Dumai Travel Guide, Indonesia

Dumai is a well known province in the island of Sumatra. It’s well known for its port which services water based transportation to other provinces in Indonesia. But more significantly, Dumai’s port is also the docking station of few water based transport services to key cities in Malaysia such as Malacca. Travelers who wanted to visit different areas in Southeast Asia would usually go through this port as this is one of the major gateways to Malaysia.

The port in Dumai, that connects the province to different parts of Indonesia as well as Malaysia, is the major source of income for the locals.

Most travelers only stay or more specifically, pass by Dumai rather than staying for a day or two. But its simplicity is basically its main feature. If you want to experience the authentic lifestyle of the locals, you can stay a day or two in this port town before finally going to other interesting cities in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Touring the town of Dumai is very easy and not expensive. The town is quite traditional. With the exception of a port, almost everything here depicts the rural environment of the country. The town is also very small – you don’t need to rent anything at all. Just walk around and you’ll be able to visit most parts of Dumai only in one day. Remember to be courteous all the time and you’ll be receiving the same courtesy from the locals.

When it comes to food, don’t forget to try out their popular meatball soup. The locals call this food “bakso” which is loaded with Indonesian spices that only the town could perfect.

The good thing about Dumai is that accommodation is vastly improving. The town may have a rural tone but the accommodation is fairly impressive. There’s also an English school in town called Mr Muchsin's which is also a small hostel. If your first language is English, you can stay there for free as long as you help them teach English.

A word of caution: don’t give out your travel plans to any person. Just inform them that you’re in a business trip and will meet someone. If you give them too much data, they could aggressively push for prostitutes in their area.