Exploring Riau Province in Central Sumatra

Riau Province lies towards the east coast of Central Sumatra in Indonesia.
Comprising of ten Regencies and two autonomous cities with the main capital at Pekan Baru which is Sumatra's third largest municipality after Medan and Palembang.
Other major cities in Riau Province include Dumai,Selat Panjang,Bagansiapiapi,Bengkalis,Bakinang,Rengat and Siak Sri Indrapura.

With abundant natural resources such as petroleum,natural gas,rubber,palm oil and fiber plantations,the Riau Province  is one of the biggest contributor of Indonesia's economy.

The society is ethnically heterogeneous comprising of Minangkabau,Jawa,Batak,Bugis,Banjar,Tionghoa and many others .With rich cultural diversity,the Riau Province is one great place to explore.

The word Riau originates from the Portuguese version 'Rio'
In 1511,the Malacca Sultanate falls into the hand of the Portuguese conquerors and Sultan Mahmud Shah escaped to River Siak area in Sumatra being pursued by the Portuguese armada who then named the place as Rio.

The old capital of Riau Province was Tanjung Pinang until 1959.Today it is the capital city of the Riau Archipelago or Kepulauan Riau (acronym,Kepri)
After the fall of Malacca,the Riau Islands became the centre of politcal power of the mighty Sultanate of Johor challenging the Sultan Siak Sri Inderapura who also seek control.

Batam is the main core island,other populated islands are Bintan and Karimun.Smaller islands are Bulan and Kundur

Places of interests and festivals  in Riau Province:

1) Pulau Jemur
Located about 45miles from Bagansiapiapi town and only about 45miles to Malacca.
Other clusters of islands within vicinity are pulau Tekong Emas,pulau Tekong Seimbang,pulau Labuhan Bilik and smaller islands good for snorkelling or scuba diving.
During the north east monsoon,the island is a main shelter for the fishermen.
Remains of Japanese Occupation artifacts are still being preserved.

2) Taman Nasional Bukit Tiga Puluh national Park
A lowland Tropical Rain Forest rich in flora and fauna.Covers part of the Bukit Barisan Mountain Range with many undiscovered wildlife santuaries.
Tribes still in existence in the mountain range includes Talang Mamak,Anak Rimba and Melayu Tua.

 3) Pantai Rupat Utara, Tanjung Medang
The easy to reach Rupat Island from Dumai with many seaside resorts.Teluk Phu and Tanjung Punak with nice beaches.

4) Air Terjun Aek Martua
Located in district Bangun Purba near Barisan Mountains, a waterfall with a thousand stairs.

5) Strange waves at Bono Beach
Located at Desa Teluk Meranti(Meranti Bay) along Sungai Kampar and Sungai Rokan.
Bono is a natural phenomena of sudden  rise in sea waves at times as high as 4-6 meter near the river mouth that occurs almost daily.


6) Marine Tourism in Kabupaten Siak.

A huge lake at Desa Zamrud in Kecamatan Siak Sri Inderapura comprising of Lake Naga at Sungai Apit.
Natural rain forests surrounded the lake with fishes such as the arwana,pinang merah and balido can be found in the area.

7) Barge Burning Ritual or Ritual Bakar Tongkang 
 An annual event in Bagansiapiapi,a town in  Kabupaten Rokan Hilir  which has a large Chinese community.
The event is held around the month of mid-June.

8)  Chinese New Year at Selatpanjang,Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti
Grand fireworks display.Another place in Indonesia with many Chinese temples.

9) Pekan Baru National Mosque (Masjid Raya) in Kecamatan Senapelan
 An eighteenth century built mosque during Siak Sri Inderapura Sultanate by Sultan Abdul Jalil Muazza Syah and Sultan Muhammad Ali Abdul Jalil Muazzam Syah.

10) Siak Sri Indrapura Royal Palace built in 1889
Historical relics of the old Malay kingdom being displayed at this royal palace museum.

11) Candi Muara Tikus
Archeological site of  ancient Buddhist temple complex and relics at Desa Muara Tikus in Kampar District about 135km from Pekan Baru.

12) Klenteng Hoo An Kiong/Vihara Sejahtera Sakti Selatpanjang
Oldest Chinese temple in whole of Riau Province also called Tua Pek Kong Bio(Hokkian dialect)
Built during Dutch colonial rule.

13) Seven Layer Fortress or Benteng Tujuh Lapis
Located at Dalu Dalu in the district of Tambusai,Rokan Hilir Regency built by Dalu-Dalu people to defend against Dutch invaders.

What's in Dumai port city

The port city of Dumai is among the twelve major seaports in the Indonesian Island of Sumatra

Lies towards the east coast of Central Sumatra facing the Straits of Malacca,the city is part of the Riau Province("kabupaten")
.
The main provincial capital Pekan Baru is about six hours drive from Dumai.
Can you imagine Dumai is just 105km across the straits to Malacca on Malaysian side.
The best point to cut short the sea journey as an illegal immigrant is via the Rupat Island(45km away) off Dumai and land in the small town of Kuala Linggi in the north of Malacca.

During the 1980s of the Indonesian transmigration programme,the arrival of these guests was witnessed before me while managing a rubber plantation here in Sungai Linggi.
The sea is like a no mans land and travelling in a legitimate ferry compared to the illegal night route in a packed fishing boat makes one feel how agonizing the illegals have to endure with.

Once you have arrived in Dumai's jetty,your onward journey will surely have to turn into the main artery road Jalan Jenderal Sudirman with the first sighting is Comfort Hotel on your right.
Telp 0765-34888, 0813-65-100-888
Email: reservation@comfortdumai.com
Two star Hotel with about 100 rooms
rates:295,000Rp to 545,000Rp

 A short distance on the same row with Comfort Hotel is a newer Hotel City
Jalan.Jenderal.Sudirman 445,Tel: +62-765-31550
Rates: Rp. 140.000 s/d 500.000

Temperatures was pretty hot in Dumai soaring to nearly 40 degrees celcius especially in the months of May.June July as it has a Tropical Climate.
The Equator Line is near Palembang city towards the south.

 


This bus parked in front of Indomal Express ferry office is specifically for transporting passengers with ferry boarding pass.
It's free and operates at 9:00am trip only.

Getting around in the city is by a motorised tricycle("becak"),the minivans("angkot:) or the motor taxis ("ojek")
There's nothing spectacular in this town I should say and it's a slow moving town with more on commercial activities.
To avoid the scorching heat while moving around,why not hop into an angkot and pay a fixed  rate rather than having to haggle with using the other mode.
Some becak motor along Jalan Jend Sudirman will recommend bringing visitors to massage(pijat) centers in the Jalan Ombak area.


Penginapan Lenggogeni beside Indomal Express office.
Penginapan means Inn
Rates can be from 80,000Rp -150,000Rp

Across the road beside the Central Police Station is Wisma Andy's Nur
The word "Wisma" is an Indonesian term for mid-range guesthouse.
Rates can be between 100,000Rp -250,000 Rp.
Penginapan AA is just next door.



.

Walking straight after this traffic circle is also Jend Sudirman whereby a short distance is the Hotel Grand Zuri,(tel: +62-765-31999-tarif: Rp.285.000 s/d 650.000).
The very end of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman will be the Ramayana Plaza Shopping Mall beside a park.
Towards the left turn is Jalan Sultan Syarif Kassim where there is a Chinese restaurant followed by the Palapa Hotel and a newer Komala Hotel.
On the right turn is another 10 minutes walk to Gajah Mada Hotel as well as Penginapan Rahmat also on Jalan Sultan Syarif Kassim where there are more Chinese shops around here.

That brown coloured frontage building is the Gajah Mada Hotel with the CFC Fried Chicken outlet.
CFC stands for California Fried Chicken with about 215 chains across Indonesia.
The main brand of PT Pioneerindo Gourmet International Tbk listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in 1994.
 The pioneers were three Indonesians who were alumni of University of Southern California.
There were also kiosks servicing this brand by street vendors.




HKBP-Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church on Jalan Sultan Syarif Kassim near Palapa Hotel and behind the morning wet market.

The Bataks are an ethnic group of people found mostly in North Sumatra especially around the Lake Toba-Samosir region which is 240km from Medan.

Lake Toba is the greatest crater lake in Southeast Asia and a tourists hotspot.

There were a few private limousines vans outlets that offer transport to outside Dumai.
Putri Sulung Mandiri's designate places such as  Pekan Baru,Duri,Bagan Siapi-api,Padang and Medan can be bought on the spot or they may provide hotel pick up as well if made through phone booking.

Walk across the road from Indomal Ferry Express office and there are about three of these companies.
With enough passengers they will make the journey.
"Sopir" is the word for chaffeur which the locals used to call.

 CV.Athirah Jaya also provide the route to Pekan Baru,Bagan Siapi-api,Bukit Tinggi and Padang.

I book a seat to Bagan Siapi-api which was my ultimate intention in this trip via a company PSM (Tel:0765-33492,h/p:0852-71527953/0823-82219711) located beside CV.
The fare was 70,000Rp.

What attracted me to visit Bagan Siapi-api  is the article which I came across in Bon website regarding the annual Barge Burning Ritual or Acara Bakar Tongkang to be held on the 14th June.coinciding with the Chinese calendar month May 16 event (known as GoGeCapLak which is a Hokkien dialect version)

PT Pelnas Lestari Indomabahari is another ferry ticketing office that offers destination to:
1) Dumai port departures:
Bengkalis-Selat Panjang-Tanjong Balai Karimun-Batam(near Singapore)
Depart: 07:00WIB Depart 07:15WIB(include Tanjung Pinang stopover)

2) Bengkalis port departures-08:30/09:00 Batam route

return Dumai route:13:00/13:20hrs

3) Selat Panjang port departures:
10:30hrs Batam route/ 10:45hrs for Tanjung Buton-Pekan Baru/ 11:00hrs for Tj Balai Karimun-Batam-Tanjong Pinang / 11:00hrs & 11:20hrs for Bengkalis -Dumai. / 14:00hrs for Tanjung Samak-Tj Balai Karimun-Batam

4) Tanjung Balai Karimun port departures:
07:30hrs to Batam / 08:30hrs to Dumai route / 08:45hrs to Selat Panjang and Tanjung Buton / 09:15hrs to Selat panjang -Bengkalis -Dumai / 11:30hrs ,12:30hrs,16:30hrs to Batam.
13:00hrs to Batam -Tanjung Pinang

5) Batam port departures:
07:30hrs to Selat Panjang- Tanjung Buton / 08:30hrs to Dumai route.
09:30hrs To Tanjung Balai Karimun / 15:00hrs to Tanjung Pinang

7) Tanjung Pinang port departures:
06:00hrs - to Dumai

Banners on road divider along Jalan Jenderal Sudirma.
Some sort of congratulatory messages.
They are not printed banners

Message reads as:
Wish you Success,appointment PAC-PP,East Dumai
from Hotel Gajah Mada











Klenteng Hok Liong Kiong, a large Chinese temple  located near the inter province bus terminal(AKAP)

Chinese temples in mandarin(miao),bahasa Indonesia (klenteng) ,Thai (wat).Vietnamese (Chua) and Filipino(na templo).

Location MAP of Dumai

Ferry from Port Klang to Dumai

Crossing the busy sea lane of Malacca Straits by ferry is something which most travellers avoided in view of the availability of many budget airlines.

Unfortunately the port city of Dumai in the eastern coast of central Sumatera Island in Indonesia do not have an airport so the best option is via the availability of ferry services operated by Tunas Rupat Follow Me Express at counter 2 Level 1 at Port Klang Harbour City which is the legal entry and exit point.
Directing ticketing and booking telephone:03-31677186/016-2902511(mimie)

Ferry To Dumai available only Monday,Wednesday,Friday
Fare Price:
One Way-adult RM110 To&Fro-RM170
One Way-Children RM55.00 To&Fro-RM85
Departure Time:10:30am Malaysian Time,To confirm boarding 2 hours before departure.
Boarding Pass WILL only be issued on the departure day itself.

Departing passengers have to pay an extra RM20 being the port charges.
(breakdown RM15 passenger terminal charges + RM5 miscellaneous)
Quite a hefty charges by this privatized company. compared to departure port tax in Dumai which was just 20,000 Rupiah
Please note that the return ticket is an open date valid for 6(six) months and non refundable.





Asa Niaga Shipping and Forwarding Company which is the owner of Port Klang Harbour City  has a servicing counter also on level 1 at the port terminal.

This morning took a 07:00am  bus, company  name 'Causeway Link' which was waiting across the road in front of Kuala Lumpur Central market.(short distance before LRT station)  Fare:RM3.00.Walking distance to port on arrival at Klang Bus Terminal was less than a kilometre.
It's an hour's journey and the weather was fine initially.A sudden rainfall at the port terminal was rather unwelcoming as this will be my first trip using the cross straits.
Travellers  heading to Port Klang Harbour can also use the KTM train services which stop less than 500 metres from the harbour's ferry terminal.
Fares :from RM1.70,journey duration 1 hour(train half hourly avail)
Where to embark?1) old train station building near the National Mosque  2) Opposite the SOGO Mall. 3)KL Sentral 4)Sentul-Port Klang KTM line.



It's boarding time and luckily the rain has stopped which otherwise passengers will have to bear with the rain as there won't be a covered shed at the jetty's end to get into the ferry.
Immigration section has now modernised compared to previous old jetty which has security lax where officials and illegals have a field day.
The porous coastline of Malaysia provides easy access to illegal immigrants and smugglers.
No wonder the ferry services to Dumai is no more on daily basis as port procedures have tightened.





 Ferry to Tanjong Balai Asahan,further north of Dumai city,operated by Aero Speed Ferry Services.
There will be no visa-on-arrival for foreign tourists apart from ASEAN members countries visitors.
Tanjong Balai Asahan is nearer to Medan,about 4 hours bus journey and 2 hours to Lake Toba.
From Dumai by bus to Medan takes about 10 hours.





Vessel name:Malaysia Express 1
Type:-Passenger ferry
View of lower deck.
Fully air conditioned,fare price includes snack and mineral water.
Unadvisable to travel during the Muslim holidays as heavy bookings are a norm.
During off seasons,travellers can just come to the harbour terminal and buy on the spot,remember 2 hours before departure as the operators will have to submit a manifest list to harbour master.

View of entry to upper deck,while the toilets are only at the central deck on the front and back.
According to Dumai Express which I took on my returning journey,there are about 265 adults and 44 children lifejackets.
Dumai Express did demonstrate how to use a life jacket while the Malaysian Express did nothing.
Somewhere during mid journey, Malaysian Express nearly stalled and the aircondition malfunctioned.
Imagine passengers on the lower deck were sweating as if in a sauna room.

At about 2:00pm,arrived in Dumai port city after leaving Port Klang terminal at about 11:30am,so it's about two half hour journey.
Immigration formality includes fingerprints scan.
On exiting this small terminal,there won't be any bus services nor touts.
Travellers can just pay for "ojek"(motorcycle taxis) to respective destinations.Private vans ("sopir") are also available.
Please note that the office of Indomal Express is at Jalan Jenderal Sudirman,about 3km from ferry terminal same row as City Hotel and Comfort Hotel.Grand Zuri Hotel is after the traffic circle from here.All within walking distance in town centre.
If you have bought a return ticket,a free bus ride to the ferry terminal is provided at 9:00am sharp so make sure you check in and get the boarding pass before this time.

 
A look at the Ferry Tariff charges from DUMAI:
Bengkalis:85,000 Rp(adult) 45,000Rp(child)

Selat Panjang:190,000Rp(adult) 95,000Rp(child)

Tanjung Samak:250,000Rp(adult) 125,000Rp(child)

Tanjung Balai Karimun:270,000(adult) 135,000(child)

Batam:320,000(adult) 160,000(child)

Tanjung Pinang:380,000Rp(adult) 190,000(child)

Dumai To Port Klang(Malaysia):12:00pm WIB
Port Klang To Dumai:09:00am WIB
Days:-Monday,Wednesday,Friday
Adult return:570,000Rp
adult one way ticket:310,000Rp

Children return:290,000Rp
children one way ticket:160,000Rp

*WIB-West Indonesia Time (same as Thailand,Laos & Cambodia)


Days:Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,Friday
departure time:
Dumai To Port Dickson(Malaysia):11:00am WIB

Port Dickson To Dumai:09:00am WIB

Adult return:570,000Rp  one way:310,000Rp

children return:290,000Rp  One Way:160,000Rp.

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