There is (at least there was, in February) a ´resort´ on the outskirts of Belawan, seemed like the only one in town that had some sort of decent rooms. We looked up 2-3 places before that, and they were disgusting ratholes. None of these were particularly cheap, so the low-end places were remarkably overpriced, wouldnt have wanted to stay in any of them for any price, they were that bad.

Medan is only 30 kms away, though, there must be plenty of options where to stay.

We also used Cakra Shipping from Penang, seemed to be the only option that worked fine at the time. We met several travellers, who had used them, and can also recommend them based on our own experience. No problems whatsoever with the customs, etc., and I later heard of travellers stuck with their vehicles at various ports/airports around Indonesia, not allowed entry, even though they had all paperwork, including carnet, and customs asking them some ridiculous things, like a recommendation letter from the UN!! I know things can and will change quickly in Indonesia, but at the time this route (Penang-Belawan) seemed like the only reasonable option.

In fact an Italian guy, who lives in Bali, and had had his Harley stuck at Surabaya port for 4-5 weeks, said after we met and discussed how we got our bike in, that he´s going to ship it to Singapore, and try doing it this same way. That´s one hell of a detour through Malaysia peninsula, and then Sumatra and Java, but may gives you some idea, how complicated it can be around there. He also had the carnet like we did.

Still Indonesia is a great experience, if you can get your bike in.

pecha72, thanks for the update on the situation in Belawan.

Indonesia seems really to be tricky to get in at some places. But I guess a lot depends on your negotiation skills - I met Darius here in Penang, he managed to get him, his wife and the bike from Sarawak/Borneo (Malaysia) into Kalimantan, something reported by others as impossible. But then, he also managed to get a 6 months stamp for his bike at the Thai border near Baling, something I would have thought not possible or very expensive.

But never heard of any serious troubles on the Penang-Belawan route, at least as long all papers were in order. Anyway, will post an update as soon as in Indonesia, In'sh'Allah!

Cheers, Jiri

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hey jiri,
you're right! we've done it and we're still in thailand. going to laos in about 2 weeks though. where are you buddy?? still in penang??
safe ride!

darius

Last week we dealt with the infamous Mr Monte.
Arrived at the speedboat port in Belawan Wednesday and tried for about 5hours to find a way to get our bike on the ferry to Penang. No dice.
Once we had exhausted all other options we then mentioned Mr Monte's name and he magically appeared before us within 10-15mins.
A few phone calls were made and another guy showed up to give us a figure and to tell us the next cargo boat leaves Sunday night.
Rp850 000 for everything which I thought wasnt too bad. We paid Rp300 000 as a deposit. And Monte gave us some tips on where to stay in Medan as I didnt want to spend 4days in Belawan.
We ended up staying at a place WAY above our budget but we needed to relax a little. Hotel Antares just south of the Mesjid Raya. Rp350 000 a night but it included a free buffet breakfast AND buffet lunch, maybe this is only for couples cos we noticed not everyone got the same deal. Theres free wifi in the foyer too. We enjoyed it so much that we slept in on Saturday and were late for our meeting with Mr Monte in Belawan, the day to hand over the bike to customs.
Left Medan at 11:15am in the pouring rain and managed to make it to Belawan port just on 12noon, the time when the Customs office closes for the week. Monte wasnt around at the meeting point but another guy gestured for us to follow him on his bike.
We were taken to meet Monte. We meet him just outside the gate, on the side of the road, under a blue tarp. Another guy appears on a scooter, Monte jumps on, takes my passport and carnet, and they both disappear down a flooded muddy backroad. We are left with the first guy who seems to be really nice, we chat for a while. After about 10minutes Monte and the other guy return and we all go back through the port gate and into Customs. Monte stays outside with Aki and I go into the empty/closed office with the other guy. He does all the talking and gets the stamps, chatting all the way. We then ride to the storage shed and drop off the bike. There were the compulsary dodgy types everywhere and ask what port do we pick up the bike from??? A unanimous Penang Port... We leave the bike in their "care" and catch a bus into town to find a place to sleep for the night. Rp10000 busfare for the 3 of us, Aki pays 6000, refusing to pay it all. Walk to the cheapest hotel Rp70 000, and the room looks like a sewer. Walk 150m to another but its full, Rp150 000 but from the outside looked just as bad as the first place. Walk 1.5kms out of town (but close to another port entry) to Danau Toba Int. Cottages and settle on a room there, Rp 240 000 for a basic room, no breakfast, pretty expensive but the only option. Monte then says he expects payment for his help. Rp200000 was the first offer but we pay him 100000. Thats all the Rp we had left and we mentioned to Monte he should have told us from the start his fee wasnt included in the initial price. We say our goodbyes and I thank him honestly for his help. We part on good terms, he is smiley and we take a picture together.
We call front desk to get some toilet paper and a jug of water, the staff just walks straight into our room, gives us the goods then expects a tip. A first for us in Indo. I explained Im not gonna pay extra for someone to walk uninvited into our room for the night, she leaves upset.

I think Monte is actually a nice guy, so dont be afraid to deal with him, I dont think he was trying to gouge us excessively more than any other unofficial (or official) person would in that country.
In fact he offered us a service that probably wouldnt have been possible if we had started out doing it the long/expensive "official" way.
We were late on Saturday because of us sleeping in. If we hadnt dealt with Monte we would have had to wait till Monday (in that hotel)to do customs clearancing, we would have had to leave Indonesia on Tuesday because of our visas expiring and the bike would have to stay in that storage shed for a week. He smoothed the way for us at the customs office and the storage shed and he went with us (in the rain) to find a decent place to sleep.

The bike arrived in Butterworth as I left it, in fact someone had removed my mirrors to stop all the surrounding cabbages from braking them...

If you have any more questions please dont hesitate.

Update: Butterworth End.
When we arrived in Penang on the Speedboat we showed the Bill of Lading document to the nice security guys at the declaring counter and asked where this boat docks. The older guy was able to speak good english and told us our boat will dock at Bangar Dalam Port in Butterworth. He wrote the name down for us.
The next morning we take the free ferry from Georgetown to Butterworth and catch a taxi to Bangar Dalam Port. Difficult to get to on foot but only about 1km away. Taxi was 3-4mins and we agreed on RM8 for the journey. Taxi was unable to take us through the gate as you need a special pass. Aki left her passport at the hotel so was unable to get an entry pass so I walked alone through to the port office near the water. I gave them the Bill of Lading and Mr Lim, the shipping forwarder/agent, appeared about 10mins later.
The normal procedure is to get the paperwork done at the forwarding agent on Penang Island first then head to the Port to get the bike released and ride off...
We/I didnt want to head back to Penang and wanted my bike that day so after some negotiations Mr Lim said he could get me my bike that day once customs reopens at 2pm.
All 3of us head to the customs building outside the gate (there is a small canteen round the back)and after about an hour of going from counter to counter a large stamp is put on the BACK of the rip-off importation section of the carnet.
With this we head back into the port and watch the wooden cargo boat being unloaded for about 40minutes until my bike is found under the piles of cabbages. Its unloaded and Im allowed to touch it even ride it before customs check it, I dont instead just take pictures.
We walk to another customs office just inside the gate, right next to the exit security checkpoint and walk up to the 3rd floor.
Mr Lim talks to the officer there and he tells us to bring the bike to the office as its raining and he doesnt want to get wet. The bike wouldnt start so I roll it the 200-300m from the wharf to the office.
The normal crowd gathers and the normal questions are asked about the bike. Officialdom starts and ends with a quick check of the chassis and engine numbers, these numbers are written on the back of the rip-off importation section of the carnet.
Then we walk back out to the customs office outside the gate. Another hour or so of getting more stamps and counter moving, then Mr Lim and I are told to go to the head honchos office. He looks at the carnet, checks the numbers written on the back, asks me a few questions like where did we start and where are we going then how much money had I saved for the trip. I answered "enough to live, travelling by bike is very cheap." He signs the carnet in the appropriate places then tears off the bottom section.
We go back out to the counter to hand the document to the correct person, then head out into the rain again.
Mr Lim goes back into the Port office while I collect Aki and attend to the task of getting the bike started, its still parked at the customs office just inside the gate. The plug was fouled. We get it going and Mr Lim appears with the release documents.
One copy is given to the security guys at the gate and the other copy is for us to keep as proof of importation.
Mr Lim shows us the way to the Butterworth-Georgetown ferry terminal, RM2 for the bike and 2 of us. 10minutes on the ferry chatting to Mr Lim then we are let loose on the roads of Penang, in the rain.

All up the total of all fees and service charges we paid Cakra Shipping RM310 to get out bike.
I think it can be done solo without a forwarders help but I dont know how much "entertainment/assistance" you will get from the customs guys, especially the guy that does the bike check... He didnt want to walk in the drizzling rain.

Hope this helps.
Nathan and Aki

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Round the world on a Postie bike, 2-up
Bilingual Blog (japanese and English)
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Excellent report, thanks. Shoud be useful to others heading the same or even in the opposite direction.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

Can you or anybody else give some directions to this place? Name? GPS? Would be useful to other people crossing.

Thanks,
Peter.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

Here it is:

BELAWAN
Danau Toba International Cottage (061) 6941492

actually seems to be part of a hotel chain:

Hotel Danau Toba International - Medan, Indonesia

We paid 270.000 rupees for a room, not cheap but easier than going to Medan and back. Sorry I dont have its GPS-coordinates, but it wasnt far, maybe 1-2 kms from where the speedboat arrives.

Thanks for that. I've sent them an email asking for a map. If somebody has the GPS coordinates I would appreciate them.

Cheers,
Peter.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

Hey there, Nathan & Akiko,
to Malaysia, if you happen to be in KL just give a shout, I'll buy you guys "Teh Tarik"

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Ride

Safe,

Sober,

& Save!

"man without beard is like porridge without salt": Ned Kelly

In May of 2006 when we arrived in Belawan from Penang, there was a good modern hotel just outside the port area where the ships arrive. We walked there easily from the Belawan port terminal, it was no more than a kilometer walk away. I don't remember the name of it, but it was around $20USD per night if I recall. Ask around when you arrive and you can find it easily.

Mr. Lim's service from Penang is top notch. The Belawan side is another story. Make sure you get receipts for everything from Belawan customs to avoid being overcharged. No agent is needed to get your bike in Belawan. Also be aware that the customs area in Belawan is far from secure, so keep everything on the bike locked up securely. When we arrived at the port everyone knew where the bike was. I don't think this was really a good thing...

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Dave McMillan
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/mcmillan/

Thanks for your hints. I wonder whether the two places are actually one and the same? Dave, what do I ask for if I don't know the name? Which way do I have to walk? Sorry if this seems a dumb question, perhaps one can only walk in one direction? But I'd be loathe to walk for miles the wrong way...

Danau Toba couldn't be bothered to reply to my email.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10