February 19, 2007
Pulau Batam (INDONESIA)
Start of the Journey: Singapore to Pulau Batam (Indonesia)
I woke up at 5:30 this morning, and stumbled my way to the dormitory showers. To my dismay, the hot water heaters had not turned on yet, and I was hardly in the mood for a frigid shower. This was not how I wanted to start off my trip, especially considering I hardly managed more than five hours of sleep over the past few days. Rather than rushing myself for the 6am bus, I decided to postpone leaving and catch up on some much needed rest.
After recharging my batteries and taking care of a variety of academic issues I began fearing that I would continue finding reasons to postpone the trip. It is better to put the ball in play, I decided, and trust in my ability to cope with whatever difficulties arise. With this thought in mind I decided to catch the last boat out of Singapore.
I
departed Singapore Harbor at 10pm with a skeleton crew
for the late night boat ride. Strangely enough, leaving
the lights of Singapore behind as the boat headed out to
sea reminded me why I enjoy traveling by land (or water)
rather than flying - the journey is half the fun. Going
from airport to airport, basically teleporting one's
self to a new world, detracts from the essence of
seeing new things.
I did not make it all the way to the Indonesian mainland, but instead had to settle for an Indonesian island called Pulau Batam. The island is used by a variety of industrial giants seeking cheap labor from Indonesia, so there wasn't much to see - not that it mattered since I arrived so late.
Without a reservation, or even planning on ending up here, I was thankful to find a dormitory for the night. Although it was no more than a cinder block room with a bathroom/shower combination, I was through Indonesian immigration and could continue my journey first thing in the morning.