When the destination is worse than the journey

Sat-Sun 8-9 Oct:

To Bintan, Indonesia, 188 km. This is my first ride in Bintan, though not my first ride in Indonesia. The journey is great, but the destination where I spend the night is memorable for the wrong reasons. It's the low point of the ride, among the many high points including high hills and high fives with kids.

High fives
Day 1: Sat 8 Oct, Singapore - Trikora, Bintan, 107 km. I'm late but not dead, despite having had two motorbikes cut me off at one junction. On board the boat, I see the rain fall. Boat crewman refuses to let me out of the cabin to tend to my baggage. DH speaks to him in fluent Malay and the crewman turns friendly. But the kids enroute are naturally friendly without the need for banter. "Hello mister," they chorus. Some of the almost end up blocking the road with their hands outstretched. They look like they're trying to stop me. Then, it dawns on me what they're up to. I stretch out my hand. High five! Our palms connect and a girl smiles. Having cycled thousands of km in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, this is a first! Also for the first time, I ride with a Camelbak (but I've yet to use the bladder that came with it; a Platypus is good enough for me).

At the Bintan jetty are two statues of Java rhinoceros. On the road, I see two raised horns coming towards me, from a rhinoceros beetle. The route to Trikora is hilly. Reminds me of the road to Mersing, except that the roads here are narrower and more winding. There are doggy dangers too; two of them rush out and run alongside, barking at me but ignoring our guide H. Perhaps they know him well enough; he navigates without map or compass and knows where the watering holes are.

While watering holes seem plentiful, food is less so. After a light lunch, we make do with fresh coconuts by the sea. Where I pick up some nasty sandfly bites. Also nasty is the shack I stay in. It's cheap (S$11 per person per night) and fairly clean. But there are holes in the plank walls and attap roof. And no soap, towel or blanket. I use my drinking water to wash my hands to remove my contact lenses. Dinner is pleasant enough as we ride a few minutes to a Chinese restaurant. After exercising our jaws eating, we exercise them debating God and an object of devotion: bikes.

Bedtime. The sea breeze blows open the door. I get up to latch it and sleep fitfully as dogs bark, cocks crow and motors run. The rough accommodation, which I'm unprepared for, means a rough night for me. The destination is worse than the journey.

Getting to Bintan: from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Bandar Bentan Telant Ferry Terminal. Ferry ticket: about S$40 including S$5 for "cargo" (per bike).

Long wait home
Day 2: Sun 9 Oct, Trikora - Tanjong Pinang, Bintan - Singapore, 81 km My throat gets more sore through the cold, blanketless night. This is one ride I wish would end sooner than later. A light rain falls. When it stops, we start. We cycle over 60 km past lunchtime, subsisting on a light breakfast. Hills, hills, hills. My guardian angel(s) work overtime. Despite the narrow, winding roads, there are no close calls though traffic could've come crashing through the blind corners or over the hilltops. Traffic gets scarier in town as we shoot past junctions without traffic lights, with traffic coming from multiple directions.

The six of us sit for four hours, dining and waiting for the last ferry home. I fall asleep while the rest quaff beer. The ferry ride home is rough for me as my bike suffers rough handling from those in the smokers' corner astern. But no one adds to the first gash on its top tube, which it suffered yesterday.

What I learn: never take chances; pack bubble wrap to protect. And stow my bike perpendicular to the direction of boat travel.