BAKAUHENI IS THE NAME OF THE PORT I GOT OF – SOUTH SUMATRA. ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS ON TH FERRY – IF THAT. NIGHTTIME.

I DECIDED TO DRIVE FOR A BIT AND CRASHED OUT IN SOME SHITTY HOTEL

THE ROADS ARE BUSY AND TRAFFIC IS GOING SO SLOW..

SUAMTRA IS A VERY LARGE ISLAND AND I KNEW I HAVE TO CATCH A FERRY OR GET A CONTAINER AT SOME POINT TO GET OVER TO MALAYSIA. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE GO WITHOUT ANY REAL SUCCESS. THERE IS NO FERRIES BETWEEN SUMATRA AND MALAYSIA. THE DOWNER – THE PORT OF DUMAI WHICH IS VERY CLOSE TO MALAYSIA STOPPED THEIR INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDING A FEW YEARS AGO. SO I HAD TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO MEDAN – PRETTY MUCH – VERY NORTH OF SUMATRA. 1800 KM TO DRIVE. AVERAGE SPEED – SLOW. ANYWAY THERE WAS A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL WINDY ROADS AND THE NATURE – JUST STUNNING. STILL I WAS ABOUT TO RUN OUT OF VISA SO I HAD TO DRIVE A LOT. I BASICALLY SPENT ALL DAY IN THE CAR – DRIVING – EATING – DRIVING – EATING – SLEEPING

I DROVE INTO THE NIGHT EVERY SINGLE DAY – PAST MIDNIGHT SOMETIMES – THERE IS NOT MANY TOWNS SO A FEW NIGHTS I HAD TO CRASH OUT ON THE BACKSEATS – THE GOOD THING. I GOT UP AND STARTED DRIVING STRAIGHT AWAY. EVEN I DROVE ALL DAY I ONLY AVERAGED ABOUT 500 KM

I TRIED TO CONTACT SHIPPING AGENCIES IN MEDAN TO ORGANISE THE SHIPMENT OF THE CAR BUT IT WAS NOT REALLY POSSIBLE TO SORT ANYTHING OUT OVER HE PHONE…THAT WASN’T REALLY GOOD BECAUSE I KNEW I WILL LOOSE A LOT OF TIME WAITING FOR THE CAR TO BE SHIPPED.

TIME FOR SOME AFTERNOON RAIN

EVENTUALLY I GOT IN CONTACT WITH A SHIPPING AGENCY – I MAILED THEM ALL MY DOCUMENT. MY REQUEST – SHIP THIS THING TO KUALA LUMPUR AS QUICK AS YOU CAN – THEIR RESPONSE – THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY PAPERWORK LIKE THAT (CARNET) AND THEY NEED TO LEARN ABOUT IT FIRST. WELL THAT WAS A GOOD START. ANYWAY I KNEW NOTHING IS GONNA HAPPEN UNTIL I GET TO THEIR OFFICE TO EXPLAIN THEM EVERYTHING IN PERSON.

IT WAS ALREADY LATE – ONLY A COUPLE OF HUNDRED KILOMETERS TO GO TO MEDAN. I WANTED TO KEEP DRIVING FOR A BIT SO I ONLY HAVE TO DO 100KM IN THE MORNING TO GET TO THE SHIPPING OFFICE AS EARLY IN THE MORNING AS POSSIBLE. SO I KEPT DRIVING – IT GOT CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT. I KNEW I AM NOT GONNA FIND A HOTEL SO I STOPPED AT AN -ALPHAMART  (LIKE 7/11 JUST THE INDONESIAN VERSION OF IT) TO GET SOME WATER FOR THE NIGHT.

I PARKED MY CAR RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP – LIKE ALWAYS THERE IS A FEW GUYS HANGING AROUND IN THE PARKING ON THEIR SCOOTERS. MAINLY ON THEIR PHONES OR SMOKING CIGARETTES. I GET APPROACHED BY 2 OR 3 OF THEM. QUESTIONS ABOUT MY NUMBERPLATE AND MY ORIGIN ARE GETTING THROWN AT ME. NOTHING NEW – THAT HAPPENS 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES WHEN I STOP AT ONE OF THOSE ‘ALPHAMARTS’. I ANSWERED ALL THEIR QUESTIONS – WENT INTO THE SHOP TO GOT SOME WATER AND STEP BACK OUT. THE GUYS ARE STILL HANGING ABOUT – ANOTHER ROUND OF QUESTIONS ARE GETTING THROWN AT ME. NOTHING NEW AGAIN – BUT NOW IT STARTS;

‘I AM THE POLICE’ ON OF THEM TELLS ME – HE IS LEANING ON HIS SCOOTER AND DRESSED LIKE THE AVERAGE GUY. HE PULLS OUT SOME SORT OF ID – NO PICTURE ON IT AND THERE WAS ONE WORD ON IT THAT INCLUDED SOMETHING LIKE ‘POLIS’ – I SAID THAT IT IS GREAT THAT HE IS THE POLICE AND PRETENDED I DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT HE WANTS SOMETHING FROM ME. GUY NUMBER TWO LOKKS AT ME AND TELLS ME ‘I AM COP’ – HE WAS ALSO DRESSED LIKE ANYONE ELSE THAT HANGS AROUND IN AN ‘ALPHAMART’ CARPARK. I RESPOND ‘AH NICE’ BUT I SURELY HAD THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT HERE. I AM GETTING ASKED FOR MY PASSPORT AND I THOUGHT F*CK SOMTHING IS GONNA GO REALLY WRONG HERE. LATE AT NIGHT..IN SOME RANDOM INDONESIAN TOWN THAT I DON’T EVEN KNOW THE NAME OF WITH THESE GUYS – BARELY SPARKING ENGLISH. I TRIED TO STAY COOL  AND SAID ‘YEAH SURE YOU CAN HAVE LOOK AT MY PASSPORT’ – I JUMPED IN THE CAR, TURNED THE ENGINE ON AND LOOKED FOR MY OLD PASSPORT – IT’S NOT VALID AND LOOKS LIKE A PIECE OF SHIT AND IT IS BARELY IN ONE PIECE – I HANDED IT OUT OF THE WINDOW TO ONE OF THE ‘COPS’ – HE GRABBED THE PASSPORT AND TOLD ME TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND STEP OUT OF THE CAR – IMMEDIATELY! AND HE WANTS TO SEE MY REAL PASSPORT. I SAID ‘WHAT THE F*UCK IS GOING ON. I WILL NOT TURN OFF THE ENGINE, OR GIVE HIM A REAL PASSPORT IF THERE IS NO REAL POLICE AROUND. HE TOLD ME TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AGAIN. I QUICKLY GRABBED MY OLD PASSPORT OUT OF HIS HAND – JAMMED THE STICK IN REVERSE AND TOOK OFF. THE GUYS JELLED AOROUND AND QUICKLY JUMPED ON THEIR SCOOTERS TO PURSUIT. I PUT MY FOOT ALL THE WAY DOWN AND DROVE AWAY AS QUICK AS I COULD – NOW I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THAT THESE INDONESIAN TOWNS ARE JUST BUILD ON THE MAINROAD – AND THERE IIS USUALLY ONLY ON ROAD AND I WOULDN;T EVEN WANT TO TRY ANY OF THE SIDESTREETS. ND THERE IS ONLY TWO LANES – ONE FOR EACH DIRECTIONS. I DROVE LIKE A MANIAC, OVERTAKING TRUCKS AND SCOOTERS OVER THE FOOTPATH – IT WAS SCARY – PITCHBLACK AND CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT – THEIR SCOOTER LIGHTS IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR. I HAD A LOOK AT THE FUELGAGE. I HAVEN’T HAD MUCH LEFT IN THE TANK. I THOUGHT THEY ARE PROBABLY JUST GANGSTERS AND WILL STOP CHASING ME AS SOON AS I GET OUT OF TOWN. I KEPT DRIVING AND DRIVING FOR PROBABLY NOT LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES – THE SCOOTER LIGHTS  STILL CLOSE. SUDDENLY I HAD TO SLAM THE BREAKS – TWO MASSIVE TRUCKS SIDEWAYS – BLOCKING THE ROAD AND SIDELANES – I WAS F*CKED – THAT WAS STILL INSIDE OF TOWN SO NO WAY OF ESCAPING IN ANY DIRECTION. I STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING – APPROX 15 PEOPLE RUN TOWARDS MY CAR. ‘POLICE GET OUT THE VEHICLE’ – I REFUSED. ONE GUY ARRIVES – HE IS WEARING A BLUE POLO SHIRT – HE TURNS AROUND AND POINTS HIS THUMBS TOWARDS HIS BACK ‘POLIS’ WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF HIS SHIRT. I TOLD HIM THAT I DON’T BELIEVE HIM. SOMEONE OUT OF THE CROWD HANDS HIM A POLICE BATCH THAT HE HANGS AROUND HIS NECK – ‘I AM POLICE’ HE SAYS ‘MOVE YOUR VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD’ I TOLD HIM I WILL NOT GO ANYWHERE UNTIL I WILL SEE A POLICE CAR OR SOMEONE IN REAL UNIFORM. HE TURNS AROUND AND SHOWS THE BACK OF HIS SHIRT AGAIN AND HOLDS HIS BATCH INTO MY FACE ‘POLICE’ ‘POLICE’ I DEFINITELY DIN’T ENJOY THIS MOMENT. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE GATHER AROUND MY CAR AND THE FIRST GUY FROM THE SHOP ARRIVES AT THE SCENE ‘POLICE’ – AGAIN I SAID THAT I WILL NOT SURRENDER UNTIL I SEE SOMETHING THAT INDICATED REAL POLICE – THE ‘OFFICERS’ TELL ME AGAIN TO MOVE OFF THE ROAD – PARK MY CAR AND – I AM BLOCKING THE TRAFFIC – BEHIND ME MILLIONS OF CARS AND SCOOTERS GOING AROUND MY AND THROUGH THE TRUCK-ROADBLOCK. I REPEAT GAIN THAT I DON’T LIKE THAT THERE IS NO REAL POLICE AROUND. THE GUYS GOT UPSET. THAT WAS A GOOD THING. I HAD THE FEELING THE TWO ‘COPS’ GOT ANGRY BECAUSE I DIDN’T LISTEN TO THEIR ORDERS. ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THEIR FACES THAT TOLD ME THEY FEEL DISRESPECTED. I THOUGHT THAT COULD ONLY HAPPEN IF THEY ARE REAL COPS. I MEAN HOW CAN YOU FEEL DISRESPECTED IF YOU ARE A GANGSTER. AND AT THIS TIME THERE WAS A LOT OF SPECTATORS AROUND THE SCENE ASWELL – WHICH DIDN’T MAKE ME FEEL ANY SAFER THOUGH BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW WHO IS WHO – EVERYBODY LOKKED THE SAME ‘COPS’ AND NO COPS. – I MOVED OFF THE ROAD – THE TRUCKS GOT SENT AWAY AND THE TRAFFIC STARTED GOING AGAIN. ABOUT 20 PEOPLE AROUD MY CAR NOW. THE GUY IN THE ‘POLIS’ SHIRT SEEMED TO BE IN CHARGE.

HE WANTED TO SEE PAPERWORK THE THE VEHICLE AS WELL AS MY PASSPORT. I TOLD HIM THAT I WANT EVERYONE WHO IS NOT A COP TO STEP AWAY FROM MY VEHICLE. HE SAID SOMETHING TO THE BYSTANDERS BUT NOONE REALLY MOVED AWAY ANY FURTHER. MY PASSPORT AND PAPERWORK IS GETTING CHECKED AND SOMEONE HANDS OVER A MOBILE PHONE TO ME – ON THE OTHER SIDE A WELL SPOKEN OLDER GUY I GUESS. I EXPLAINED TO HIM ON WHAT PAPERWORK I AM TRAVELLING AND THAT I DON’T LIKE THE WAY THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT THE MOMENT. HE SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND AND TOLD ME THAT HE WANTS ME TO ACCEPT THAT THE ‘OFFICERS’ CHECK MY CAR. I SAID I AGREE IF ONLY ONE PERSON IS LOOKING THROUGH IT. SOME PEOPLE IN THE BACKGROUND DRAG AN OLD FELLA TO MY DOOR AND PULL DOWN HIS JACKED. UNDERNEATH. SOME POLICE UNIFORM. HE DIDN’T SAY I WORD AND JUST STOOD THERE. I TOLD MR ‘POLIS’ THAT HE CAN HAVE A LOOK TRHOUGH MY CAR IF ANYONE ELSE IS STEPPING AWAY. HE AGREED. THIS TIME EVERYONE ACTUALLY STEPPED AWAY FOR A FEW METERS. HE WENT TROUGH A FEW THINGS. ACTUALLY OPENED MY MACBOOKBAG AND FOUND SOME PAPERWORK – A POLICE DOCUMENT FOR A MY STOLEN IPHONE. HE WAS ASKING QUESTIONS. SO AT LEAST HE WAS SOMEHOW INVESTIGATING. AFTER A GOOD 10 MINUTES OF CHECKING OUT MY THINGS HE WAS DONE AND I GOOD TO GO. HANDSHAKE AND I DROVE OFF. NOTHING I NEEDED THAT’S FOR SURE.

I DROVE FOR ANOTHER HALF AN HOUR AND CHECKED THAT NOBODY IS FOLLOWING. I THOUGH THEY ACTUALLY MUST HAVE BEEN REAL COPS BUT THE WAY THEY APPROACHED ME JUST WASN’T RIGHT AT 12 O’CLOCK AT NIGHT…

I AM ATTRACTING TROUBLE I GUESS

THE NEXT MORNING; WENT TO THE SHIPPING AGENCY FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. LOVELY PEOPLE JUST EFFICIENCY MIGHT NOT BE THEIR SPECIALITY. THEY HAVEN’T SHIPPED A VEHICLE ACROSS TO MALAYSIA YET SO EVERYTHING WAS NEW TO THEM. I ONLY HAD 4 DAYS LEFT ON MY VISA AND FRIENDS WAITED IN KUALA LUMPUR SO I NEEDED THAT CAR TO GO INTO THE CONTAINER ASAP! UNLUCKY THAT CHINESE NEWYEAR WAS UPCOMING…

SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WAITING TIME… TIME TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

FINALLY AFTER 5 DAYS ALL THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK WAS SORTED AND THE CAR ALLOWED TO BE TAKEN TO BELAWAN – MEDAN’S PORT TO GET CHECKED BY THE CUSTOMS (ONLY TOOK 7 HOURS OF WAITING)

DROVE THE CAR INTO THE CONTAINER..

AND

THE CAR WAS ALREADY IN THE CONTAINER BUT THE GUYS DIDN’T WANT TO SEAL IT BECAUSE IT NEEDED ANOTHER CUSTOMS EXAMINATION – SHIT ORGANISATION OF THINGS SO I HAD TO LEAVE TO CATCH MY FLIGHT WITHOUT SEEING THE CONTAINER BEEING SHUT. I DIDN’T LIKE IT

OFF TO MALAYSIA