The PELNI*
experience
May began and
ended with trouble. As soon as we boarded the Bukit Siguntang at
23:00 hrs. in Makassar, we finally understood what that likeable member
of the crew that brought us from Kalimantan, had meant by saying "enjoy
that trip". It is unimaginable the chaos that was this boat when
we boarded. Thousands of people occupying every corner of it. The
overcrowded communal bedrooms, crammed with people sleeping next to
each other, intoxicating cigarette smoke floating in the air,
mountains of bags, packages, boxes with fruits and all kinds of crap.
People crowded into every available corner outside the bedroom, in
hallways, stairs, lying on cardboard or empty rice bags to separate
them from a grimy floor, crying children and babies everywhere,
bathrooms giving off corrosive smell…you can imagine, no? Surely
not. The only spot we found was on the floor of the corridor leading
to the kitchen, a permanent transit space with a bullhorn blasting
announcements directly above us with a piercing volume, especially at
4.30 am during the first daily call to pray. There, in that oppressive
space, we spent the next 36 hrs. sailing to Kupang in West Timor.
