Day 2: Disembarking from the KM Kelud at the Port of Tanjung Priok

The KM Kelud was already outside of the Port of Tanjung Priok at around 5pm, when dinner was served, and stopped short of entering the port. After about another half an hour of non-movement, the captain made an announcement saying that we are “drifting” as they are waiting for the pilot to board the ship to bring us into the port, and that we would get moving in about 20 minutes. Precise choice of words there.

The announcement was made in both Indonesian and English by the way.

A Lion Air plane approaching Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta Airport. This plane might have left Batam just under 2 hours ago, who knows.

Still waiting for the pilot boat while the sun sets.

Finally, the KM Kelud got moving at 6pm – the scheduled arrival time at the port.

The pilot boarding the KM Kelud using a Jacob’s ladder.

One of the crew on the pilot boat waving to the passengers.

Approaching the Port of Tanjung Priok as the sky gets dark.

The aft tugboat guiding us into the port.

There are some other PELNI ships in the port, but are just resting or undergoing maintenance.

Just outside the wharf, the KM Kelud gets turned around so that the bow heads outwards.

The welcome to the Port of Tanjung Priok. That isn’t the passenger building or a shopping mall by the way, just blocks of office buildings.

Here’s the actual passenger terminal.

The wharf here seems shorter than the one at Batu Ampar in Batam, hence needing the additional steps for the lower decks of the ship.

Almost ready for disembarking.

I got a shot of an empty Class 1B cabin while leaving my room. Seems that there’s additional privacy curtains for this class.

Descending down the stairs to disembark from Deck 5 and not the Economy Class gangway I was ushered onto on the first day.

The gangway was rather worn out and steep though. Furthermore, this had curved steps rather than height-adjustable flat steps.

Descending down slowly and carefully.

The exterior of the KM Kelud.

The Economy Class gangway.

The Alfamart from outside.

A final look at my floating hotel for the past 30 hours.

Entering the passenger terminal for another round of customs clearance.

The outside of the terminal, where I was quoted a “cheapest” price of Rp100,000 for a 5-minute ride to just get out of the port area.

Outside the parking area, the price dropped to Rp50,000.

I continued walking towards Tanjung Priok Railway Station, which turned out faster due to the traffic jam ahead.

Next post: Day 2: Transjakarta Corridor 12 from Tanjung Priok to Jakarta Kota