Touring Indonesia Harmoni #27: The Central Sumatra Bus, Mistaken Honeymooners, and a Swab-Test Standoff

Once we arrived in Solok, we were joined with the passengers who had boarded the Sembodo bus from Bukittinggi. This time, the route taken was the Central Sumatra corridor. So over the course of this tour, we had now traveled the western, eastern, and central routes of Sumatra. The distance from Padang to Jakarta was only one day and one night. However, the road we took was in quite a sorry state. I thought to myself that this was the route I would take when I rode home with Nyak Ver. In the middle of the night, riding the bus felt like sailing a ship across the open ocean.

The central route is indeed rather quiet compared with the eastern one. Here the bus heads toward Padang or Padang Sidempuan and then on to Medan. We enjoyed this journey, even while avoiding the rice stalls or restaurants chosen by the bus company. Our tickets did include a free meal coupon, but if the meal exceeded 25 thousand rupiah, we had to pay the difference. Riding this bus, I felt a strong Minang atmosphere, in contrast to the Putra Pelangi bus, where the Aceh and Medan flavor was so pronounced.

During the ride, I kept my conversation with the other passengers to a minimum, because the atmosphere was not entirely comfortable, since we were the only passengers from Aceh. Besides, the other passengers were Minang people heading to Jakarta. One passenger assumed we were on our honeymoon, because we were mostly quiet and always together wherever we went whenever we got off the bus. Once we struck up a conversation and mentioned that we already had five ‘lights of the heart’ — our children — several passengers were taken aback. We explained that we were a couple from Aceh touring around Indonesia. After that, some passengers grew friendly and began asking about our touring experiences.

Inside the bus, a heated discussion broke out about the requirement for an Antigen Swab for land, sea, and air travel. Each passenger held their own view on the obligation to take a Covid test in order to board the ferry. We restrained ourselves from commenting, because most of the passengers did not want to take a Covid test, for which each person had to pay 100 thousand rupiah. This debate arose when the conductor announced that before boarding the ferry, passengers were required to carry a Covid-19 negative certificate. As soon as we reached one of the eateries, there was already a booth set up there for the Antigen Swabtest. Passengers would be called by name while we had lunch at that eatery.

Before getting off for lunch, the conductor had already collected the passengers’ ID cards inside the bus. As soon as we heard our names called, we went straight to the booth. The place was indeed not very sterile, since it was not inside a building or a hospital or clinic room. After the test, we crossed over to drink coconut water. Then, toward late afternoon, the bus departed from Kalianda for Bakauheni Harbor, in South Lampung. As the bus approached the lane to board the ship, it was suddenly stopped by plainclothes police. They asked the bus crew for the documents, and they received 17 sheets of test results, the Antigen Swab.

With that, our bus began to be inspected thoroughly. Some passengers’ belongings were forced open for checking. The passengers glanced at one another. Then a commotion erupted inside the bus, because it turned out some passengers refused to take the test. To cut a long story short, the bus was turned back out of the port. Those who had not yet been tested were ordered to take the test at a clinic. Their ID cards were collected so the results could be typed up. Once this matter was settled, the bus re-entered Bakauheni Harbor. After that, we sailed for two hours toward Merak Harbor.

About The Author

Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad

Prof. Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad (KBA) has followed his curiosity throughout life, which has carried him into the fields of Sociology of Anthropology of Religion in Southeast Asia, Islamic Studies, Sufism, Cosmology, and Security, Geostrategy, Terrorism, and Geopolitics. Prof. KBA is the author of over 30 books and 50 academic and professional journal articles and book chapters. His academic training is in social anthropology at La Trobe University, Islamic Political Science at the University of Malaya, and Islamic Legal Studies at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. He received many fellowships: Asian Public Intellectual (The Nippon Foundation), IVLP (American Government), Young Muslim Intellectual (Japan Foundation), and Islamic Studies from Within (Rockefeller Foundation). Currently, he is Dean of Faculty and Shariah, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

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