Travelogue: 2 Years Anniversary Trip to Batam 18-04-2015 to 19-04-2015 Day 2

Day 2

Had our complimentary breakfast at Taman Sari Cafe in the resort. It caters international buffet breakfast and serves quite decent food. They had varieties ranging from Nasi Lemak, Bee Hoon, Porridge, Cereals and Fruits. There is also an egg section where the cook will fry any eggs of your choice, from scrambled eggs, sunny side up to omelette. They also had a cooked to order Fishball Noodle. I LOVE how buffet restaurants offer cooked to order dishes because it seems more fresh.

We checked out at 12pm and left our baggage at the lobby and went to explore around the resort and start our photo-taking session.

*PHOTOS TIME*

  

We were able to witness people parasailing right at our balcony 

My initial plan was to have lunch at Rezeki Seafood Restaurant. When we were at lobby and wanted to ask the cab fare to the place, the staffs told me Rezeki is closed on that day which was a Sunday. We double checked from the website and was sure they opened from Monday - Sunday 9am - 9pm. So we noted down the number and I proceed to asked another staff to help me call the number and he told me that Rezeki was closed.

My plan for seafood lunch was spoiled. I chose to have lunch there because its near to the resort and it is rated number 16 restaurant in Batam at tripadvisor. The closure of Rezeki gave us reason to visit Batam again to try that out.

As we run out of rupiah, we will need to find a money exchange nearby. The staff told me that they don't exchange money in the hotel so the nearest money exchange place will be at Nongsa Ferry Terminal.

So after awhile of considerations, we decided to have lunch at the hotel's cafe instead. We went back to the Taman Sari Cafe where we had breakfast for a simple lunch and we were be able to pay by card as well.

The boy ordered Aglio Olio IDR99,000. Portion was reasonable. The aglio olio had more black pepper flavour than the olive & garlic ones but still decent enough for hotel food.

I had Fish & Chips IDR118,800. The fries were fry to crisp. The fish used was not the dory fish we had in Singapore, instead it's the normal kind of nasi lemak fish. You will be able to taste it as the smell is strong. I would say its still edible accompanied with chili or mayonnaise sauce.

Total bill came to IDR263,538 with 10% service charge IDR21,780 and 11% tax IDR23,958.

We still had IDR128,000 left so we spend it on tidbits. Went to the Aqua Shop located in the resort which is the only Convenience Store that sells tidbits and drinks. As the store is monopolize, 1 can of coke cost IDR44,500 which is insane. We only bought a can of coke in there.

There's a pool bar in front of the shop and we bought a Magam Ice Cream which cost IDR40,000 but it cost IDR10,000 in Nagoya's Hypermart. What a HUGE difference!

Gathered at the lobby at 5pm for the hotel transfer to ferry terminal. We still had some rupiah left so we spend it at the Nongsa Shop at ferry terminal. The things there are so much cheaper which is about the same as Nagoya's Hypermarket so we bought another 2 packets of tidbits back.

Things to Note

1. We changed a total of SGD150 to rupiah for 2 days. It is not enough if you intend to shop and eat a lot especially seafood. 
2. If you are travelling with more than 2 people and visiting many places, do consider hiring a cab for a day. Some drivers offer me at a rate of SGD50 per day. (I didn't hire a cab because there's only 2 of us and our one day cab fare is only SGD36 for the places we traveled)
3. The journey from Turi Beach Resort to Nagoya Mall is about 45mins
4. When you are at the arrival hall of the ferry terminal, there will be 1 staff holing a sign stating "Turi Beach Resort" and he will lead you the way to the free shuttle bus service.
5. Batam is an hour behind Singapore
6. Nongsa Ferry Terminal is nearest to Turi Beach Resort. So depart from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal instead of Habourfront Ferry Terminal. 

What to do in Nagoya Shopping Mall

1. Have a meal in A&W
2. Buy Ding Tea! Its only IDR22,000 (SGD2.20) for a large cup of milk tea. Nagoya Mall consist of many bubble tea shops like Ding tea, Share tea, Chatime)
3. Try Ayam Penyet Ria
4. Purchase Batam Layers Cake
5. Catch a movie in the mall (They were screening fast&furious 7 at the time of our visit)
6. Spend time in the arcade. Most games cost only 20cents in Singapore.
7. Head to the Hypermarket located at basement and grab all the snacks, necessities, instant noodles and whatever you would like to grab.

Seafood Places

1.  Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant
2. Rezeki Seafood Restaurant
3. Personally I don't recommend Golden Prawn Seafood because its too touristy as it is where all the tours will bring you but you can still try it if you are keen.

What to do in Turi Beach Resort

1. There are a wide range of recreation activities you can choose from and prices can be found here
2. There's a billiard room at level 1 as well
3. Swim and chill by the pool
4. Spam lots of photos
5. You can purchase liquor from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal's DFS and bring it there to drink with a group of friends
6. Snack and have cup noodle for supper in the room 

Goodbye Batam, Cheap hypermarket stuffs, Cheap & Delicious Seafood, Awesome Sea View, Delicous Kueh Lapis. We will be back for more for sure.

Now I can't wait for Hong Kong trip with the boy during June :)

*Photos are all taken by Nikon D5000. Thank you my boy for taking photos under the sun. Love You <3*

<< Back to Day 1 here

Travelogue: 2 Years Anniversary Trip to Batam 18-04-2015 to 19-04-2015 Day 1

Batam Day 1

Over the weekends, we went to Batam for a 2 days getaway for our 2 years anniversary. Stayed in Turi Beach Resort and bought my package from asia travel for SGD196.38. The package includes 2 return ferry tickets from Tanah Merah Ferry terminal to Nongsa Ferry Terminal, 1 night stay in Turi Beach Resort with breakfast and 2 way hotel transfer. The package excludes Departure and Fuel Surcharge of SGD20 from Singapore and Batam Terminal Fee of SGD6. So each person have to pay SGD26 at Tanah Merah Ferry Terimal when collecting the ferry tickets for both ways.

Its about 35mins ride from Tanah Merah to Nongsa. Another 5mins ride is required from Nongsa Ferry Terminal to Turi Beach Resort. Our ferry ride is supposed to be 12pm but it got delayed. So we reached Turi Beach Resort at about 12.30pm Indonesia time. Just take note that Batam is an hour behind us.

Our room is supposed to be 2 twin beds but we upgraded it to a king size bed at SGD25 due to the weekends. It will be a free upgrade during weekdays. On a happy note, we got an early check in which was supposedly to be 2pm.

We had room at the Tirta Wing. Turi Beach Resort is DAMN big and it has both sides: Tirta Wing and Riani Wing and it has 2 pools. Each wing had its own pool. The room is spacious and each room has a private balcony. The toilet is quite decent but the floors is a little yellowish but overall the facilities are clean just make sure to wear room slippers inside.

The room's television comes with many channels. Channels like AXN, Fox Movie and Singapore Channels as well. So the guest won't be bored in the room.

View from our balcony

Left our baggage in the room and off we proceed to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. It's roughly a 45mins ride from the resort. We book a one way cab from the resort which cost IDR160,000. There's another option of 2 way for 4 hours which includes travelling time for IDR320,000. We didnt want to limit our self to the shopping time so we only took the one way.

Its a must to have A&W at Batam cause its extinct in Singapore. We ordered the spicy 2pcs chicken which tasted quite nice. The boy who usually don't take spicy actually like this. The root beer doesn't comes with ice but if you order coke it comes with ice. So its better to order coke to quench your thirst from the hot weather.

Tourist usually go to Nagoya Hill Mall for A&W, Batam Layer Cake and the Hypermarket.

The famous Batam Layer Cake kueh lapis can be bought from here. For original flavour in small size it cost IRD80,000. The kueh lapis is oh-so-flavourful. Love the buttery fragrant taste of kueh lapis.

We also bought a SIM Card from Indosat which is located in front of J.C.O donuts. The SIM Card cost IDR50,000 with a 3GB data. The data is enough for us to use for 2 days but the minutes of outgoing call is too little.

In the Hypermarket of Nagoya Mall, consumers usually purchase the Indomee, tidbits and necessity because it's so much cheaper than Singapore. We found a brand of cup noodle mee goreng which is SUPER TASTY! Kind of regret cause we only bought 2 cups. We will be back for more.

Image Source: miesedaapcup.com

After all our shopping, we proceed to Habourbay Seafood Restaurant for dinner. We didn't want to take a cab from Nagoya Hill Mall because its not run by meter but instead quoting of price. So we walk to the main road and took a Blue Bird taxi by meter. From Nagoya Hill Mall to Habourbay Seafood Restaurant is less than IDR20,000.

We were there at about 6pm. The servers will usually lead guest to the outside seats which has a beautiful sea view. We managed to get a table right beside the sea for a sunset view. From what I researched, many bloggers usually come to this place and it had a good review. 

From what I researched, people usually recommend the cereal prawns, salted egg crab and kangkong belacan. 

IDR75,000 (SGD7.50) for small

The Cereal Prawns are fry to fragrant. Prawns are decent but it goes well with the cereal. Great dish to be accompanied with rice. 

IDR30,000 (SGD3) for small

The kangkong belacan was good. The dish can't go too wrong for the Indonesians and it's only SGD3 for this portion. You won't find it for this price in Singapore.

IDR228,000 (SGD22.80) for 600g

We wanted to order the 1kg crab but they gave us 600g instead which was fine because its IDR38,000 per 100g. The crabs were fresh and you will be able to taste the sweetness of it. Their salted egg are not the runny creamy type instead it is fry to crisp but still tasty. 

Our total bill came to IDR397,100 with 10% tax of IDR36,100 for 1 plate of cereal prawns, 1 plate of kangkong, 600g of salted egg crab, 2 steamed rice and 2 soft drinks which is around SGD40. Still cheaper than Singapore tough.

Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant

Komp. Harbour Bay No.R 08 jl. Duyung Sei Jodoh, Batu Ampar - Batam, 29461 Batam, Ouham, Central African Republic

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Earlier, I mentioned that the outgoing minutes is too little for the SIM card. We called our taxi driver to picked us up after our dinner. And due to blue bird taxi which is not able to come in to habour bay to pick passengers up, we had to walked all the way out of harbour bay to locate our driver. But we lost contact due to the insufficient amount of outgoing calls. But luckily we still managed to message the driver and locate him eventually.

Blue Bird Taxi
Phone: +62 778 421234
Website: Blue Bird

*Photos are all taken by Nikon D5000 except for the layers cake*

>> Continue to Day 2 here