Asia - Travel between Bali and Kuching

Hi,
I'm planning a trip for March-April, flying to SIN, then spending some time in Bali and in Kuching (this is a Hilton-centric trip, it's reward stays or nothing in these difficult times!). I'm happy to go SIN-KCH-DPS-SIN or SIN-DPS-KCH-SIN. I've found cheap flights between SIN and DPS and between SIN and KCH but I can't find any straightforward ways to travel between Bali and Kuching. I'd really prefer not to have to take two flights (back to SIN or KUL). Is there a more interesting and direct way of doing it? Maybe by boat?

Thanks
Tonto

There is some information on their site, but it appears to be outdated. http://www.pelni.com/

There is no non-stop routing from DPS to KCH. You could fly from DPS to CGK (Jakarta) and take the boat to Batam and ferry on to SIN and then fly to KCH. You can also fly via Pontianak and fly with Batavia into KCH (the only Indonesian connection other than the once a day Air Asia flight from Jakarta) or even take the overnight bus from Pontianak to Kuching.

There are no Hiltons in Jakarta or Pontianak.

The problem with low-cost Indonesian carriers is that they appear to be bookable only with an Indonesian credit card. The exception is AirAsia which does book with at least a U.S. issued card. Whether your card will work is dependent upon the card. I have tried just about every Indonesian carrier, Garuda (can book only on the toll free number to idiots in India but call center prices are outrageous compared to published web-fares), Batavia, Lion Air, Merpati are all unbookable. I have even called them in Indonesia to try. They just are unable to accept an out-of-country card.

So you will need a connection and probably will be unable to book from the outside world. There are a couple of threads that mention an Indonesian travel agent that some people have been successful using.

http://www.travelindo.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=8b0aeff8d1c37e88fe4f71748c4aff ae

I have no experience with them and am reluctant since I cannot easily get prices. Perhaps if you PM me after I return at the end of January, I can offer more informative data.

Thanks for all of that information. I might switch KCH to BKK instead and fly home from there. It's a pity as I'd prefer a smaller city like KCH to somewhere manic like BKK.
Anyway, enjoy your opushomes trip and thanks again.

I'm actually from Kuching. There used to be a direct AirAsia DPS-KCH flight but that route got cancelled. Only way is via KUL (Airasia, MAS) or SIN (silk air, SQ, tiger?)

I'm actually from Kuching. There used to be a direct AirAsia DPS-KCH flight but that route got cancelled. Only way is via KUL (Airasia, MAS) or SIN (silk air, SQ, tiger?)

Not to hijack the thread, but does Batavia still have the daily to and from Pontianak? If so, how does one book the PNK-KCH one-way?

I am considering a couple of nights in PNK on the way from DPS to KCH although I do have a back-up AirAsia DPS-KCH booked on 1/24/09.

Thanks in advance.

Not to hijack the thread, but does Batavia still have the daily to and from Pontianak? If so, how does one book the PNK-KCH one-way?
According to their website they do. I gather you can make a reservation online and pay once you arrive in Indonesia.

http://www.batavia-air.co.id/

According to their website they do. I gather you can make a reservation online and pay once you arrive in Indonesia.

http://www.batavia-air.co.id/

I am unable to find a schedule for the PNK-KCH route even though the website has KCH as an option. Nothing shows up in respect to price/schedule when this itin. is selected. In terms of making a reservation on-line and paying later, it seems that most of the Indonesian carriers require payment within 24 hours which does no good when one is on the other side of the Pacific.

That's why I asked the question.

Now a question for you.

Can one buy domestic Indonesian itineraries from Lion Air in Singapore? If so, at Changi or at the city ticket office? Is it open on Saturday? Booking the Indonesia portion of my post-SinDo excursion is driving me nuts because I cannot use a U.S. issued credit card. The only LCC that will accept my cards is AirAsia and 1. they do not fly to Pontianak and 2. as an alternative their inbound from Balikpapan is inconveniently scheduled. The CGK outbound is also at 0600.

I am unable to find a schedule for the PNK-KCH route even though the website has KCH as an option. Nothing shows up in respect to price/schedule when this itin. is selected.
There's a full schedule under "Jadwal Penerbangan":

https://www.batavia-air.co.id/Schedule%20Flight%20Effective%2012%20December%2020 08%20(%20Revisi%20).htm

PONTIANAK - KUCHING 7P - 821 10.25 WIB 12.00 LT
KUCHING - PONTIANAK 7P - 822 12.35 LT 12.10 WIB
Tue, Thurs, Sun

Can one buy domestic Indonesian itineraries from Lion Air in Singapore? If so, at Changi or at the city ticket office? Is it open on Saturday?

Dunno leh. Give 'em a call at (+65) 6339 1922 and ask. Be prepared for a different answer when you show up in person.

Booking the Indonesia portion of my post-SinDo excursion is driving me nuts because I cannot use a U.S. issued credit card.
Nggak popo, Indonesia gitulah :D

There's a full schedule under "Jadwal Penerbangan":

https://www.batavia-air.co.id/Schedule%20Flight%20Effective%2012%20December%2020 08%20(%20Revisi%20).htm

PONTIANAK - KUCHING 7P - 821 10.25 WIB 12.00 LT
KUCHING - PONTIANAK 7P - 822 12.35 LT 12.10 WIB
Tue, Thurs, Sun



Dunno leh. Give 'em a call at (+65) 6339 1922 and ask. Be prepared for a different answer when you show up in person.


Nggak popo, Indonesia gitulah :D

Thanks for the quick answer and definitive information. The three time weekly schedule totally negates my visiting Pontianak this trip. I need to be in Kuching on Saturday and really do not relish taking the overnight bus from Pontianak to Kuching. My backup $29 CGK-KCH AirAsia ticket for an inconvenient timing on Saturday will now probably be utilized. I guess that the backup plan of visiting Balikpapan on the fairly frequent service to there is what will happen.

It certainly helps to have a Bahasa Melayu speaking Finn to provide aid. My guess is that " Nggak popo, Indonesia gitulah" is loosely translated as "a pain in the ... but that is the Indonesian way". Since I speak no Bahasa other than "Selamat Bagi" and "Where is the Tanda?" it is difficult to read much of what is presented on the Indonesian airline web-sites.

Thanks for the quick response and the telephone number is really helpful.

BTW: Do you have time to perhaps pop in to a SinDo 2009 event the weekend of the 16th?

It certainly helps to have a Bahasa Melayu speaking Finn to provide aid. My guess is that " Nggak popo, Indonesia gitulah" is loosely translated as "a pain in the ... but that is the Indonesian way".
I've never even studied Bahasa of any kind, through necessity I've just kind of absorbed it by osmosis... "Nggak popo" is the Javanese version of Malay/Indonesian "Tidak apa-apa", lit. "no what-what", in practice any of "you're welcome", "no problem", "nothing you can do about it" and/or "it's not my problem". "Begitu" is near-untranslatable ("nevertheless, such, that way" says Kamus (http://www.kamus.net/result.php?w=id-indonesia&q=begitu&submit=Search&e=0)), but "X (be)gitulah/-loh" means something along the lines of "That's the way X is" [so get used to it].

BTW: Do you have time to perhaps pop in to a SinDo 2009 event the weekend of the 16th?
I was planning to have other plans on that weekend, but now it looks like I just might. See how ah...

& what did you end up doing? Note: There is an AirAsia flight CGK-KCH about 3X per week. Sorry I did not get back to you about it since I took it late in January to get from Balikpapan to Kuching.

If you are near SIN in mid-January, this might be of interest.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/949200-post-sindo-2010-1-18-1-19-1-20-2010-kuching-sarawak.html