The Pelni Experience

If you’ve ever been on a Pelni boat in ekonomi class, then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The toilets and showers smell and are often flooded, the food doesn’t taste of much and doesn’t look very appetizing, you sleep with 50 other people in the same room for days and just trying to get on the boat, or off it for that matter, can turn out to be a near death experience.

So why do that to myself?

My transport to the harbour

• It’s cheap!
  I paid just 140.000 Rp from Maumere to Makassar, a 36 hour trip, not counting the nine hours I had wait at the harbour for the bloody boat to turn up.
• It’s safe!
  The ships are proper german-built cruise liners, minus the luxury, but with a distinct Titanic feel to them. Nevertheless, you might hear occasionally of a capsized ferry, but I have never heard of a sunken Pelni ship.
• It’s an experience!
  You’re more than likely going to be the only foreigner, or ‘bule’, on a huge ship and you’ll be the talk of the day or however long the journey lasts. Want to feel like a celebrity? This is your chance without resorting to Big Brother and the likes.

And that’s just a few of the many reasons…

Here’s a few survival tips for you ekonomi class Pelni trip:

Boarding the ship!

• Wait till the first onrush of porters and passengers has left, then get on or off the boat. You don’t want to get in the way of that stampede. But don’t leave it too long, if you plan on having a bed for the night!
• Bring a large sheet on which you can sleep and wrap yourself in. Sometimes you only get bamboo mats to crash on, sometimes thin mattresses.
• If you don’t fancy eating with your right hand, then bring your own cutlery, as sometimes this is not provided.
• Bring enough books to keep you occupied, especially on long journeys. In case you run out, there’s usually an onboard cinema somewhere and yes, they do show english movies, sometimes even soft porn. That was funny!
• Don’t eat the food provided, if you really don’t like it. On the top deck there’s always a cafeteria, that sells alright food. And lots of cookies, if you’re really fussy.
• Bring a chessboard. Indonesians love to play. It’s a great way to get to know your fellow passengers, even if hardly anybody speaks english.

Sleeping arrangements on board a Pelni boat

Recently I have been on two Pelni boats, the Awu and the Doro Londa. In a few days I’ll be heading on yet another ship to Pulau Banda in the middle of nowhere. While the boats do have their shortcomings, I enjoy my time on them. I like going native when I travel and that includes local transport. And you can’t get any transport that’s more indonesian than Pelni. Indonesia’s an island nation after all…

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Tags: Flores, Indonesia, Maluku, Pelni, Simple, Transport, Travel

Most of the time Boris can be found swimming with the big fish or chilling in his hammock in some far-away region of earth. Once he chewed some betel nut...

Posted in Travelogues on 28 September 2007 | Comments Feed

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1. 

   mathias - 3 November 2007 @ 10:21 AM

   wahnsinns berichte,….& vor allem hilfreich!!!!!
   habe gerade vergeblich nach pelni gesucht, als ich auf deine seite kam!!!!
   moechte von borneo (bin gerade in kota kinabalu) ueber kalimantan nach sulawesi und dann dili, bali,..usw,…….!!!!!denke pelni waer nicht schlecht - haben aber eine beschissene homepage,……preise & zeiten waeren echt interesting!!!

   take care & carry on,…….

   greets mathy

2. 

   traveljunkie - 4 November 2007 @ 8:37 AM

   Danke Mathias,

   ich weiss, als ich das letzte mal nachgeschaut habe, da hatten sie noch die Zeiten von 2006 auf ihrer Homepage. Nicht gerade hilfreich, auch wenns lustig ist…
   Am besten direkt in ihren Bueros nachfragen. Viel Spass (warst du schon auf Mt Kinabalu?)…

3. 

   mathias - 17 November 2007 @ 4:59 AM

   yeah!!!!!!!…..mt. kinabalu ist spitze,…aber auch tough, jeder der behauptet es ist easy,….fucking lier!!!!bin jetzt in sulawesi in der wunderbaren umgebung von tana toraja,….(and the bloody funerals!!!!),….warst du in sulawesi?????moechte dann von makassar per irgendwo richtung sueden weiter!!!!!!

   lg. peace & energy

4. 

   traveljunkie - 19 November 2007 @ 5:59 AM

   In Sulawesi war ich nur in Makkassar fuer nen Tag. Hab dort auf mein Boot nach Ambon gewartet. Werd aber irgendwann mal zurueck kommen…

   Jetzt komm schon…Mt Kinabalu ist jetzt nicht so schwer. Auf jeden Fall machbar, wenn man einigermassen fit ist…

5. 

   Nic - 29 January 2008 @ 9:23 AM

   Hab gerade nach ‘Pelni’ gegoogelt und dein Bericht gelesen!
   Obwohl der Flug nach Jakarta kaum teurer ist, werde ich mit dem Boot reisen… muss ein Abenteuer sein! Aber warum reisen Locals mit der Faehre, die 2 Tage geht, wenn es Fluege gibt, gleich teuer, wenn nicht guenstiger (1. Klasse…) und man in 2h dort ist? Auch des Abenteuers wegen? Who knows?

   Enjoy your trip!
   Thanks Nic

6. 

   traveljunkie - 2 February 2008 @ 1:27 AM

   Viele Leute reisen mit ihrer ganzen Familie und vielleicht sind die Tickets für Kids billiger? Vielleicht ist es einfach nur Nostalgie :)

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