Bike-Ride to Australia Sunday 19th-February-2012. Singapore to Batam, Indonesia by ferry. I arrived at the ferry terminal nice, and early, just in case there was a problem. Thankfully there wasn’t, although I did have to unload all my bags and put them through the x-ray machine. After loading my bike back up, they took the bike off me, as it gets loaded separately. I wasn’t happy about that, but I had to go along with it if that was the system. I was relieved to see my bike on the boat as I boarded.
The ferry only took about an hour, and I was soon on Batam Island. I was all psyched up, ready to argue my case for not having an onward flight. I needn’t have worried. In fact, I needn’t have bothered buying a return ticket! Customs never bothered to ask anything about leaving Indonesia! The customs officer was only interested in where I was heading, which only came up in conversation. He even told me where to go for my next ferry! Which was about 20km away. Again the only hassle was putting my bags through the x-ray machine! Country number 17, my last one before Australia.
On Batam
I cycled the 20km, found my next ferry, and booked a ticket to Sumatra for tomorrow morning. Disappointingly the only accommodation near the ferry was in golf resorts, and I wasn’t going to pay their prices! So I cycled back the 20km to Batam centre to find a hotel.
Don’t forget the main reason behind my ride, which is to raise as much money for cancer research charities as possible. Even the smallest donation helps. You can donate to Cancer Research or the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. Click on either one to donate.
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