Dumai

May 31

I arrived here late last night, at around 2.30pm. The bus ride from Bukittinggi took 13 hours even though they told me it would be 8. The bus did break down but only took one hour to repair so I’m not sure where the other hours came from. I also had to change to a smaller shuttle at about midnight and I’m still not sure why. Maybe the bus driver had had enough. He hailed the shuttle to take me and one other passenger the rest of the way to Dumai. I got dropped at a seedy hotel which seemed to incorporate a brothel on the ground floor. Couldn’t really go looking for another hotel at that hour so had to stay one night there but checked out early.

On the way here I crossed the Equator. I was hoping for some indication to mark the spot but was none so I’m not sure just where the occasion took place, but I am now in the Northern Hemisphere.

I thought there was an afternoon ferry to Melaka but this turned out not to be the case so I have to stay another night in Indonesia and leave tomorrow morning.