Entry 3 - Island hopping in Indonesia - Sampan Bakar (Bakar's Boat)

Where do I even begin to start telling the events of this day?!? It was time to move on to the next island "Pulau Lingga". I cycled back up to Jago on the north coast ofPulau Singkep, where I could catch a 45 minute sampan over to Lingga. I got there around noon and sat down at one of the little drinks stalls to rest from the ride and try to find a boat. There were a few nice guys there and we had a really nice conversation about where they buy their Nike caps, and Polo shirts in Jambi, and did I think they could find a Converse cap like mine in Jakarta? It was very bizarre, but it was another chance for me to polish my Bahasa (it needs A LOT of polishing).

One of the guys sitting there was ''Bakar'' who owned a Pompon. I just found out hat "sampan" in Indonesian is "Pompon". Now for the benefit of those of you who have never been in a sampan or a pompon, let me provide a brief description. They're basically wooden boats about 30ft long and MAYBE 3ft wide. Pretty flat on the bottom, with some form of ancient motor sitting in the center. They are one of the scarier forms of transportation in Asia, and in a society where you can fit a family of 4 on to a motor scooter, that's really saying something! The nice thing about sampans is that once you've been out in the open ocean in one, you'll never get seasick in another boat again!

Anyhow, Bakar offered to take me to Lingga for 35,000 Rupiah. A family that I met in the morning told me not to pay anything more than 30,000, and I was in no rush so I decided to hold out for a better price. That of course didn't work, because an hour later when I actually was ready to go, Bakar had disapeared and the only guy left on the pier wanted to charge me 50,000 Rupiah. "Economic crisis price" they chuckled, as I argued: "Saya tak touriste, saya dari Singapura. Tiga-Puluh-Ribuh, lah" ( I ain't no tourist, gimme the real price 30,000, please!) No luck, they wouldn't budge, so I went back in search ofBakar and his 35,000 offer. He was happy to see me again, and after a short struggle of carrying the bike down the ladder, we were loaded up and ready to go!

Bakar starts cranking the engine like it is some 1912Ford, and sure enough after a few dozen turns it kicks over and starts belching like some 1912 Ford. But at least we were on our way for now.

About 15 minutes out towards the open water and the engine starts making strange sounds and then dies. So there we sit Bakar, me and my bike bobbing up and down on the waves in the middle of nowhere on the Pacific Ocean. I was only mildly concerned until he started jumping around the boat with a claw-hammer in his hands claiming he knew exactly what was wrong.
Sure enough, the chain to the propeller shaft had broken, so Bakar pulled out his one spare one and fitted it to the engine. After about 15minutes we were just about ready to start moving again (horizontally, as opposed to the vertical elevator ride of the waves rolling by underneath us). I started yelling to Bakar: "NO! WAIT!! STOP!" He had left his sandal inside the engine compartment and was about to put the cover back on! Then in an incredible display of mime, that would have put Marcel Marsaux to shame Bakar explained that: ''By placing the sandal between the chain and the engine cross member, the elasticity of the rubber material will maintain a constant level of tension on the chain and thus stop it from snapping again." Gee I love cross-cultural communications!!

Too bad the sandals were old and kind of dried out, because fifteen minutes later the "one spare chain" snapped, the engine died, and there we were bobbing up and down on the waves again. for the first time in years my head was filled with the tune of the great 80's song ferryman... 'til he gets you to the other side."