My Poor ‘KM Awu'

a travel note in my journey to Yogyakarta

The departure day to Yogyakarta finally arrived. My friend Ignas, Feni, Yumi, Budi, Ningsih, and  I, gathered on the dock of Waingapu, Sumba. We were waiting for the ship’s boarding time. The ship that would take us to Java was KM Awu. It is the only vessel that carries passangers to and from Sumba island. So, 'KM Awu' itself has become part of life of Sumbanese to travel out of the island.

Our trip took time, started from Waingapu port, then the vessel stopped at several ports, like Bima in West Nusa Tenggara and Benoa in Bali. It took approximately three days and two nights to reach Java Island. It was a quite tiring journey for us.

The official website of PT. Indonesian National Shipping mentions that this ship was made in Papenburg, Germany in 1991. With a total capacity of 969 passengers, the ship was designed to carry 14 passengers in class I, 40 passengers in class II, and 915 passengers in economy class. It is indeed a proper design to transport passengers in comfort. Of course, we did not sail by ourselves. We shared time and space with other passengers having various destinations. Honestly, the capacity was really exceeding of provision. However, our trip to Tanjung Perak, Surabaya is really a memorable thing.

I pensived for a moment in the middle of the crowded passengers struggled to get rooms and spaces. Should my 'Awu' be overloaded? I felt that the condition of the ship was really uncomfortable, there were so many passengers that it seemed overloaded. We had to sleep on the deck with cement paper that we had bought five thousand rupiah a piece. While many other passengers had to sleep outside. An irony of Indonesia known as a maritime nation but the sea transportation was neglected. In addition, if the ship was overloaded, it would be risky for the passengers.

I just hoped that the government, especially the manager of passengers ship, will pay more attention to the safety, so that undesired things can be avoided and passengers will feel comfortable when using KM Awu. "...and my Awu keeps sailing with a smile..." Hopefully. (JEMS)