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| beautiful view welcoming us when we are traveling from Jakarta to Lampung |
Hi, everyone.
2021 is here and I sincerely hope I can share more on my blog while I have better time management with the combination of work from home and work at the office. And looking back at 2020, I noticed that we only made trips back and forth to Lampung and Bali during the pandemic. Well, a short trip to Curug Nangka in Bogor was done once as well as Palembang South Sumatera due to the passing of my dearest Aunt.
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| Siger Lampung welcoming you at Bakauheni |
And speaking about our trips to Lampung - Jakarta vice versa, I would like to share some details from our trips, especially the use of Executive ports in Bakauheni and Merak. Thanks to the current government, we now have better and faster transportation means and infrastructures to commute and explore around the country. And one of them is the highway toll from Bakauheni Port to Bandar Lampung City and even Palembang, the capital of South Sumatera province. Moreover, in addition to the already existing ports in Merak and Bakauheni, some of the busiest sea ports in Indonesia, we also have executive terminals in both ports. |
| the highway gate |
And what much much better port indeed!
I am super proud to see the progress!
I have been traveling back and forth to Jakarta - Lampung and happy to see how developed the system is. We used to line up for quite a long time and it can be quite messy. Now we have better system and choices for those who are willing to pay a bit more but get better and faster service.
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| ferizy.com |
Instead of using the traditional way of lining up for tickets, which can be very frustrating and unsurprisingly long, we use online platform www.ferizy.com to buy the ticket. Just like its slogan, We Bridge the Nation, ferizy helps you book and pay tickets the trip through and from Bakauheni, Merak, Gilimanuk, Ketapang, and other ports. For Rp588.000,- (or 591.000,- if you pay through mobile banking) you can use executive ferry services from Bakauheni - Merak or vice versa for cars/SUV and alike. The tickets are also sold for passengers only or those riding bike, motorcycles or other types of vehicles. There are other ways of paying the tickets, including through ATM, bank transfer, e-money, and some designated outlets such as Indomaret and Alfamart.
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| waiting for our ferry |
There are so far 4 ferries that we have tried: Portlink, Sebuku, Batu Mandi dan Jatra III. All these ferries have better facilities, cleaner and more importantly, faster. My family and I love the trip because it is comfy. It also has better and cleaner seats. During the pandemic, wearing mask all the time except while eating and drinking is an obligation and many hand washing stations are provided. Physical distancing is also imposed.
It takes around 1.5 - 2 hours from unloading to arriving at the next port. It used to take at least 3 hours (can be up to 4 hours) for one trip from Jakarta - Lampung vice versa. Not to mention during big holidays like lebaran or tahun baru or new year!
Besides the ferry, we have malls in both Bakauheni and Merak executive ports. The mall at the executive port has shops, restaurants and food & beverages vendors, clean toilets, and mushola or praying room. It has balcony for you who like to enjoy smoking or simply enjoying the view.
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| the mall from outside |
The mall at the executive port has shops, restaurants and food & beverages vendors, clean toilets, and mushola or praying room. It has balcony for you who like to enjoy sunset or sunrise there.The port is open 24 hours and I guess, from our own experience, we have less officers during midnight trip but the service is still provided accordingly.Again as I said, it is very helpful! Hope the service is much much better again in the future.
Have you tried taking this trip as well?
