A very last min. 3D/2N trip to bring the kiddos to Batam during the June Holidays.
Day 1
On the ferry......
From Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, we took an hr ride to Batam Centre Terminal which is nearest to our hotel, main shopping malls and town.
2 - way Ferry ticket cost:
Adult - $49
Child - $45
SsSshhh.. at Batam Ferry Custom. The rumors you heard are true.......they are really very strict and do send people back for talking...
We SAW it. No excuses or reasons entertained.
We were rather stressed when Myn started whining and crying as she was tired and the Q was very long. An officer seems annoyed and walked over....I was thinking in my mind.."Oh Jialatz leow"...but luckily he just wanted to shift us to the front of the Q.
Our Chartered Minibus
Yong Kee Fish Soup
My hubby recommended and insisted that we should go Yong Kee Fish Soup restaurant in Batam cause it's the 'best ever fish soup' he had when he was here for a business trip. So we did.....
Address: Komp. PT. Hup Seng, Jl. Kompleks Business Center Blok A No 5-8, Batam, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia
Open 7:30 am – 9:00 pm
We headed for the upper level of the 2-level restaurant which is air-conditioned and a nonsmoking area. According to hubby, the place is popular with the locals and it is very crowded during lunch time.
We went after lunch so the crowd was already gone. We were famished and ordered several dishes like the buttered calamari, stir-fried kailan, garlic chicken and of cos their Sop Ikan (Fish Soup), tom yam and non-spicy ones. We also ordered several juices like avocado chocolate, strawberry, soursop, watermelon and orange.
Well, the fish soup is not bad but finds it overrated. Preferred the crispy tasty garlic chicken. LOL. Overall, find the meal quite costly for a Zhi Char kind of lunch at Batam.
Novotel Hotel Batam
By the time we reached the hotel, its the kids nap time....so we decided to take a break and asked the driver to be back for us 2 hrs later.
We booked 2 rooms, a suite and a double room. Our junior/family suite is not bad, clean with very spacious bedroom and living room. My kids were overwhelmed by the size of the room which allowed them to run, jump and roll around. I like the bedroom's bathroom as it separates up the toilet, bathtub, shower, double sink and a big dry area.
We recceed the hotel's gym and pool facilities but did not use them.
Buffet breakfast choice is oki. The kids had fun taking their own food.
We booked 2 rooms, a suite and a double room. Our junior/family suite is not bad, clean with very spacious bedroom and living room. My kids were overwhelmed by the size of the room which allowed them to run, jump and roll around. I like the bedroom's bathroom as it separates up the toilet, bathtub, shower, double sink and a big dry area.
We recceed the hotel's gym and pool facilities but did not use them.
Buffet breakfast choice is oki. The kids had fun taking their own food.
We ordered more than these but it was a fierce battle between the flies and us over the food and having to tend to the kids too, I din get to take pics of all the food.
The staff were kind to bring us candles to keep the flies away but I guessed those were commando and starving flies that the candles din help much.
I would recommend not to go during the low tides (can check with your guide or call restaurant) as the water banks become muddy,dirty and has a slight stench...and flies inviting I guess.
Despite the battle with flies, we did have a good meal and time.
Overall, the food were good and considered cheap.The restaurant has an open relaxing view of the sea and the floating houses where we watched the sampans going up and the stream.
By the time we finished our meal, the sun was descending to the horizon which colored the sky beautifully in ombre of pink red coral orange shades. While the adults relax and rest from the meal, enjoying the view and breeze, the gals started dancing and making merry among themselves.
Happy Sistas, Happy Kids, Happy Mummy....
Holland Bakery
According to my hubby, this is a legend bakery around Indonesia. We asked the driver to bring us to one. The building is pretty for a bakery but as we went near the end of the day, there was not much choice for us.
Anyway, since we are already there, we bought a few and tried. A better bakery in batam.
Nagoya Hill Shopping, Dinner and Supermarket
We only have a couple of hours at the mall. There was nothing much for us too. We had dinner at one of the restaurant and went grocery shopping at the basement big supermarket.
Our necessities and tibits loots.
Quite an interesting experience cause of their packaging, display and range of food.
Their oil are in big sachets. Wide range of dry food and tibits.
We stocked up on Maggi Mee and toothbrushes to bring back to Spore. LOL
My parents went for a hotel massage.
Barelang Bridge
"The Barelang Bridge is a chain of 6 bridges of various types that connect the islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang. Barelang also refers to the islands themselves, which are all administratively part of the municipality of Batam." - Wikipedia
After breakfast, we headed to Barelang Bridge.
This suspension bridge behind us is one of the 6 bridges, the longest one if not wrong.
Its breezy and you can have a good view when walking on the bridge.
A couple of daredevils fishing at the top and edge of the bridge. It's real high and visualising myself at where they are standing without harness or safety precaution made my knees go weak.
It's so windy and high here, if any fish caught, it will be air-dried by the time it got reeled up here. Ha!
After this bridge, the driver drove us to another..which we find nothing much interesting and as such, we asked him to drive us to ________. Here we bought all the items in our food shopping list, Kueh Lapis, crackers, etc.
Day 3
Breakfast, last min shopping at ____ and Home Sweet Home.=o)
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