From tourist paradise to island with just one car: Can Indonesia's longest sea bridge narrow the divide?
In Indonesia’s sprawling Riau Islands province, paradise and poverty collide, as Straits Times’ regional correspondent Arlina Arshad and photojournalist Kelvin Chng have discovered after a three-day trip to Batam and its surrounds on a rickety boat.
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Ms Ramdia rowing a boat at Kampung Air Mas on the Tanjung Sauh island, where Orang Asli indigenous people live in wooden houses on stilts.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
BATAM
We set off early from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Batam's Nongsapura Ferry Terminal on the morning of July 31. After 45 minutes on a BatamFast ferry, we arrive on the island's upscale northern region where luxury beachfront hotels and pristine white beaches abound.
