Tanjung Balai Karimun

When we did the Pontian trip in August, I had this vision that we could go to Kukup and continue to Tanjung Balai Karimun. However, since it was a magical mystery tour and the next destination was decided by majority, even the proud owner of Robinson Travel would have to follow the crowd. That's how we ended up returning to Johor Bahru and staying overnight in KSL area after our failed attempt to Batam. 

That didn't mean Tanjung Balai was forgotten, though. I still thought that perhaps I should go and take a look. Therefore another trip was planned, this time with my colleagues. The weekend getaway was to be done right after I came back from my Beijing trip. Ferry tickets were booked when I returned to Singapore, but I couldn't get the rooms at Aston, so I eventually settled with Holiday Karimun Hotel due to its proximity to the seaport. 

The arrival!

Together with me were Emerson and Nicholas. James was supposed to be there, too, but he had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. We met at Harbourfront and after the two-hour ferry ride, we reached Tanjung Balai in the afternoon. We queued for a while to get our passports stamped, then we stepped out... and travelled back in time.

In 2015, I went to Tanjungpinang. It was mind boggling because the town was so rundown. But at least it had a plaza or two. Fast forward to nine years later, here I was in Tanjung Balai. There was neither malls nor cinemas. The city centre is this tiny Chinatown area that consists of three main roads and it is about 1,5 KM from one end to another. 

Our late lunch at Andrew's Kitchen.

After check-in, as we walked from our hotel to Andrew's Kitchen, we literally covered the city centre in 20 minutes. We had lunch, walked back to Hotel Maximilian for massage, returned to hotel and showered, then called Gojek to Long Beach, which is like two minutes away from Hotel Maximilian. 

Long Beach is a seafood restaurant and at SGD 76 for three, it was the most expensive meal we had in Tanjung Balai. The crab in Padang sauce was especially nice. It was there that we noticed a lot of Indians visiting the town. Later on, when Agu the restaurant owner gave us a lift to Aston Hotel, he told us that Indians from Malaysia go to Tanjung Balai whereas the Chinese from Singapore will visit Batam instead.

At Long Beach.

We wanted to chill at this club called Champion Executive at Aston, but it turned out that the club was closed for renovation, so we called Maxim and headed to Hotel Satria. A bit about Maxim here, it was more popular than Gojek because the fee was cheaper. As a matter of fact, the two times I called Gojek, I got the same guy. He was probably the only Gojek driver in town! 

Now, Hotel Satria felt a bit dodgy. It had a club, but it was either the music was too loud or we were too old that we decided the scene wasn't for us. We asked if there was a place for us to sit and drink, then we were redirected to a table between entrance and receptionist desk. It was just odd to be there!

After finishing our beer, we moved to Wiko Star Club, which was just about 60 meters away. The club was equally loud, but it caught our attention that Wiko had a microbrewery, so we decided to sit outside and try out the beer. Quite decent, I'd say, but when the beer was downed, so our night was done, too. I fired up my Maxim and got a ride back to our hotel.

In front of Channel-U Bak Kut Teh.

The next day, the breakfast was so awful that we chose to replenish our food intake at Channel-U Bak Kut Teh that is located across the street. It was quite delicious and Channel-U was there to cover it a long while ago, hence the name. We ordered not only bak kut teh, but also mutton soup and, for me, pork porridge. 

After breakfast, we went for the one and only sightseeing for the day: Pelawan Beach. I contacted Pandy, our Maxim driver from the night before to bring us there. It was about 15 KM from where we were. We had a quick walk when we got there, then return to the city for foot reflexology for an hour. It was timed pretty well, just nice for us to check out, had our lunch at Restoran Sederhana and headed to the seaport for our ferry ride back to Singapore.

Pelawan Beach.

Looking back, I couldn't help finding it funny how Tanjung Balai overtook Tanjungpinang's reputation in my mind as the most rundown town in Indonesia. I like the mind blowing feeling. For Nicholas, the last time he went there was 27 years ago. We were kidding that if we were to go there again 20 years later, he'd be in his 70s by then. But hey, never say never!

Tanjung Balai Karimun

Ketika kita berlibur ke Pontian di bulan Agustus, saya membayangkan bahwa kita bisa ke Kukup dan lanjut ke Tanjung Balai Karimun. Namun karena liburan tersebut bertema perjalanan misteri, maka destinasi berikutnya pun ditentukan oleh mayoritas peserta. Bahkan Robinson Travel pun hanya bisa menurut. Kita akhirnya kembali ke Johor Bahru dan bermalam di kawasan KSL setelah upaya ke Batam gagal.

Akan tetapi ini tidak berarti Tanjung Balai telah terlupakan. Saya ingin melihat-lihat karena saya sudah begitu lama di Singapura, tapi tak pernah ke sana. Oleh karena itu liburan ke Tanjung Balai pun direncanakan lagi, kali ini bersama teman-teman kantor. Kita akan pergi setelah saya kembali dari Beijing. Tiket feri pun dibeli sehari sebelum keberangkatan, tapi Hotel Aston ternyata sudah penuh, jadi saya akhirnya memesan kamar di  Holiday Karimun Hotel yang dekat dengan pelabuhan.  

Waktu kita tiba!

Rekan-rekan seperjalanan saya adalah Emerson dan Nicholas. James juga seharusnya ikut, tapi dia akhirnya batal karena ibunya kurang sehat. Kita bertemu di Harbourfront dan setelah naik feri selama dua jam, kita tiba di Tanjung Balai pada sore hari. Setelah antri sejenak untuk cap paspor, kita melangkah keluar... dan kembali ke masa lalu. 

Di tahun 2015, saya pergi ke Tanjungpinang. Ini adalah satu pengalaman yang sangat membekas karena begitu terbelakangnya kota ini. Namun setidaknya Tanjungpinang memiliki satu atau dua pusat perbelanjaan. Sembilan tahun kemudian, saya berada di Tanjung Balai, kota yang bahkan tak ada mal dan bioskop. Pusat kotanya bernuansa Pecinan dan terdiri dari tiga ruas jalan, kira-kira 1,5 KM dari ujung ke ujung. 

Saat makan siang di Andrew's Kitchen.

Setelah menaruh tas, kita berjalan kaki dari hotel ke Andrew's Kitchen. Dalam 20 menit, pusat kotanya selesai kita jelajahi. Kita makan siang, mampir ke Hotel Maximilian untuk pijat, lalu kembali ke hotel kita dan mandi. Selanjutnya saya memanggil Gojek dan menuju ke Long Beach yang berjarak tempuh kira-kira dua menit dari Hotel Maximilian. 

Long Beach adalah restoran seafood dan dengan bon seharga 912.000 rupiah untuk tiga orang, ini adalah menu termahal kita di Tanjung Balai. Kepiting saus Padang-nya sedap nian. Selama bersantap malam, kita melihat banyak Indian. Setelah itu, selagi mendapat tumpangan dari Agu si pemilik restoran, dia bercerita bahwa Indian dari Malaysia biasanya ke Tanjung Balai sementara Tionghoa asal Singapura cenderung pergi ke Batam. 

Emerson dan Nicholas di Long Beach.

Kita maunya bersantai di klub yang bernama Champion Executive di Aston, tapi ternyata klub tersebut tutup karena renovasi. Oleh karena itu, kita pindah ke Hotel Satria menggunakan Maxim. Oh ya, bicara tentang Maxim, aplikasi ini lebih populer dari Gojek karena ongkosnya lebih murah. Berdasarkan pengalaman saya, dua kali saya memanggil Gojek, yang muncul selalu orang yang sama. Dia mungkin satu-satunya pengemudi Gojek di kota ini! 

Hotel Satria terasa agak janggal. Hotel ini ada klub, tapi entah musiknya yang terlalu keras atau kita yang sudah berumur, pokoknya terasa tidak cocok. Saya lantas bertanya, apakah ada tempat yang lebih santai buat kita untuk menikmati bir. Siapa sangka kita malah dibawa ke meja di antara pintu depan dan resepsionis yang penuh dengan orang berlalu-lalang. Janggal sekali rasanya! 

Setelah menenggak sekaleng Bir Bintang, kita berjalan ke Wiko Star Club yang berjarak sekitar 60 meter. Klub ini sama ributnya, tapi kompleks Wiko juga memiliki tempat pembuatan bir, jadi kita duduk di luar dan mencoba. Yang hitam cukup nikmat, namun berakhirnya bir juga berarti berakhirnya malam kita di Tanjung Balai. Saya menyalakan Maxim dan memanggil kendaraan untuk pulang. 

Di depan Channel-U Bak Kut Teh.

Di hari berikutnya, sarapan paginya begitu mengenaskan, sampai-sampai kita pindah ke seberang jalan untuk bersantap di Channel-U Bak Kut Teh. Kelezatannya bisa diacungi jempol dan beberapa waktu lalu memang sempat diliput oleh Channel-U Singapura. Kita memesan bak kut teh, sup kambing dan juga bubur babi untuk saya. 

Selesai bersantap, kita menuju ke Pantai Pelawan. Saya menghubungi Pandy, supir Maxim dari malam sebelumnya. Dia lalu membawa kita ke pantai yang berjarak 15 KM dari tempat kita. Setibanya di sana, kita mengitari pantai sejenak dan lalu kembali ke kota untuk pijat refleksi kaki. Estimasi saya cukup baik sehingga kita masih sempat check-out, makan siang di Restoran Sederhana dan akhirnya kembali ke Singapura. 

Pantai Pelawan.

Kalau dilihat kembali lagi, saya agak geli juga dengan prestasi Tanjung Balai yang mengambil alih reputasi Tanjungpinang sebagai kota paling terbelakang di benak saya. Rasanya seperti mengguncang pemahaman saya selama ini. Bagi Nicholas, terakhir kalinya dia ke Tanjung Balai adalah 27 tahun silam. Saya bercanda bahwa kita akan kembali lagi 20 tahun kemudian, saat dia berusia 70an. Dia turut tertawa, tapi siapa tahu sungguh terjadi nanti!