Another trip to Batam last weekend! It was my mum and her friend virgin trip there, we bought a tour package from
deals.com.sg at an affordable price. Actually getting a deal to Batam is cheaper than going there by your own, unless you know where you want to go and don't wish to waste your time with the tour.
We board on Sindo Ferry to Batam
After taking so many time of ferry this was the first time I need to use the wash room during my ride, the waves made the ferry so shaky that scare the shit out of me!
Was trying to sleep during my ride there and there came the scorching sun
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So I did this
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Upon arrival we were the first to board the tour bus thanks to my kiasu-ness and we have gotten a good seat.
Due to the recent Indonesia crisis it affected the currency rate by a lot, last month when I change my currency at Little India the exchange rate was $1 = 7,000 Rupiah
The week before I went to Batam I had my currency changed at Little India again and the rate was $1 = 8,600 Rupiah
The day before I went there was $1 = 8,900 Rupiah
The day when I reach there was $1 = 9,000 Rupiah
Do you see the drastic change here?
Anyway, during 2014 Indonesia will have a change of president so it means that they will have a change of currency. If you have any rupee on hand your better spend them now else it will really become a note with no value.
City Tour
From here you can have a idea of where will the tour guide bring you when you are at Batam.
Ralph Lauren
This is the outlet where you can find all the Ralph Lauren product that is manufacture in Batam, they do not need to pay any rental, they are also not a franchiser therefore the item they sell here is cheaper than what you will see outside. Worth to buy your Ralph Lauren here especially when their currency is small now.
Apparel are Authentic
Bag are NOT
FYI: One polo cost around 599,000 Rupiah so do remember to enough cash to buy what you want to buy
Souvenir Shop
This Souvenir Shop is what you will pass by after you visited Ralph Lauren, so far I see nothing interesting here. Maybe some of you might be interested in their fake high end brand scarf?
Chocolate Factory
Chocolate Factory carry many different brand of chocolate, they have their very delicious local chocolate in tiramisu flavour as well.
Dry Market
At the Dry Market you can find many local dry snacks, teas and product.
The amount of body scrub we bought to try out, there is actually more haha.
From my verdict it is not worth to buy thing here, scrub can be found at their supermarket at almost 50% cheaper.
Chewing gum can be found cheaper at Golden Prawn Dry Market.
Golden Prawn
Here we are at Golden Prawn, it is a well known place to have seafood at, this is my 3rd time here.
It is advice that you come here your own because you can pick your own seafood and tell them the cooking way you want it done.
With tour they have a fixed menu for you that you need to share among 10 people, they food they will serve you is: Fishball Soup, Vegetable, Fried Sotong, Gong Gong, Prawn, Chilli Crab and Thai-style Fish
They serve bird nest as well, they have it in three different flavour which are Logan, Red Date and Ginseng
Bird nest here is cheap but the bird nest they use is low-graded bird nest which is the excess part of the regular nest the use to sell.
Kueh Lapis
Here we have a Kueh Lapis shop hidden somewhere around Golden Prawn.
Different tour group work with different Kueh Lapis maker, they have more flavour here compared to the one I visited last month with another tour.
Their kueh lapis is all freshly handmade when you place your order.
Dry Market
Most handmade wooden stuff can be found here, bought something here for my dad thou.
Little Kampung
Took a stroll along this mini-park, we need to cross this path to reach our next destination. From here you can find many miniature houses that makes you feel like a giant.
Golden Factory Outlet
This is an outlet that sell apparel at wholesale price.
They carry many brand such as: Hollister, Super Dry, A&F and Ralph Lauren.
All I can say is their Ralph Lauren is confirm authentic, not sure about the rest of the brand and I wouldn't dare to buy any except for Ralph Lauren.
Go-Kart
2nd time here yet I did not try their Go-Kart, maybe next time
Sawadika Massage
It was my 2nd time here, previously I tired their foot reflexology. This time I did full body massage which cost around $20 with green tea aroma oil. For Sawadika I prefer their foot reflexology than their full body massage, the staff here chat more than they work.
For luxury, service and skill wise I still prefer the place where I been to at my first visit to Batam and it only cost 220,000 Rupiah
Chinese Temple
We were bought to a Chinese Temple to give offering
Theses are the statue found outside the temple:
They have some street stall nearby the temple too, they sell many local food that I think you guys should give it a try.
1st Factory Outlet
1st Factory Outlet is another factory outlet that is similar to Golden Factory outlet
Nagoya One Hotel
Myth busted! Have been doing research about how our hotel will look like in the interior but couldn't be convince by looking at the pictures, so afraid that our room would turn out bad!
This is the place that we will be spending out night at. The procedure to allocate us to our room is very SLOW. Still prefer the hotel I stayed at previously judging by the interior, service, breakfast and location.
This is me and my sister hotel room, overall still not bad just that the side we stayed at had a "fake window" why I said that? Is because when you open up the window all you see is a piece of wall.
Breakfast choices are limited, staff does not understand English.
Batam City Square
This is my favourite mall that I will shop here every time I visit Batam. They have everything cheap here, you can even find the brand Lioele here. Our tour had given us 40 minute to shop here but that is not enough! After checking in the hotel we took a cab back here to continue our shopping.
Reach here around 7pm and we had our dinner at the Kitty Cafe, I love their cute seat
We ordered Avocado juices, and my sister had milk tea which doesn't really taste good. You can find avocado almost everywhere at Batam.
Chicken Corden Bleu, I love this dish very much. They have ham and cheese wrapped with chicken, that's what a corden bleu dish usually have, corden bleu doesn't stand for liquor in a food menu but a liquor in drinks menu.
The reason I visited this cafe is because of their cute interior, no other reason :P hahaha
Later my sister and I did gelish manicure at M.Lee at an VERY affordable price!
Mine for 300,000 Rupiah
Sister's for 250,000 Rupiah
I love the rose the manicurist drew on my nail but the waiting time to do our nail is too long, only do if you can wait.
After doing our nail we had less than 30 minute before all the stores are close so we swept the mall and get as much clothings as we can, so far I only bought 4 tops from Batam City Square.
Tip for this trip:
- Know how much you want to spend on and bring enough cash.
- Have a full meal in the morning because the lunch they provided will not be enough for you to last till dinner.
Lastly a small information to all my readers:
Do you know that the most popular 2nd hand item that people in Batam would purchase to re-use are, Pillow, Toothbrush and Underwear?
Have you read my other post about my stay in Batam?
