Yesterday was the first time I went Batam, or rather, it was both me and dear's first time going Batam and my first time taking a boat :)
So for those first-timers who are planning to go there, let me guide you HOW NOT TO BE CHEATED, and of course where to go if you're not travelling with tour agencies.
Harbourfront Centre has got a few ferry agencies that depart Singapore daily to Batam so on that day, we bought it SUPER last minute and ran for the ferry! HAHA. But if we came earlier we could have probably saved $7 because other agencies offered $40 nett for two way trip, and we went for BatamFast agency which charged us at $47.
Yeap, on the boat!!!
He keeps telling me that I look damn excited. Obviously I am la!!! First time take boat leh who won't excited hor
Hehehe loveee
I think I look fugly but who cares
The others
Goodbye Singaporeeee
Finally we arrived! It was a brief 45 minutes BUMPY boat ride. I was expecting myself to puke vomit and do all sorts of shit but I didn't. I guess I really overcome my motion sickness ;)
Zzzz.
Their main language is Malay I think. Cos the signage boards everything are in Malay.
Nvm, they don't even have flyers, catalogs, maps for us. SO we were kinda lost. and stranded. Paid $47 to see trees, polluted water and run down buildings. Haiz.
So we decided to go on our own.
Look like Malaysia right?!
Went to eat A & W because one of his friends told him that it was mad cheap! Only $2 for a meal. But when we went there, we FORGOT to see the smart lunch deal and we just bought the meals. It costed $13 for two people and the portions were really small. :(
If you're visiting Batam, DO NOT EVER EAT their fast food outlets -_- Everyone come here to eat their drop dead cheap SEAFOOD. Except for KFC, because they have something in chocolate which I forgot, hehe.
Look at his plate of food..
Our food with our own respective burgers
After being a little pissed and everything(because we simply didn't know where to go), Thank god the nearby cafe Black Canyon Coffee has WIFI. We went in for some drinks and used their WIFI, researching where to go, and I was reading blog reviews about Batam shopping, food etc.
Forgot to mention, Black Canyon Coffee's Black Tea is AWESOME! And their coffee is superb. Super cheap for such a pretty and nice environment.
Finally, we decided to go Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre. One of the A&W customers also recommended to us when we were eating.
So next stop, Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre!
You don't have to worry a single thing about not getting a cab, because there are ABUNDANT of cabs in Batam. Just exit the mall and the guard will shout, "TAXI?!"
It costed us 50.000Rupiah, which is around $6 for a taxi ride.
Outside Nagoya Hill Center!
There are alot of imitations of famous goods such as Prada, Gucci, Hermes, etc and I was SO tempted to buy the Prada one cos it was damn pretty!!!! Then he tell me not to get it because I'll end up not carrying it, which is true. Haha, so I called him to get me a real Prada bag next time hehehehe. My ass.
Some of the dresses (like what u see in shopping centres) are going for as low as $6? The shirts were $3!!!!!!!! Like wtf!
After that, he kept on insisting to go for massage massage massage so we went to the Spa Secret, which the taxi driver recommended us to go, and Ironladychef also recommended it. It was just opposite Nagoya Shopping centre.
I love the lobby, it smells so good and it's so pretty!!!!!
Dear and I signed up for the couple package, Balinese Aromatic Spa for $73 nett per person.
It included body sea salt scrub, full body massage, cleansing, body yogurt polish, body steam and lastly, a Jacuzzi bath foam and for me, I was entitled to a V-Ratus treatment which I was told that it can improve my womanhood(?!) and my private part will be have more blood circulation and clean etc. -_-
All I did was to sit on a chair with a candle under my private part. Haha.
I was pretty shy during the whole spa treatment because the masseur actually massaged my WHOLE body, yes that includes my boobs. But after a while, you'll get used to it and really enjoy the whole process.
They were also friendly and kept talking to us, and asked if the pressure they applied was enough etc.
I loved the Jacuzzi because there were so many bubble foams!!!!!!!!!!
Best Spa Experience!
Look at our jacuzzi tub!!
Overall, we had a pleasant experience here :)
Highly recommended!It was pretty late and we couldn't go to the Waterfront City and play Go-Kart :(
So we went back to Nagoya Hill Shopping centre and ate there. The staffs there were asking us to enter their restaurant. There were approx. 10 restaurants there -_-
We decided to settle down for Kimura since the environment was pretty nice.
Ordered ayam penyet (Chicken), Fried Udang(prawn), egg, Fish, watermelon and mango juice :)
Fried egg. THIS IS DAMN SPICY AND OILY. :/ Is basically SOAKED in chilli oil :(
(F.Y.I: I woke up at 5am in the morning because I had such a bad stomachache because of this egg, and when I poo poo, my ass felt super hot too. Haha if you have a sensitive stomach like mine, do not take this)
(F.Y.I: I woke up at 5am in the morning because I had such a bad stomachache because of this egg, and when I poo poo, my ass felt super hot too. Haha if you have a sensitive stomach like mine, do not take this)
Fried prawns!
Fried fish. Was very sweet and the skin was kinda burned -_-
Fried chicken! Maybe this was the best dish among all..
Looks yummy!
Sorry for my FUGLY hair. Didn't dry my hair when I left the spa.hehe.
Love my mango juice!!
Attack!
Overall, we thought the food kinda sucked.
Especially the fish and the egg!!!!
But for the price we're paying, I guess it's alright. We only paid $18 for so much food!!
But be careful, there's tax too - 10%.
Yeap. After we ate, it was time to go back to Batam Centre to take our ferry back to Singapore!!!!
We went to the entrance and as usual the guy shouted, "TAXI?!"
We replied yes and he said, "60k rupiah to Batam Centre" and I immediately shouted back, "Just now we come only 50k rupiah! You don't try to cheat us!"
In the end, he charged us 50k rupiah.
So if you're taking taxi in Batam, do haggle the price with them because they do not have a fixed price. I learned from Google that they actually set the price taking advantage of us foreigners.
Waiting for our ferry!
Yaya..
Nice right? The moon was really nice last night when we were on the ferry :)
While entering back to Singapore sea........
Super big huge cruise!
And he told me we'll go for a 3D2N cruise for our 1 year anniversary!
Oh well, Batam wasn't exactly fun, but I guess dear made the trip pretty pleasant. There aren't much to do there unless you're planning to stay at a resort or travelling with a tour guide.
But still, pretty ok!
AND FINALLY, MY FACE SHOP ITEM IS HERE.
Outside is retailing at $18 for this, and I got it for $10.10. Directly from Korea's factory :)
Yay!!!!!!
