Batam island lies about an hour ferry ride away from Singapore and it is no surprise that many budget conscious Singaporeans make Batam their choice for a short retreat.
We have decided on Batam as a last minute decision for my birthday, which was last Friday. We purchased the package coupon 3 days prior to arrival.
http://www.deal.com.sg/deals/singapore/batam-2d1n-stay-harmoni-one-hotel-includes-2-way-ferry-ticket-2-way-land-transfe-5
Due to the erratic weather, we played it safe and ended up with a city package as suppose to a beach resort package.
Ferry departs from Harbourfront Centre which is more convenient for the both of us.
We took Pacific ferry and the ride is comfortable as a ferry ride can get. The seats are spacious and clean. I managed to catch some sleep on both the ferry rides.
As part of the package, we are put through the city tour comprising of some of the locations mentioned. The city tour was average at best, but to put it bluntly, most of the attractions are selling products/services that are not that worth paying for.
Kueh Lapis Factory: Kueh Lapis in Batam does not come cheap. We ordered a 1kg prune flavoured cake from Best Layers Cake and it cost about IDR 290,000 (SGD $30). It is mediocre and a little oily.
Picture:
Picture: https://www.alldealsasia.com/sites/default/files/deals/chocolate-house002_0.jpg
Chocolate House: The tour guide recommended Batam's chocolates with different flavors and it costs about SGD $10 per box. It comes in tiramisu, coffee, coconut flavors and a few others but the coffee flavored one taste the best to us. We did not get anything from the shop as the chocolates are overpriced. Any supermarket in Batam (in my opinion) would be cheaper.
Picture: https://static.groupon.sg/26/77/1361256577726.jpg
Kuda Lumping (Culture Show): We have not seen any cultural show in Indonesia and felt it was alright and worth a look since it is free, and tipping is optional.
After which we were brought to an air riffle range which is basic and unimpressive for anyone who has been through army, or not. The bullets are chargeable.
Laughing Buddha Temple: Temple is huge but we did not explore very far. Boyfriend got a tiger eye pendant at about SGD $6 from the souvenir shop which made him very happy.
Local Product Shop: This is a shop which sells local crackers known as 'keropok'. Prices are fine and variety is good. There is a makeshift store outside selling customization handmade bracelets at 3 for IDR 50,000 (SGD $5) which is pretty cool.
Picture: http://www.traveller101.com.sg/data4/images/polo_ralph_lauren.jpg
Picture: https://static.groupon.sg/29/86/1336030558629.jpg
Polo Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren polo tshirts were the rage yesterday but the popularity has died down. We did not get anything.
Indo Buffet Lunch: The variety is not fantastic but overall lunch was decent.
Batik Outlet/Kampoeng Oleh-Oleh/First Factory Outlets/Chinatown Shopping Mall: Most of these are just shops selling souvenir, there wasn't anything interesting to us either.
Picture: http://www.greenholidays.com.sg/word/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FIRST-CHOICE.jpg
Picture: https://d2lcknpuet4g6b.cloudfront.net/1754144/6eN2GWTKi4j8L49bDM03p9h6D177R6V0M40S7p03dYRw6f42dz_l.jpg
Massage: We visited First Choice Massage Parlor and if I were given a choice it wouldn't be my first choice. We added SGD $20 (optional) for the aromatherapy massage but it really wasn't fantastic. The parlor was quite fuss-free and decorations are kept to the minimal. It does not have the relaxing spa ambiance and it was mainly rows of beds and curtains to separate customers. My therapist actually drew the curtain throughout the massage because she was speaking to the therapist for the customer next to me. I considered myself as an easygoing customer but I do not recommend this massage parlor.
We reached the hotel at close to 6pm, and rushed to the concierge to make an appointment for the free hotel bus which would pick up (6pm) to Megamall and drop off (8pm) back to the hotel.
Basically most of food eateries are cheaper than in Singapore. Apart from that, I noticed there are Starbucks merchandise that are not available back home.
In the later part, we were ordering A&W while waiting for the bus. The bus came earlier than expected and took off without us! Eventually, we have to walk back to the hotel which was about 10 minutes away.
Since the pool was already closed at the point of time, we headed up in the next morning. (Al pictures of me cause boyfriend is a better photographer and it was my birthday!)
This was breakfast, which is not too bad.
There was a heated jacuzzi pool which is the best part of it.
View from the heated pool:
This is the only picture we have for the room. We got room number 372 and our room is facing a quirky looking Egyptian themed hotel by the name of Hotel 01. The room is spacious but the carpeted floor feels a little dirty. The toilet has a relatively huge bathtub but the toilet flooring collects water easily and does not drain up fast enough (renovation problem?) and we had a little flooding for 2 days.
Overall: ⋆⋆⋆ to ⋆⋆⋆⋆
I would rate this deal about 3.5 stars out of 5. The tour and the room are alright, but we have been to Turi beach in Batam which we both prefer. Batam city is definitely more recommended for groceries shopping and maybe some cheap food, but Turi beach has a more relaxing and idyllic vibe to it. Okay, that's all I've got to say, till the next time!
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