| 2nd | Top islands of Indonesia |
For the car, see Suzuki Karimun
Karimun is one of the islands in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is west of Singapore and Batam. The island's main city is Tanjung Balai Karimun. As of 1997, the island had a population of 155,000.
In the past, Karimun was the destination of foreign traders and the Malay Kings. The island has strategic geographical importance, as it is near the Straits of Malacca, an international shipping route. Stamford Raffles is believed to have considered Karimun island instead of Singapore island when looking for a settlement. Due to large scale indiscriminate fishing activity near the island recently, fish stocks have been depleted, and thus the fishing businesses have declined considerably.
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Mount. Jantan is located in Karimun. Famous beaches : Pelawan and Pongkar. other :Waterfall Pongkar (Air Terjun Pongkar)
On 29 June 2007 the Indonesian government conferred enclave Free Trade Zone status on Karimun; a move intended to address the issue of legal certainty for investors. The Law however is still being discussed by parliament and is expected to be passed in early 2008.
Under the plan Karimun will be turned into shipyard, metal, component, agricultural, and marine produce industrial development centres.
This is in line with the establishment of the Special Economics Zone in Riau Island Province for Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK).
The main export of the island is its granite which is one of the best quality in the world. Sand has also been constantly exported to Singapore for land reclamation. Indonesian concern at Singapore reclamation projects has however limited sand exports.
At the beginning of 2007, Indonesia banned the export of sand. Singapore being their biggest importer now faces a crisis with many upcoming building developments.
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Coordinates: 1°3′N 103°22′E / 1.05°N 103.367°E
Karimun [1] is a small island offerring a range of tourist activities in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is also the name of a group of islands and regency (kabupaten) to which it belongs.
Karmun is located just off the east coast of Sumatra, guarding the southern entrance of the busy Straits of Malacca. It lies west of Batam and to the southwest of Singapore and is the furthest west of the Riau Islands.
Its proximity to Singapore has made the islands quite affluent and busy. Its main town, Tanjung Balai is a bustling port town with a lot of commerce, boosted by tourists from Singapore and Malaysia, however, it must not be confused with Tanjung Balai in North Sumatra province, a much larger city also known as Tanjung Balai Asahan and an international port. However, like Batam and Bintan, Karimun is also listed as a Free Trade Zone area.
For details on visa requirements for visiting Karimun, please see the Indonesia page. Karimun's Tanjung Balai port is designated as a visa-free and visa-on-arrival entry point.
Karimun does not have an operational airport, so travellers' only option is to get in by boat. Karimun has good ferry connections with Singapore and Kukup in the southwestern tip of Johor, Malaysia as well as the other Riau Islands and the Sumatra "mainland".
Penguin (Tel: +62-777-324300 in Tanjung Balai; +65-62714866 in HarbourFront) and Indofalcon (Tel: +65-62783167 in Harbourfront) ferry companies operate ferries between Tanjung Balai and Singapore's HarbourFront Centre. Between them, they run 3 trips on weekdays (From HarbourFront: 0800, 1420 and 1820. From Tanjung Balai: 0730, 1100 and 1700), increasing to 6 trips on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (From HarbourFront: 0800, 0950, 1225, 1420, 1625 and 1820. From Tanjung Balai: 0715, 0945, 1130, 1315, 1530 and 1700). From Singapore, tickets cost S$63 return before Indonesian port taxes or Rp 110.000 one-way before port taxes (Rp 10.000) from Tanjung Balai. Journey time is about one and a half hours.
Please note that the two companies' code-sharing agreement allows you to board any ferry at Tanjung Balai for the return leg to Singapore only if you hold a return ticket that was purchased in Singapore. If you buy your ticket in Tanjung Balai, you can only board the ferry of the company from which you buy the ticket.
Several companies operate frequent ferries between Tanjung Balai and Kukup, pontian in the southwestern part of Johor.
MAPS Needed
Numerous companies offer ferry services to/from Bintan, Batam and the other Riau Islands.
Warning:This info may be confused with Tanjung Balai Asahan
Regular ferries link Sumatra port cities like Dumai, Pekanbaru, Selat Panjang (all in Riau province), and Kuaka Tungkal in Jambi with Tanjung Balai. Most of these ferries continue to Tanjung Pinang, the main town in Bintan, stopping at Sekupang on Batam enroute.
A Pelni boat KM Kelud leaves Tanjung Balai every Wednesday at 8am for Jakarta, taking 31 hours (Ekonomi/Class III Wisata Rp 255.000/Rp 375.000). The same boat leaves Tanjung Balai every Saturday at 7pm for Belawan, the port for Medan, taking 17 hours (Ekonomi/Class III Wisata Rp 180.000/Rp 260.000). For more information on Pelni departure schedules and fare, contact PT. Biro Perjalanan Karimun at Jalan Nusantara No. 1, Tanjung Balai, Pulau Karimun. ☎ +62-777-324132 (fax: +62-777-327176).
The cheapest way to travel in Karimun is by mikrolet. These small minibuses run a fairly standard route and pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along the way. By the way, the locals call them "oplet".You can get almost anywhere in Tanjung Balai for Rp. 2.000. Tanjung Balai to Meral is 2.500rp.
This would be one of the ideal way to explore Karimun. However, yet to find one bicycle renter in the town. However, most of the ferry companies will take your bicycle for a SG$5 fee, so if you are coming from Singapore, just bring one over.
Stroll around Tanjung Balai, which is the main town on Karimun Island, and one of the busiest towns in the Riau Islands. You can walk around and explore on your own or you can take a mikrolet (small public bus) for Rp. 2.000.
To enjoy the rural lifestyle on a tropical Indonesian island, you need to get away from Tanjung Balai and go to some local kampung areas in Meral or Pasir Panjang.
Vist the Chinese temples of Klenteng TUA PEK KONG, Vihara Cetiya, Vidya Sagara and Vihara Sasana Diepa in Meral. Take your time to look at the temple drawings such as "General Xue and Lady Fan" and "Lady Warriors of the Yang Family".
Visit the "Air Terjun" (waterfall in Indonesian) which is not far away from Pantai Palawan. You can bath in the man-made pools built to capture the water flowing from the mountain. It's definitely refreshing.
Karimun's main department store is Indo A. Yani Swalayan & Dept. Store in Tanjung Balai. Pasar Swalayan means supermarket in Bahasa Indonesia. This 3 storey department store offers food, clothing, housewares, stationary and basic necessities.
Padimas Department Store another shopping area in Karimun. Beside it, there is a game centre suitable for the families. Opposite it, is the Padimas Hotel, which is reasonably priced.
You can obtain 250g Karimun Utama coffee (Kopi Karimun Utama) for Rp. 7.150 (Agent: Toko Utama, Jalan Nusantara No. 43, Tanjung Balai, Pulau Karimun. ☎ +62-777-21003), local produced Kerupuk, deep fried fish crackers, can be found at Bona Kerupuk Atom 50 and cost Rp. 7.000 per packet.
Bakso, a meatball made from low quality meat is just as popular as nasi goreng. Both are sold from street side stalls, or push carts that make their rounds through the neighborhoods.
Several chinese restaurants can be found along Jalan Trikora Laut (opposite Holiday Karimun Hotel). This is probably the central area for Teochew-style Bak Kut Teh. Noodles are also available.
The long stretch of open-air food and drink vendors that convenes outside the ferry terminal after 5pm is a great place to try out authentic, cheap Indonesian food.
粿汁( kue chap), address=Pujasera ... Traditional food ala Tio chiu.... Nice and black soup with white kue. Must Try. Two thumbs up. Chiak...
Try Lasegar, an Indonesian refreshing soft drink for Rp. 3.500 per can. One can of Carlsberg beer costs Rp. 5.500. Try Sosro, an Indonesian refreshing tea.
The country code for Indonesia is 62. The area code for Tanjung Balai is 777.
Post office (known as kantor pos in Bahasa Indonesia) in Tanjung Balai is open daily except Sundays and public holidays. Sending a postcard costs Rp. 5.000.
The nearest airport is on Palau Batam, so you'll need to head back there for domestic flights.For International flights heading to Singapore would be the best option.
Connections by sea are limited to one Pelni boat per week and various fast boat services to different Sumatran ports.
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