Rupat Island
A Long Pale Beach Facing Malaysia Across The Malacca Strait, On A Coast Otherwise Made Of Mangrove And Mud, In A Province Better Known For Smoke · Rupat Utara, Riau
RIAU'S COAST IS MANGROVE AND MUD FOR HUNDREDS OF KILOMETRES, which is why RUPAT IS ODD: the island's northern shore carries a LONG, WIDE, PALE SAND BEACH at PANTAI PESONA, facing straight out across the MALACCA STRAIT, and on a clear night you can see MALAYSIA'S LIGHTS from it. That proximity is the island's culture as much as its view - the MALAY communities here are continuous with the peninsula, ZAPIN is danced, and the AKIT, one of Riau's indigenous groups, live on the island. IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY UNDEVELOPED. AND THE PROVINCE AROUND IT IS THE HONEST FRAME: RIAU IS PALM OIL AND DRAINED PEAT, and its FIRE AND HAZE SEASONS HAVE BEEN AMONG THE WORST IN SOUTHEAST ASIA - closing schools and airports and drifting over Singapore and Malaysia. In a bad year the air here is the thing you will remember, not the sand. Ferries run from Dumai and stop in the afternoon, the northern beaches fill at weekends and empty midweek, and there is almost no banking on the island.
Pulau Rupat, Bengkalis, Riau, Rupat Utara, Riau, Indonesia
REACHED BY FERRY FROM DUMAI, which has an airport and road connections, taking under an hour to Tanjung Kapal and then ROUGHLY AN HOUR OR MORE BY ROAD ACROSS THE ISLAND to the northern beaches; ferries also run from other points on the Riau coast. SCHEDULES ARE LIMITED AND STOP IN THE AFTERNOON. PANTAI PESONA AND THE NORTHERN BEACHES have small local entry and parking charges and very simple accommodation - THIS IS A DOMESTIC WEEKEND DESTINATION, not a resort coast. IT FILLS AT WEEKENDS AND INDONESIAN HOLIDAYS and is empty otherwise. CHECK AIR QUALITY BEFORE TRAVELLING IN FIRE SEASON, roughly the drier middle months - in a bad year the haze closes airports across the province. Bring cash; banking on the island is minimal.