Batam Trip #1
After much research on Batam, I had finally set my mind off the sea!
Bye Singapore~
The water is so clear! Feel like jumping in!
The upper deck of Penguin ferry. SUPER WINDY!!! SHIOK!!!!
We spent $47 each including taxes from both Singapore to Batam. Batam entry fee is $7.
Must play & eat till I drop dead otherwise the money would be well-off thrown into the sea.
On the way to Batam Centre (our destination), we passed by the newly built Coastana Resort @ Waterfront Bay. The ferry wheel looks familiar huh?
Reaching Batam Centre!
For your info, Megamall is just beside Batam Centre. Lots of Singaporean got confused by the location. Only Nagoya Shopping Mall is set 15min away from Megamall.
When we reached there at 10am batam time (batam time is 1 hour behind Singapore), all the shopping malls are still closed. Except for some small cafe at Batam Centre.
There is nothing much in Batam Centre. There are only 2 cafe, 1 bakery shop for breakfast. There are Polo shop and a few bag stalls at the basement. (The polo shop does not sell genuine shirts)
Tips for Polo: Same shirt length (back & front) is fake. Only different lengths are real. BUT! Some different length shirts are way too 'out'. BETTER not to buy any.
Either u wanna spend $50 on a fake product, or u want to be mocked as 'act rich' people in Singapore. LOL~
Since Megamall is not opened yet, we took a cab to Nagoya Hills instead.
And guess what, we got the cab for only 45k Rupiah = SGD$5. So dudes, please do not take the cab of the rates are more than mine. I wanna cry when I see so many Singaporeans went there and got chopped like carrots without knowing.
*Take note that Batam's cab fare is almost the same as Singapore's. Must bargain!*
Furthermore, please only take cabs from the Megamall/Batam centre cab stand. The security guard will give u a receipt and wave it for u. =)
Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall
Still a few minutes away from the grand opening. We planned to settle our butts in the famous Godiva cafe (highly recommended from the forums) and try the food out!
The big menus. *winks*
Godiva cafe locates inside Nayoga Shopping mall area and opposite A&W. It has many choices of drinks and mostly fried food.
Their famous drink & dishes are the Avocado smoothies & the curly fries.
Honestly speaking, I never like Avocado drink because of its weird vege odour. However, the Godiva signature drink has got rid of the weird avocado smell and will chocolate in it! YUM!!!
One thing to take note, the initial mouths are sweet and tasty. After which, u may experience a slight bitterness at the end of your tongue. It's the natural taste.
The curly fries & chicken sticks.
A&W curly fries are still nicer. =x
One of the cheapest (or the CHEAPEST) and best massage salons is '5 star massage'. It's just along the opposite street of Godiva as in the above pic. (Middle right)
75 minutes body massage = $8. What a steal!!! >.<>Opps~ I didn't try it anyway (one of the must-go place recommended from locals) due to time constraint. Rather do some shopping.
There are quite alot to shop, but u have to bargain everytime except for Mustafa (smth like Metro) & Hypermall (like Giant). I'm tired of bargaining everytime, let's save energy!!!
Walking into the furniture shop...
Bathtub with JACUZZI!!! Guess how much??? O.O
34551000 Rupiah!!! ONLY SGD $4400!!! SIAO AH?!!! xD
THIS TYPE OF THING IN SG AT LEAST $10K!!!
Next time import the bathtub from Batam! Can put in my masterbed room! LOL!
After few hours of tiring shopping, we passed by the movie theatre at the top floor. (There are quite a number of leisure e.g. Karaoke, pool, arcade & foot massaging)
We bought 2 tickets for Shinjuku Incident. Guess how much??
15k rupiah each! Around $2 SGD only! MUWAHAHAHAH!!!
Moreover, their cinema can compared with our Cineleisure! Clean & comfortable! =p
Only funny thing is that they don't have the rules of switching off hp/no talking in the cinema. But that doesn't affect us at all. Haha~
And please note that the subtitles are Indo. Voice not dubbed. What a relief! =D
After a 2 hr break, we went to a small cafe just outside the cinema. (Walk out of cinema door, turn to your left.)
One dish is only 5000 Rupiah! Do u see something wrong? NO!!!!!! It's not even SGD$1!!!! xD
Relatively small dish but enough to fill your stomach! Just appropriate for people on diet!
My first dish - Nasi 'Rorang'. LOL~ Forgot the name.
2nd dish - Lotong! YUM! Abit spicy though! Trust me~ Don't mix the sambal and the gravy together.
Had a glass of lemon tea along. Must try! The lemon tea is a lil' unique from what we drink in Singapore. In SG, our lemon tea is always 'more tea, less lemon'. But for theirs, 'more lemon sweetness & an equivalent tea taste'. They brewed it, instead of instant. =)
The overall service is excellent. The crews really serve u dam politely with a sweet smile. Of course I know all part of Batam are sweet to foreigners. But here's the small secret! **Shh~** The cafe is filled with young cute waiters! OMG!
Haha~ **shy~**
Additional summary
@ Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall :
Bra shop beside A&W @ basement - cheap bra (<$3) & cute garments.
Shop99 @ basement - Cheap comfortable clothes
Mustafa - buy some clothes, not so cheap though
@ Megamall :
Hypermall - buy cheap food & necessities. YAKULT!!! Only 90 cents 1 row!!!
- famous Mandi Lulur
- Cheap skincare products e.g. Gatsby wax
@ Batam centre :
- Nagoya and megamall has it all. Don't waste ur time there if u want fast shopping. Unless u're waiting for ur ferry to come, u can take some scroll to kill time.
1 day shopping in Batam is definitely not enough if u really want to enjoy massage and movies. 2 days will be more sufficient.
Go to megamall last day when u're about to leave. Shop at hypermall on the first day.
The nearest accomodation @ Nagoya is I-hotel. It's the newest hotel so far, just built in March. Seen it. It's gorgeous!
If u like watersports, go to the watersport centre which is near to Harris Hotel @ Waterfront bay. Can play water-ski, banana boat and go-kart! =)
Free shuttle bus to Nagoya available @ Harris.
Hope my short 1 day summary review will help if u want a fast trip. ENJOY!
Bye Singapore~
The water is so clear! Feel like jumping in!
The upper deck of Penguin ferry. SUPER WINDY!!! SHIOK!!!!
We spent $47 each including taxes from both Singapore to Batam. Batam entry fee is $7.
Must play & eat till I drop dead otherwise the money would be well-off thrown into the sea.
On the way to Batam Centre (our destination), we passed by the newly built Coastana Resort @ Waterfront Bay. The ferry wheel looks familiar huh?
Reaching Batam Centre!
For your info, Megamall is just beside Batam Centre. Lots of Singaporean got confused by the location. Only Nagoya Shopping Mall is set 15min away from Megamall.
When we reached there at 10am batam time (batam time is 1 hour behind Singapore), all the shopping malls are still closed. Except for some small cafe at Batam Centre.
There is nothing much in Batam Centre. There are only 2 cafe, 1 bakery shop for breakfast. There are Polo shop and a few bag stalls at the basement. (The polo shop does not sell genuine shirts)
Tips for Polo: Same shirt length (back & front) is fake. Only different lengths are real. BUT! Some different length shirts are way too 'out'. BETTER not to buy any.
Either u wanna spend $50 on a fake product, or u want to be mocked as 'act rich' people in Singapore. LOL~
Since Megamall is not opened yet, we took a cab to Nagoya Hills instead.
And guess what, we got the cab for only 45k Rupiah = SGD$5. So dudes, please do not take the cab of the rates are more than mine. I wanna cry when I see so many Singaporeans went there and got chopped like carrots without knowing.
*Take note that Batam's cab fare is almost the same as Singapore's. Must bargain!*
Furthermore, please only take cabs from the Megamall/Batam centre cab stand. The security guard will give u a receipt and wave it for u. =)
Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall
Still a few minutes away from the grand opening. We planned to settle our butts in the famous Godiva cafe (highly recommended from the forums) and try the food out!
The big menus. *winks*
Godiva cafe locates inside Nayoga Shopping mall area and opposite A&W. It has many choices of drinks and mostly fried food.
Their famous drink & dishes are the Avocado smoothies & the curly fries.
Honestly speaking, I never like Avocado drink because of its weird vege odour. However, the Godiva signature drink has got rid of the weird avocado smell and will chocolate in it! YUM!!!
One thing to take note, the initial mouths are sweet and tasty. After which, u may experience a slight bitterness at the end of your tongue. It's the natural taste.
The curly fries & chicken sticks.
A&W curly fries are still nicer. =x
One of the cheapest (or the CHEAPEST) and best massage salons is '5 star massage'. It's just along the opposite street of Godiva as in the above pic. (Middle right)
75 minutes body massage = $8. What a steal!!! >.<>Opps~ I didn't try it anyway (one of the must-go place recommended from locals) due to time constraint. Rather do some shopping.
There are quite alot to shop, but u have to bargain everytime except for Mustafa (smth like Metro) & Hypermall (like Giant). I'm tired of bargaining everytime, let's save energy!!!
Walking into the furniture shop...
Bathtub with JACUZZI!!! Guess how much??? O.O
34551000 Rupiah!!! ONLY SGD $4400!!! SIAO AH?!!! xD
THIS TYPE OF THING IN SG AT LEAST $10K!!!
Next time import the bathtub from Batam! Can put in my masterbed room! LOL!
After few hours of tiring shopping, we passed by the movie theatre at the top floor. (There are quite a number of leisure e.g. Karaoke, pool, arcade & foot massaging)
We bought 2 tickets for Shinjuku Incident. Guess how much??
15k rupiah each! Around $2 SGD only! MUWAHAHAHAH!!!
Moreover, their cinema can compared with our Cineleisure! Clean & comfortable! =p
Only funny thing is that they don't have the rules of switching off hp/no talking in the cinema. But that doesn't affect us at all. Haha~
And please note that the subtitles are Indo. Voice not dubbed. What a relief! =D
After a 2 hr break, we went to a small cafe just outside the cinema. (Walk out of cinema door, turn to your left.)
One dish is only 5000 Rupiah! Do u see something wrong? NO!!!!!! It's not even SGD$1!!!! xD
Relatively small dish but enough to fill your stomach! Just appropriate for people on diet!
My first dish - Nasi 'Rorang'. LOL~ Forgot the name.
2nd dish - Lotong! YUM! Abit spicy though! Trust me~ Don't mix the sambal and the gravy together.
Had a glass of lemon tea along. Must try! The lemon tea is a lil' unique from what we drink in Singapore. In SG, our lemon tea is always 'more tea, less lemon'. But for theirs, 'more lemon sweetness & an equivalent tea taste'. They brewed it, instead of instant. =)
The overall service is excellent. The crews really serve u dam politely with a sweet smile. Of course I know all part of Batam are sweet to foreigners. But here's the small secret! **Shh~** The cafe is filled with young cute waiters! OMG!
Haha~ **shy~**
Additional summary
@ Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall :
Bra shop beside A&W @ basement - cheap bra (<$3) & cute garments.
Shop99 @ basement - Cheap comfortable clothes
Mustafa - buy some clothes, not so cheap though
@ Megamall :
Hypermall - buy cheap food & necessities. YAKULT!!! Only 90 cents 1 row!!!
- famous Mandi Lulur
- Cheap skincare products e.g. Gatsby wax
@ Batam centre :
- Nagoya and megamall has it all. Don't waste ur time there if u want fast shopping. Unless u're waiting for ur ferry to come, u can take some scroll to kill time.
1 day shopping in Batam is definitely not enough if u really want to enjoy massage and movies. 2 days will be more sufficient.
Go to megamall last day when u're about to leave. Shop at hypermall on the first day.
The nearest accomodation @ Nagoya is I-hotel. It's the newest hotel so far, just built in March. Seen it. It's gorgeous!
If u like watersports, go to the watersport centre which is near to Harris Hotel @ Waterfront bay. Can play water-ski, banana boat and go-kart! =)
Free shuttle bus to Nagoya available @ Harris.
Hope my short 1 day summary review will help if u want a fast trip. ENJOY!
