Barelang Bridge

Barelang is a contraction of Batam, Rempang and Galang, the three islands the chain connects, and the project was driven in the 1990s by B J Habibie, then technology minister and later president, as part of an effort to extend Batam's industrial and free-trade development onto its neighbours. Six bridges of different types - the first and most photographed a cable-stayed span often called the Habibie bridge - carry the road over the channels for around fifty kilometres to Galang. The development that was to follow the bridges arrived unevenly, and stretches of the route pass through scrub and small settlements rather than the industry planned. On Galang is the former Vietnamese refugee camp, which held tens of thousands of boat people between 1979 and 1996 and is preserved with a museum, church, temple and cemetery.

What you actually see

• Six linked bridges - about fifty kilometres of road across the island chain.
• The cable-stayed first span - the Habibie bridge, the one everyone photographs.
• A development that half-arrived - scrub and small settlements along much of the route.
• The Galang refugee camp - the preserved Vietnamese boat people site at the end.

When to go

All year; sunset at the first bridge is the local habit. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a drive rather than a site - the bridges are looked at from viewpoints. The Galang camp is a heavy visit and deserves time. Traffic on Batam is chaotic.

Nearby

Batam city is north; Singapore is a ferry ride away.