On January 4, 2015, I reached 100.
I visited my 100th country, territory, exclave and island group on the list of The Travelers’ Century Club, or TCC.
The TCC is a club for people who have visited 100 or more of the world’s countries and territories. Founded in California in 1954, the club now has regional chapters throughout the U.S. and several locations around the world.
I reached my 100th destination on the TCC list by taking an hour-long ferry ride from Singapore to Batam, an island that is a part of the Sumatra area in Indonesia.
Batam is a rapid-growth part of the Indonesia – Malaysia – Singapore Growth Triangle, located 12 miles off Singapore’s south coast. Batam, an island roughly the same size at Singapore, has a population of about 1.2 million people.
I made the visit while I was on the last day of our 14-day Asian Holiday cruise, as our ship — Holland America’s Volendam — stayed docked overnight at Singapore’s Harborfront Cruise Terminal.
Ferries depart frequently to Indonesia from the same cruise terminal. I bought a round-trip ticket, passed through Singapore Immigration, and got onto the ferry. (You can see the yellow and blue-colored ferry I rode in the right side of the photo above.)
Once in Batam, I bought an Indonesia visa upon arrival (for$15 U.S. dollars), and was admitted into Indonesia with several pounding stamps into my passport.
The ferries to Batam arrive at the International Ferry Terminal, which is part of a shopping mall. Most ferry riders were making the trip for the shopping, said to be significantly cheaper than in Singapore.
It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed the waterline views of Singapore during the sailing.
The morning was filled with multiple trips through immigration – into Singapore from our cruise ship, out of Singapore to the ferry, into Batam, Indonesia.
Then back through Batam immigration, onto the ferry, back to Singapore immigration, and then one more pass to be allowed back on my cruise ship.
Despite all of the immigration and passport control lines, the journey was a pleasant way to reach 100.
Plus, I was able to bold Sumatra (Indonesia) (Mrs. Jones only) on Our Progress on The Travelers’ Century Club List of 324 Destinations (as of 1/4/15).
Are you a member of the Travelers’ Century Club? Or, are you working to be one? What country do you plan to visit next? Please share in comments below.
You may want to check out some of these other posts that detail other parts of our Asian Holiday cruise on the Volendam:
- Exploring Kuala Lumpur By Taxi from Port Kelang, Malaysia
- Not Your Average Hotel Restaurant: Chynna in the Hilton Kuala Lumpur
- A Look Inside the Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel
- Celebrating New Year’s Eve on Holland America’s Volendam Cruise Ship
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