.
All that left us with was a half day to burn in the small ocean port town of Dumi…
Later that night Shaun and I went to investigate the disco bass thump that had kept us up all the previous night. We found a ‘Karaoke’ bar with rooms for hire frequented by what I can only assume where prostitutes. We drank our expensive ($4) beers and left.
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