Batam Trip 2

Day 1 - 11th Jan 2013

Harbourfront 1

Went Batam Trip with my xiao gu, uncle and grandma from 11th Jan to 12th Jan 2013 (My xiao gu bought the voucher deal online - 2D1N). I met up with them at Harbourfront Ferry Terminal at 7am (soooo early....sleepy....) and went to collect out ferry tickets. When we got our immigration cards, the DOB and names were printed wrongly. So we had to wait for them to re-print the cards again. Then we went to have our breakfast at Toast Box, after that we went to take our ferry. We reached Batam (Harbour Bay Terminal) at around 9am, the terminal was super empty...then we got out to find our day tour guide. The guide's name is Louise, he eh...looks really sissy for a guy. My grandma still asked mi whether the guide is a guy or a lady...hohoho...Then the guide gave us our return ferry tickets and told us to board the bus first. The bus was a old model type, like those old old school buses, and the seats are super cramped and the walkway also super cramped. Luckily mi and my grandma are very quite thin, we can squeeze into 1 row. But my xiao gu and uncle had to sit on separate rows, cos too cramped for them. There was a couple, the husband was quite big sized, he had to squeeze into the seats with his wife...After everyone had boarded, we set off to the 1st attraction - Batam Chocolate House. The guide was speaking in 2 languages, Malay and Mandarin, cos he said his English cannot make it. Anyway there were Malays in our group too. There was a young Malay couple with a super cute baby sitting at the end of the bus...the baby really cute...We bought a few chocolate back, and my grandma got to talk to another elder from our bus...and was chatting happily...

Mi Le Fu

After the chocolate house, we went to Mi Le Fu Temple (Maha  Vihara Duta Maitreya). The temple was quite large and there were 3  levels. And there were alot of cute Mi Le Fu statues around the  temple...you see the Mi Le Fu holding microphone, music  instruments...etc....inside the temple, there were also quite a few  Budhha statues, even have Wen Shu Bodhisattva. But the temple  looks like newly built....There was a guy who keep talking to my  grandma, then after that, switched to talk to my uncle and he really  keep talking...like trying to get people to join their temple....We  were the last ones to go up the bus... :P....The Malay groups didn't  went down and the other family of 6..doesn't seems like to be  coming for sight-seeing....After this, we made our way down to a  Polo Ralph Lauren Outlet for some shopping. But when we looked at the prices, not so cheap leh...even after discount...anyway also nothing to buy after seeing the prices...hahahaa...My grandma ended up talking to the same elderly again there...and we got her up the bus when she started to tell her sad story again....After this, the guide brought us a house where layer cakes are made..but the bus can only stop along the main road and we had to walk in to the house. It is called Diana Layer Cakes. Basically he brought us there, then let us try on the layer cakes and u tell him how many boxes and what flavor you want, and the guide will take down all the orders and help us make orders.The cakes will be given after the cakes are delivery to him later in the afternoon. After tasting the layer cakes, we went down to Otak Otak Factory. It was a small shop which sells alot of different flavors of otak...ohh!!..the otaks are nice...i like their sotong otak...really got sotong inside...and the otak putih..it's a white colored otak (like fish cake), which you need to dip in a sauce..very nice to eat...We bought 25 sticks for SGD$9.....After the otak tasting, we made our way to have our lunch...all hungry....The lunch place is the same place which i went the 1st time i came to Batam...except the show is not included here..The guide made it optional for us...So when we arrived, the guide first brought us to walk through the shop to buy coffee powder....Then we went to the restaurant to have our lunch...My xiao gu and uncle got the super big coconuts...they said it was sour....kekeke...The food were the same as the previous time i came....But this time we were seated with the family of 6...Wah...when they sat down with all the goods bought from the provision shop there, they started to scope whatever food that was on the table....(Machiam a bunch of hungry ghosts just got released out..). We can't even turned the lazy daisy to our side to get the food......But we still managed to get food to eat...Then they were complaining on the coconuts tasting sour and no flesh inside..and the fish was abit stink....Bought slippers for my grandma too (She wore a pair of 'open-mouthed' shoes to Batam...faintz..).

Miniature Houses

 After lunch, the guide bought us to Yong Heng Food Trading  Shop. It was a provision food like that..brought 2 bottle of metos  for my grandma (She kept wanting to pay for it when she doesn't  have any rupies on her..haiz...). Then after this, the guide brought  us to the golden bench where the paint ball, miniature houses and  the go kart were...So the guide told us to go around on our own  when we reached there..Then we went to see the miniature  houses...and walked 1 round inside...i tried to take some photos  for my grandma to keep her happy. Then we went to Golden  Factory Outlet, it was beside the Go Kart circuit. So we just went  to walk walk and at the same time, had some aircon...There was  selling clothes too, Polo Ralph...i bought a cap for myself...  kekeke... :)....After here, the guide brought us the batik factory (the same place i bought souvenirs last time). I bought souvenirs at the same place again this time..hahaha...Then we crossed over the 1st Factory Outlet to shop again...Luckily this time, the massage place is not nearby here..so we don't have to wait here  doing nothing for those people going for massage. After spending some time here, the guide brought us to a shopping mall - Plaza Top 100. The massage place was also nearby here, so the guide brought those who are going massage to the massage place and those who are not, will spend their time in the shopping mall (which was what we did). So we went around shopping in the mall, bought a proper shoes for my grandma and went shopping for some maggi mee in the supermarket there...got their ABC chilli sauce too....Had some snacks at Texas Chicken and it was raining at the time...Later after this, we went to Batam City Square for shopping again...We just walked around the place and had our dinner there..Ayam penyet with our otaks...After that, we went to a sports shop where mi and my xiao gu bought a pair of shoes there...very cheap (less than SGD$20)...kekeke...Then...finally is back to the hotel.....so tiring....When we reached the hotel, the lobby was super big..But the staff told us that they were doing cleaning on their water tanks, so due to this, the shower water may come out yellow and stinky (for hot water)..So ok...then we went up to our room level...wah!! the lift lobby there was super big and there were at least 2 long corridors to walk to the rooms (and there were alot of oil paintings around the hotel too)....but when we entered our room...it was small and no bathtub (i was expecting a big room and maybe got bathtub...but don't have). But luckily the hot water in my room was not yellowish and doesn't have stinky smell (My xiao gu's room shower was having the stinky smell)...So after shower, we went down to main lobby and explore (their swimming pool and gym were at level 6, and got lions with wings statues as decoration), at the same time use their wifi....there was live singing too with piano..so we just sat there and listened...then we went back up to rest for the day...

Day 2 - 12th Dec 2012
Whole night cannot sleep...due to my grandma can't sleep..she was walking around the room and the room is not so big..she walked from the bed to the door and to the toliet, then from the toilet to her bed again..and she was doing her packing...packed finished and then took out her clothes and packed again. Then she suddenly told me she was hungry, cannot sleep..So i woke up to make her coffee and she ate her bread (which she brought from home yesterday morning). Then i on tv to let her watch too and she was telling me her 'stories' again (my grandma so cute)....Woke up at 8am anyway, and got ready to leave. And also trying to convince my grandma to go take shower. Then we went down to have our breakfast provided by the hotel. Not very fantastic...so-so...The guide will come to pick us to the ferry terminal at around 12pm, so we had some free time to spare. After breakfast, mi and my grandma went up to our room..i just wanted to nua in the room, my xiao gu went walking around the hotel...i ended up sleeping on the bed while my grandma packing her clothes again..hahaha....

By noon, we went down to check-out our rooms..and waited for the tour guide to come fetch us..Then after that, we boarded the bus. The bus this time was slightly bigger but not very clean..kind of itch when sitting on the seats...then the bus went along the way to fetch other passengers from other hotels too. Then we alighted on Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal and we got to stay there for 2 hours...there is nothing to shop there..there was a shopping mall beside it but it was empty..not many shops inside...But i still brought my grandma walk around the mall and my xiao gu and uncle stayed to look after our bags (Grandma complaining again...). So we passed the time there and went to take our ferry back to Singapore. When we reached Singapore, we went to Vivo City to have our dinner. We went to 黑社会 (Bosses Restaurant), we got a set meal which was having 6 dishes. The food is quite nice..not bad...kekeke...but my grandma started grumble again throughout the dinner and our way back..and it got worse...haiz...After that, my uncle brought me home. Luckily i got a Sunday for resting...


Places visited:
1. Batam Chocolate House
2.  Maha  Vihara Duta Maitreya
3.  Polo Ralph Lauren Outlet
4.  Diana Layer Cakes
5.  Otak Otak Factory
6. Golden Prawn 933
7.  Yong Heng Food Trading  Shop
8. Miniature Houses/Go Kart/Golden Factory Outlet
9. Batik factory/ 1st Factory Outlet
10. Plaza Top 100 Shopping Mall
11. Batam City Square
12. Harbour Bay Shopping Mall

Hotel Stayed:
Harmoni One Hotel
 

Batam Trip 2011

Day 1
Went Batam the first time from 26th Nov to 27th Nov, on a short weekend trip. Woke up at 4 or 5 plus and woke up my friend too. Then we met at Harbourfront Ferry Terminal at 6.30 am. After we met up, we went and collected our ferry tickets and grabbed some food for breakfast. Then we waited to go in for our ferry ride. We passed the customs and waited at the departure hall for at least half an hour to 45 mins for our ferry to arrive. There were many passengers waiting too and it was quite hot with so many people waiting inside. Some people even jammed at the escalator there, as the queue to board the ferries was lining to the escalator there. We waited until around 8 am, the ferry arrived and we were allowed to board the ferry. So we went up to the ferry, it was under BatamFast company. We managed to get seats on the middle deck, as it was free seating for all. So everyone was trying to grab seats once onboard. Anyway the whole journey was 45 mins, so we just rested while waiting to reach Batam.

Arrived at Batam, Sekupang Ferry Terminal @ 9.45 am. The terminal looks new and there were not many people there except those from the same ferry. We passed the customs and walked out of the arrival hall..There, we met up with our day tour guide. His nickname was 'Cowboy', cos he is always wearing a cowboy hat. Then he instructed us to walk outside to go the coach bus which we will be taking for the whole day tour. So we went outside and found the bus but as we were the first few who came out first and there were so more others that we need to wait, we went and walked around the jetty first. We took a few photos before boarding the bus to wait. Finally all the people arrived, and we were off for our day trip. But before we can go to the places of interest, the tout guide told us that he needs to go to a hotel and pick up a family of 12 people @ Golden View Hotel first (they are joining us for the tour too).

So when we arrived at Golden View Hotel, the guide went to the lobby to find them. We waited for at least half an hour for the family to arrive...which we all think it was a waste of time to us. So crap...Anyway, the family of 12 finally arrived, which we were all so glad. The guide brought us first to the Miniatures House, which displays all the different houses in mini size (not so mini, though) and it was outdoor...the whole place was quite of small and looked crappy (not much maintenance on the houses too, got spider webs around, if you look carefully..lol). We walked 1 round and went back to our bus. Next, the guide brought us to the mini kart, flying fox and paintball place (all are next to each other). We skipped the kart ride, cos the route was super small and nobody is interested too. So we alighted at the flying fox and paintball area. The paintball was also super miserable..it was just target shooting..The flying fox area included high elements too, a couple from our bus went and had a try on it. The worst part is, there were many many many small flies flying around the whole area. Anyway my friend and i just walked around and see whoever played. Then, we went back to the bus..too many flies..lol....

After that, the guide brought us to see a floating restaurant on a chinese ship. It was not open for business when we were there. So we just took photos of it and left. After that, we went to a place to see a performance by some people who can eat fire and glass, and can even peel off a coconut with just biting. After the performance, we were asked to donate some money for the show. Later, we walked over to a shop which is selling layer cakes. My friend and i each bought 1 cake, which was $25 sgd each. There was a mini zoo behind the layer cake shop, so we walked over and have a peek. After that, we walked over to a seafood restaurant called 'Golden Prawn' for our lunch. It was a 7 course lunch which was included in our day tour. And we were siting a family with 2 kids, sian sia...the younger kid was having cough and she was coughing in front of the table...think her cough virus was flying to our food whenever she coughed. And she was kicking on the leg of the chair i am sitting on too!! Pek chey...Luckily i was just too engrossed on eating my food.

We had crabs, fish, fried sotong, prawns, vegetables, gong gong and a soup. The food was quite ok (not too bad) but my friend and i didn't manage to eat the fish as it was placed further from us. And nobody hardly touch on the crabs, we left quite a lot..wasted. We even had to ask 4 times for ice from the staffs, they seems like not bother to get ice for our table, we even asked the guide to help to request for ice from the staffs. But he also didn't bring ice for us, we were like going to die from thirst at that time. The coconuts were very big there too.

After lunch, the guide brought us to Da Pu Gong Temple, which was very famous in Batam. We walked around the temple for a while, after that, we were brought to a factory outlet. A couple was brought for spa treatment nearby. which was 1 hour. And for the rest who are not doing the spa, were forced to stay at the factory outlet for the same 1 hour (which was stupid). The factory outlet was just a big shop selling clothes and some shoes, my friend and i walked inside the shop for 3 or 4 rounds, just to pass the time. Finally, we were allowed to board the bus..at the time, we were all feeling hot. So we were happy to board on the bus for some air-con. After that, the guide brought us to Batam shopping Centre. It was around 4 or 5 pm when we reached there. We were allowed to shop there for 2 hours, the shopping mall was very big and there were alot of shops there.

We walked level by level, and walked the supermarket there. We bought a cup corn there, we saw Shilin banner there, wanted to buy snacks from there but we were unable to find the stall. After that, we went to the meeting point to wait for our guide to come fetch us. After we boarded the bus, the guide told us that he had to drive from hotel to hotel, as we are all from different hotels. The family of 12 got off first and the hotel they were staying looked scary...lol...the kids were complaining when they were getting off. Next, we were brought to our hotel. We alighted on the opposite side of the road, the guide took us to cross the heavy traffic to get to our hotel...And the guide helped us to check in the hotel, and we went up to check out our room after we got the room key.

The room was ok, quite big for 2, it was not as bad as i thought it would be. hohoho...we rested for a while, watched tv..then we went down to Nagoya Shopping Mall for dinner. We walked some road stalls which were selling satay, seafood and ayam penyet. But we still proceeded to Nagoya Shopping Mall for A&W dinner. We spent the last bit of our money on that meal, we even didn't have enough to pay..the staff just accepted what we had..hohoho....After the meal, we went to change some money just in case. Then we went to the supermarket to walk walk, we bought cup noodles and some snacks back.
After that, we walked back to the hotel. We bought satay and a ayam penyet just to try. The satay tasted differently from ours in singapore but it was nice. The ayam penyet was tender, more nicer...lol

After that, we jumped onto the bed and watched TV. My friend fell asleep while watching, so i continued watching it alone. Only managed to sleep after 2 plus...lol....

Day 2
Woke up at around 7 or 8 am, and we got ready for our free breakfast, provided by the hotel. There were not much variety on the food. So we just ate some, my friend tried to toast the bread and she got the bread toasted real black..hohoho....After breakfast, we walked to buy banana cakes. We just bought 2 boxes as we didn't have much money left..After that, we went back to our hotel room to wait for the guide to come pick up us. We sat on the bed, watched tv until the time comes. Then we checked out our room and waited for the guide. He was late, we thought he left without waiting for us. Anyway the bus finally came and there was another family stayed in the same hotel as us boarded the bus too.And so, we were brought to the ferry terminal and our departure time was 3 plus. But we arrived there at around 12 plus. So we were stranded there for a few hours. We walked the shopping mall opposite the ferry terminal. We walked for awhile, and tried to find seats to sit as we were getting tired. I just almost fell asleep there..it was so boring there. Finally we walked back to the ferry terminal but we were not allowed to go in yet. So it was another standing wait there.

We finally got to go in and cleared the customs. We went down to the departure hall and walked for the ferry to come (wait again)...Then we went up to the ferry but we were able to get seats on the lower deck...So we just fell asleep on the ferry on the way back to Singapore, which ended our weekend trip.


Hotel Stayed: Nagoya Plaza Hotel