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Barelang Bridges
A bridge none to far.
Skipping from island to to island down the Trans Barelang Highway, makes for a nice drive. As you sink further south, you move from the urban landscape of Batam into the farm lands of Galang and back to the welcoming ways of kampung life and there's a lot to be said about kampung living!
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The Highway ends at a park at the very tip of Galang Baru. The park is popular on weekends with locals and many of the biking clubs in Batam. From city to tip, the highway covers 70km's and the further south you go, the better the road becomes. For anyone coming out of a city existence, this is 70km's sans traffic lights and that is such a good feeling in itself.
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As with all of Batam, food is plentiful and very good. The bridges perform a greater role as tourist attractions than merely transportation links. On weekends bridge No. 1 is thronged with people and coutless food stalls occupy the span and completely filling
the leftmost lane. On the western side of the bridge is one of Batams larger seafood restaurants. Dining over the water and looking up to the bridge is a nice way to fill an afternoon. Looking down from above, it is clear to see how turbulent the waters are as the whole of the Riau Archipelago is a huge tidal basin. For those who sail,cuting through the channels is possible as the air draft on the bridges is high but you will have to contend with fast flowing water!
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If you needed proof that kampung living is good for you...One of these chaps is 91, as spritely as ever - the other is a visitor!
Kelong living as viewed from one of the bridges - your own marina and your own house, doesn't get better than that! About half way down stands this magnificent tree the scale of which is unreal as the canopy shades most of the banana crop underneath it. It's really nice to just drive! The powwr lines extand about 3/4 of the way south, finishing at the last Police post on Galang Island. After that, homes are lit with generators or candle power.
Getting around Batam you will notice that Toyota have done very well with two particular models, the Avanza and the Rush! Both are sold by th ebucket loads as they are both very robust platforms. Having good ground clearance is a bonus because when it rains, it really RAINS! Th eRush with it's 4WD capability, gives access to places most cars can't go.
Bridge Number One is pack with stalls and on weekends is a favourite place for people to hang out. Most popular items here are barbeque corn and fresh cocunut. The corn comes in either a sweet or spicy variety and sells for IDR 7 - 8000 (70 - 80 cents).
It's not an image associated with Batam but, the Barelang Islands have a lot of farming going on and most popular are corn and banana crops. There's also plenty of Dragon Fruit farms so you will see this uniquely coloured fruit in the stalls as well.
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Just a little word of caution, things can get pretty sweet as the good old Condensed Milk is widely used! If you order a cup of tea don't be surprised if it arrives wwith an inch of 'Susu' lying in the bottom of it. Sweet corn gets it's own coating of Susu as well!
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