I am travelling to Bali in early July and would like to get
up to Sumatra (Lake Toba). I believe air flights are
expensive so I was thinking of flying to Jakarta only, then
catching a Pelni boat up to Medan. Has anyone done this or
know possible prices at the moment? Any other suggestions
about how to get there would be appreciated. I am
travelling with a 6 year old child so it would need to be a
"child friendly" route ie. not hours and hours spent in
cramped conditions. Also how do the Indonesian people feel
about Australians at the moment - do you think we could be
targets because it would be assumed we are Christians?
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A nice alternative which keeps you out of Jakarta would be
to fly to Batam (an hour by ferry from Singers, but in
Indonesia), then boat or fly (cheap) to Padang, West
Sumatra. Spend a day or so there, then a few days in the
area around Bukittinggi. Take a bus from there to Toba. Go
from Toba to Brastagi, and stay a couple of days. Go to
Medan and fly to Pekanbaru. Take the boat to Batam for your
return flight to Denpasar.
-
I like West Sumatra infinitely more than Toba in any case.
Check out:
www.1000traveltips.org
I did the same trip for 2 months last september(98). Email
if you have questions.
I've just returned from indonesia and i flew from Padang in
sumatra to Jogyakarta. it cost 1,140,000 rp (currently 5000
rp to Aus$). from yogya to bali i took a 2 day tourist bus
which stopped at mt bromo (really amazing) for the night and
following sunrise. it cost 95,000 rp which included the
nights accomodation. a flight directly from Padang to Bali
was approx 1,500,000 rp. if you're not interested in seeing
any of west sumatra its easier to go to Medan to access Lake
Toba. i think flights from there to bali were around 1.7mil
rp. the pelni ships are a lot cheaper and if you're in the
first or second class quite a nice way to travel (from what
i heard). i think these classes sell out quickly because i
met a few people who got stuck in economy class, which is
cheap but not the most comfortable journey. i don't
think you'll experience any problems for being either
Australian or christian, but keep an eye out for
post-election conditions in indonesia.hope this helps you
out.
Denpasar -> Singapore (air)
Singapore -> Malacca (bus)
Malacca -> Pekanbaru (ferry)
Pekanbaru -> Bukittingi (minibus)
Bukittingi -> Parapat (minibus)
Parapat -> Samosir (ferry)
The Bataks are now Christian, so you won't have any
religious problems in their heartland around Lake Toba. I'd
avoid staying in, or passing through, Medan as much as
possible during July ( the aftermath of the election ) as
Medan can be very political.
And bugger the politics - Toba was great when I was there in
December 1998.
Two other alternatives:
A) Bali to Jakarta by train or air...then catch the
Pelni boat to Padang (1st-3rd class)...then take a tourist
bus from Bukittinggi to Lake Toba. Or you could stay on the
Pelni line all the way to Sibolga and take a bus from there
(although Sibolga is a nightmare for scammers). The problem
with trying to use Pelni ships is that they run only every
other week to Sumatra. You'd have to hit it right. I believe
that Koen's 1000 Travel Tips site has a Pelni and Garuda
schedule and pricelist.
B) If you want to pass on West Sumatra (a tragedy
but you may have your reasons)...you could fly or Pelni to
Batam...then to Singapore...local bus it to Johor Bahru and
take a cheaper bus up to Penang...then cross by ferry ($
hours) to Medan. From there you can get to Bukit Lawang
Orangutan Center-Brastagi-Lake Toba quite easily.
And don't fret too much about being Australian. I
haven't heard any animosity expressed against them when they
are well-mannered...as in most cases it is behavior that
triggers these outbursts. Politeness goes a long ways in
Indonesia. Also, Indonesians LOVE children...and they see
so few young western kids in Sumatra that you will be
treated with special care and concern!