transfer Malaysia-Indonesia, on the map, it seems a trivial matter: a hydrofoil from Melacca to Dumai and then by bus to Pekanbaru (about 150km away). The boat leaves at around 10 and before 12 are already 'in Dumai, on the island of Sumatra. Smooth.
I do take a motorcycle taxi to the bus station, a huge parking lot with a single bus waiting in the hot sun. Fortunato and 'direct to Pekanbaru, the major city' of this area, and start 'shortly thereafter.
I have two accounts: 150km to go, an average of 50km per hour; between 3 to 4 hours maximum, I should be your destination. Am I wrong. The road 'paved but quite disastrous: potholes and unpaved sections every ten kilometers, work in progress. Traffic (and 'the only road from the east coast port in Pekanbaru), and some river overflows due to a flood that did not make things worse. It travels to sob. Speed \u200b\u200b' dei trasferimenti in Malesia e' presto dimenticata.
Sul pullman mi si affianca un tecnico petrolifero indonesiano di ritorno a casa per il fine settimana (e' un venerdi pomeriggio); abita a Pekanbaru e parla bene inglese perche' ha lavorato per anni per una compagnia statunitense. Dopo un po' che chiaccheriamo mi offre alloggio a casa sua per la serata; sono sorpreso: una proposta del genere non mi era ancora capitata!
A una trentina di km dalla citta' il traffico si blocca: un fiume ha rotto gli argini e sta sommergendo la strada. Si passa piano e uno alla volta. Alcune case sono per meta' coperte dall'acqua e gli inquilini stanno salvando il salvabile e si dirigono verso tratti di terreno asciutto. Brutta storia.
The day, which provided a quiet, turns out to be very long and when the bus arrives at Pekanbaru are now past the 20. My traveling companion is more excuse for not being able to 'hold' cause it has a very small child who needs to sleep. Directs me to the correct taxi (a small minibus), destination downtown, 'and say hello to me.
eat a platter of fried rice (nasi goreng, one of the specialties' national) and then I put to bed. I recall a while now: I have not seen a traveler, stranger, and I spent the day on the bus.
The next day I wake up early and take a bus to Bukittinggi, a town on the mountain range that runs from north to south, the entire island of Sumatra. It 's the meeting zone of two earth plates that, over the millennia, has generated a mountain range of volcanoes up to nearly 4000m high and continues to periodically shake this land by violent and sudden earthquakes.
The bus and 'half decrepit that stops all the time to load passengers, a kind of taxi giant falls to pieces. Little use to cover 200km over 7 hours. 30km times average, not bad ...
arrived in Bukittinggi not know where to settle down. I have not found a travel guide for Indonesia and I'm so "pro de ndo-sight using only a geographical map the country. I am therefore asking for information all the time and, not knowing the language, I can hardly make myself understood. Fermatomi at a kiosk selling cell phones (there are thousands in Indonesia) you ask for a budget hotel and I find myself riding a scooter salesman who, before taking them to their destination, he decides to do a tour of Bukittinggi. I left his cell phone number and asks if we can meet tomorrow. Well, yes, I see no problem ... His name is Riki. The soprannominero '... Molly!
Rene '
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