Dumai

Dumai is the main port city in Riau province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Typical of such cities, it is quite seedy and there is nothing really much to do once you have arrived except to get out as soon as you can. However, you may well find yourself arriving here as it is a major ferry port with connections to the Malaysian cities of Port Klang, Port Dickson and Malacca as well as other Indonesian cities like Bengkalis and Batam. Get in A few good Hotels are there to Check in e.g. Hotel Grand Zuri & Hotel Comfort. Grand Zuri is better. It is neat and clean and loctaed at Centre place. Foods and drinks are available in the Hotel. Limited Vegterian Dish is available. By road Dumai is well connected by Road from Pekanbaru and Medan. It takes appx 5 Hrs to reach Dumai from Pekanbaru which is capital city of Riau Province. Mode of transport is either by Bus or by Travels (Shared Car Pool). The cost appx IDR 70,000/- per person by Travels and IDR 50,000/- per person by bus. If you book the full Car it is IDR 450,000/- appx from Pekanbaru. The roads are not good. Also it is connected by Bus to Medan whick takes 10 hrs. The cost of travel wil be appx IDR 150,000/- to IDR 200,000/-per person depending upon the Bus. By air There is a Airport in Dumai. Earlier there was a flight Service for Medan-Dumai-Medan weekly thrice. Now it is stopped. Also there is a flight service operated by Pertamina ( Oil Producing Company) for there internal employees weekly thrice from Jakarta. No other mode of direct Air Travel. From Jakarta one have to reach Pekanbaru by Air and after that by Taxi or Bus. By boat From Malaysia Ferries operate from the following Malaysian cities: Port Klang: Several operators run daily ferries to/from Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur. They include: Indomal Express/Malaysia Express: Contact Doyan Shipping in Port Klang (Tel: +60-3-3167 1058). From Malaysia, RM100 one-way. Journey takes just under 3 hours. Please note that since the 12th of September 2011, the Port Klang passenger terminal charges a departure tax of RM 20 wether you arrive from Dumai or depart from Port Klang, if you don't have the amount in Malaysian Ringgits you are allowed to pay in Indonesian Rupiah but the rate are quite bad. Port Dickson: The Acob Express (Port Dickson Jetty office Tel: +60-6-6471599) operates daily to/from Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan. From Malaysia, it is RM85/160 one-way/return. Departs Dumai 1300, Port Dickson 1030. Indomal Express also available available from Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. From Malaysia, RM170 two-way. Operated by Tunas Rupat Follow Me Express Malacca: One ferry daily, operated by Tunas Rupat Follow Me Express (Dumai agent at Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 425. Tel: +62-765-31398; Malacca Ticketing booth at Jln PM10, Plaza Mahkota Melaka Raya. Tel: +60-6-2816766 or office at +60-6-2832506, +60-6-2832516). Ferries from Malacca depart at 1000. Journey time roughly about two hours. Tickets from Malacca cost RM110/170 one-way/return. Terminal charge RM20 excluded. From other parts of Indonesia Batam, Bintan and other Riau Islands: Dumai Express (Tel: +62-765-31820; Office at Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No.425) operates several ferries to/from Batam and Bintan. Most ferries stop by Bengkalis off the coast of Riau, and also Tanjung Balai on Karimun Island. Batam Jet (Tel: +62-765-35888; Office at Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No.441) has daily ferries to Batam. In Batam, ferries dock at Sekupang, next to the international ferry terminal where there are connecting ferries to Singapore. In Bintan, ferries arrive/depart from Tanjung Pinang harbour in the middle of town. Other islands: Indonesia's national passenger shipping company Pelni ships call at Dumai, linking it with Sumatran ports like Medan and other Indonesian islands like Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Get around Nothing much to see if you don't have a transport. The town is quite small where you can walk around in half a day just like Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia. See Chinese temple Chinese Temple, Jalan Kelakap 7 (about 5 minutes walk from bus terminal). Almanan Mosque Grand Mosque Almanan, about 15 km from the city center on the way to Pekanbaru. Do Buy There is small shopping mall called Ramayana. Everything for normal consumption is available. There are also stores called Besta Jaya and Hari Hari. Hari Hari is better organised for buying daily needs. For fruit and vegetables there is a daytime market (Pasar) open seven days a week. The Pasar is a traditional Market for daily fruit and vegetables, fish, other groceries and clothes. The prices are very high as compared to other cities in Indonesia and is referred to as the Dollar City of Indonesia. There is no home production in Dumai except palm plantations. It is recommended not to buy anything unless it is urgently required. Eat Minang Sari. Delicious bakso (meatball soup). You can try Nasi Padang, cheap. Four persons' share costs less than RM20. The famous Indonesian Food Restaurant (Nasi padang) is Pak Datuk. Even Jakarta people buy from this restaurant. Drink Sleep There are two or three nice and new hotels. Once you reach the jetty, do not allow any touts to bother you. Walk fast and get a trycycle to go to your hotel. Do not tell anybody how long you are going to stay. You can say you came for business meeting with your boss. Your boss is arriving later. You won't be bothered after that. Otherwise the van touts and tricycle touts will try to push prostitutes. Get out The local bus station is about 3 km out of Dumai where busses leave for the nextmost tourist destinations in Sumatra, Bukittinggi (ca. 8-9 hrs) or Lake Maninjau. This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!