Batam Trip (2 of 2)

After our whole day tour, we all crashed and took a quick nap. I really wanted to just sleep the rest of the day off but another part of me is saying that we have to maximize our short time there. I woke them all up and we headed to the nearest mall, Megamall. It was a 5 minute ride and cost us only SGD 4 to rent the hotel shuttle.

There really wasn't much to see, the mall was just full of unknown stores so we decided to just have dinner.



My and Em-J's dinner of salted fish rice, two orders of chicken and two pearl drinks cost us only SGD 10. How very affordable.









We all had fun, I don't know what we were talking about but I just love the photo below.



We then headed back to the hotel as the mall was closing and checked out the hotel facilities.



We had a dimsum breakfast the next morning at the hotel restaurant and then headed to the gym and the pool.





We checked out and then headed back to the mall to have lunch at Marrybrown while waiting to depart. Good thing that the ferry terminal is directly connected to Megamall.





True that there really wasn't much to see at Batam but we all had a great time. Let me tweak the famous quote a bit, It's not the destination that's important, it's the company you're with.

Batam Trip (1 of 2)

Even though Batam is only an hour plus ride from Harbour Front, not one of us has ever been there. We were all expecting the beach but we were wrong, it turned out to be a metropolis.

We boarded the ferry from Harbour Front Centre and since we were running late, we didn't have time to grab a bite or a take away bag. This turned out to be a big mistake since there's no place to get some food; we all had to wait till lunch time as per our tour itinerary.



When we got to Batam, we were met by our tour guide who proceeded to give instructions on what we needed to do and where we needed to go.



Our first stop is the Polo Outlet store, after taking a quick look, we decided to go next door to get refreshments.



We then headed to a Chinese temple, for a photo opportunity more than anything else, but I found the place to be nice. It was quite serene.



Here's the rest of my friends while waiting for their turn to sit on buddha's lap.







We then went to 89 Hotel for our massage, it wasn't as relaxing as I hoped it would be. For one, the place was a bit warm and it looked like a factory more than a spa with rows and rows of mattresses on the floor. Your privacy is a curtain which sadly does nothing to keep the noise out.







After the massage, it was finally time for lunch. We headed to this big huge seafood restaurant.









Right after lunch, we were supposed to watch a magician and a cultural show, which we actually wanted to skip. Good thing the rest of those on the tour were feeling the same way so we skipped that. We proceeded to do the Flying Fox and the Paint Ball Shooting. The highlight of the tour for me.







We then made several stops to different stores, dry goods, batik, factory outlet and a mall before finally heading to the hotel.

Joining a Tour Group

We saw a very good deal through one of the many discount sites for our trip to Batam and the requirement is for us to join the tour instead of a free and easy trip that I prefer. Here's my pros and cons list.





The Pros:

1. The immigration card is already filled out; all you need to do is sign it. This helped us a lot since we got to the ferry terminal a bit late.



2. Everything is discounted. We paid only $88, about 3000 pesos (exclusive of taxes) which includes the fare, the overnight hotel stay, transportation, lunch, massage and the other activities.

3. You are in the confines of a cool shuttle that takes you everywhere you need to go.



The Cons:

1. You have no say as to who you'll be with in the tour. We were quite unlucky because we were joined by a very rowdy and noisy group. A couple of them talk at 10 decibels louder than required. Imagine having to endure the noise the entire day even while we were having our massage.

2. You make several stops to shops that don't interest you.





3. Waiting. You have no choice but to wait till everyone gets on the bus. The rowdy group took their sweet time at the mall and was late even if we were all informed beforehand to be on time. (It was our last stop and almost all of us were just itching to get to the hotel and rest.)

We were all staring at the mall entrance hoping for the members of the rowdy group to finally show up.



4. If you're travelling as a couple, it's quite awkward as you might find yourself, joining a big group of friends for lunch. Here we are joined by a couple, they were seated at the head of the table. We did try to make them feel at ease.



Overall, joining a trip is okay if you really have nothing planned and can't be bothered to create an itinerary. I was observing the tour guide the whole time and I don't envy her job. Taking care of a big group, making sure that we all stick to schedule and catering to some of the whims of the guests are just too exhausting.

Here we are with our friendly tour guide, Sinta.