After finishing up at Greentech, we searched for a place to stay the night in Pekanbaru. The city we were aiming for next was Medan. Once again, the distance was quite considerable. From my several long-distance journeys, I always split the distance between these two cities into two, which is why Bagan Batu was always our choice of stopover. The next day, we prepared for the route to Bagan Batu. The distance was not too far, so we did not set off very early. It must be admitted that Pekanbaru is also one of the more congested cities in Sumatra. Development here is happening at a very rapid pace. When I visited the city a few years ago, one local told me that Pekanbaru’s growth is all built on “palm-oil money.”
As soon as we left the lodging, we headed straight toward North Sumatra. Here we always have a peculiar experience, because when leaving Pekanbaru the GPS keeps directing us into a Pertamina complex or compound. The navigation device always reads the roads inside that complex as passable routes toward North Sumatra. But drawing on previous experience, I steered Nyak Ver to find a suitable direction that did not match what the GPS suggested.
Once we found the route toward Duri or Dumai, I could already sense that our heading was North Sumatra. As originally planned, the goal for the day was to reach Bagan Batu. The road to this border town was fairly quiet, because the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road has left the old Trans-Sumatra Highway relatively empty. Even so, rain greeted our journey. I tried not to stop, since that would slow our arrival in Bagan Batu. We did pause at a mosque to perform the midday prayer.
While travelling through Sumatra, we deliberately reduced the number of stops, given that the distances and the towns along the way are unlike those on Java. On Java, within a radius of 80-100 km you are certain to find a regency capital or a tourist town to pass through. In Sumatra, by contrast, the distance between one city and the next is quite far, much like our experience on the islands of Sulawesi and Kalimantan. By late afternoon, Nyak Ver reached the town of Bagan Batu. Because we had stayed in this border town several times before, it was not difficult for us to find lodging.
This town is well known as a transit point for those heading to North Sumatra or Riau. So although it is small, it is quite lively, especially at night, because travellers along the Trans-Sumatra Highway choose to rest here before continuing their journey the next day. The following morning, we set off straight for Medan, hoping to reach the capital of North Sumatra province by late afternoon.
However, this plan could not be realised, because midway through the journey the rain kept pouring down on the Trans-Sumatra Highway. We had to reconsider: forcing our way to Medan would very likely mean arriving in the middle of the night, a situation we absolutely wanted to avoid. While sheltering from the downpour, my wife searched for a hotel in the area around us. As it turned out, not far from where we were taking shelter, there was a guesthouse. Through the pouring rain, we headed straight for the hotel.
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