Batam.
5:14 PMHello there, back here to update on my most recent trip to Batam!
I guess most people know that it's a popular spot for Singaporeans to have a short getaway given how near it is to our country! To be precise, it's only a 1 hour ferry ride there. The things there are really cheap too, which I guess is another reason why Singaporeans love going there.
It's both our first time there but we didn't want to go for the tour packages because we didn't want to go some places in the itinerary so we decided to go free-and-easy. The planning for this short trip was pretty fast, with us picking the tourist-y places to go!
Initially we were also worried about getting around in the country, but thankfully Clarissa managed to find this driver who could bring us around for the whole day!
Booked our 2-way ferry tickets online from Batam Fast for about SGD42! Had to arrive slightly earlier to collect the boarding pass.
All ready to go!
The ferry for our trip there.
Inside the ferry. Honestly the trip there wasn't all that good. The seats were very old and the ferry was quite dirty! Furthermore, the air-con wasn't functioning properly. We were sweating inside. Thankfully one of the staff came to fix the problem and it got better after!
The ride was made so much awesome because of this beautiful sight. I was really so stunned at how beautiful it was. Was so focused until I almost forgot to take a picture of it. The clouds looked really near to the sea there!! Simply breathtaking.
Really so amazed by this amazing work of His hands.
So, after that 1h ride, we finally arrived!
Hello Batam!!!
We were initially quite scared upon reaching because we've read that several Singaporeans have been sent back at the immigration counters here because they were caught talking or using their phones. Thankfully we cleared it all safely and made it out lol. We also reached earlier than we expected, and we thought we had to wait for awhile before the driver comes! But thankfully (again) he reached earlier and was wandering around with a sign that says "Clarissa Tee". It was quite funny because we wanted to get a SIM card at the ferry terminal and we were looking for the shop. Then this guy with the sign suddenly approached us and I was like "Eh?! Your name leh." That's how we recognised our driver and got our ride for the rest of the day there!
One thing good about hiring him (other than the convenience) is that he brought us to places that the tours wouldn't! & about the SIM card, he was telling us that it's quite expensive to get at the ferry terminal, so he brought us to this market area to get one. We did our research beforehand and was prepared to pay about SGD9 for that, but guess what...? The place he brought us to buy the SIM card only cost me about SGD1.50. The difference was just shocking.
He's also quite a nice person too! He was helping me with the activation and the purchase of the 'data packet' on my phone because it's all in Bahasa Indonesia. Also, he asked us before that if we wanted to head to somewhere for breakfast even though we didn't include that in our itinerary. :-)
Also, after we got out to the roads (just barely 5 minutes or so?), we started seeing a few young (like probably only 5 or 6 years old or younger) children wandering on the roads with thick stacks of newspaper. Initially I thought they were just jaywalkers, but I finally understood what they were doing when they started knocking on the windows of the cars. It was such a heartbreaking sight to see. Although I've heard of such happenings, but seeing it with my own eyes is a whole different thing. Also, the drivers at Batam are pretty reckless.. like really. I can feel and understand the difference between the drivers here and there especially after driving on the roads by myself. They just cut lanes, overtake, swerve their vehicles in and out just to get to their destination quickly. It's such a dangerous working environment for the kids. They should be receiving education and not doing such a tough job at such an age. This is why, people always say that the children in Singapore are really so privileged, which I really agree with!
Selfie in the car!! It was a 7-seater car so we fitted in super comfortably hahaha (like duh).
On the road feat. our driver!
Didn't really take much scenery shots while we were on the car because our driver was just zooming past everything so quickly lol. Took some videos in the end! We were supposed to reach our first destination in 35 minutes but we reached in 20 minutes.
Our first stop - Barelang Bridge!
It's so so so so so beautiful. This picture does not do justice to the beauty of this place at all!
The view!! *heart eyes*
A proper picture of the bridge! It's usually supposed to be quite crowded, but I guess it wasn't for our experience because it was a weekday morning & so we could really walk around quite a bit and snap lots of photos!
Okay I'll let the pictures do the talking *shuts up*
Looking so tourist-y. Hats and shades checked lol. Feat. Clarissa's thumbs up.
The wind was just so crazily strong and we couldn't really take a proper photo without our hair looking crazy. This is the best photo to illustrate how the situation was like lol.
Just more of us hehe.
Took several solo shots too!
& check out this girl who risked her life for this shot hahaha lol.
Went for this place for lunch next! Not a very popular choice for tourists but our driver suggested this place so we agreed!
It was about a 5 minutes drive from Barelang Bridge & it's only accessible via your own mode of transport! It's situated at a super ulu area, like he had to drive up and down slopes to get here!
Was actually quite surprised to see when we arrived there. There were actually houses that people live in there (as shown in the picture). It's really like those I've seen on documentaries and shows! The residents there were just staring at us while we walked past to get to the restaurant.
This is how the restaurant looks like! We were the only customers there then.
Coupled with this view!
Our drinks and bucket of rice that was served.
The food that we ordered - Chili Kang Kong, Hotplate Tofu, Calamari. Seems like quite a simple fare right, but it'd have probably cost a bomb here (probably at least SGD 30+). We only paid about SGD 8 each with the drinks and rice! The calamari was super good too!! It was the only dish that we finished. The Kang Kong and Hotplate Tofu just tasted quite normal. We didn't finish not because it didn't taste good, but because the flies invaded our space and contaminated our food before we could finish it. All in all, it was a good meal there! There were many flies as companions though, but given the price and the ambiance, I'd say it's still worth a trip there!
Next stop, Nagoya Hill Mall! The place we spent most time at. Walked around and didn't get much though.
We only started spending at the Hypermart! Everything was just so insanely cheap. Like this long row of Indomee/instant noodles. The prices of all these ranges from 20 cents to 50 cents (or less)! Only grabbed a few though since I'm not a fan of such noodles. I still prefer my made-in-Singapore instant noodles lol. Instead, I got so many hair and skincare products (like about 10 bottles of them lol) and bought some snacks too. Spent only about SGD 20+ there. I doubt I'd have gotten even 2 hair products here with that amount of money. I kinda regretted not getting more after trying the hair products because they work as well (or even better) than the ones I got here lol.
Went to this highly-raved about cafe, Caffein, nearby after all the shopping! Came across really good reviews of them and we knew that we had to put that in our itinerary.
The cafe set-up looked like any other cafes here. The only difference was that the cakes there are so cheap. The most expensive one was like about SGD 3... like whaaaaaaaaaaaat? I was thinking of getting more than one but my stomach didn't have that much space so I just settled with one.
Here's my cake, which was amazing. Just SGD 2+ for this piece of goodness. The chocolate was not too rich and just nice! I'm really bad at describing food but yeah.. it was just really good lol. Tried Clarissa's Oreo cheesecake and it was equally good too! It's definitely a place to stop over and rest your legs from all the walking earlier in the day. It wasn't crowded too so double yay. :-)
A shot outside! .. with my auntie loots lol.
Headed to two factory outlets & I must say that it was such a disappointment. Wasn't even expecting much but it was just way below my expectations. Both of us just left the factory outlets empty-handed lol.
After which, off we went to our final stop - Mega Mall. The things there are pretty similar to the things available at Nagoya Hill Mall so we decided to stopover at Starbucks and chill. #eatingagain Went for a quick dinner at this random restaurant/cafe we saw upstairs before leaving!
My dinner. Portion looks pathetic but I only paid about SGD3 for this with the drink. I was still telling Clarissa before that I was only left with about SGD 6 and I doubt I can eat much with that money.. and I was just proven wrong lol. The amount of food was also more than sufficient for me then because of all the food we had before.
Off we went to take our ferry back home. Our last shot in Batam!
Our ride back.
Sat at the outdoor seats this time round! It was a good ride with the sea breeze at night! :-)
A shot on the ferry with her auntie loots hahaha.
The ride back felt much faster although it took the same amount of time. & so we're back with so much burden on our arms.
Was really so exhausted after such a long day but it was a really memorable experience that I'm glad for! I've always been one who loves exploring new places, especially overseas! Thankful to have the company of this girl who made the trip even better too!! :-)
Also, I'm really thankful for God's hand in ensuring our safety and blessing us with good weather while we were there! Prayed about it previously and as usual he answered my prayers! It didn't rain although the weather forecast indicated it would. Really so blessed with His love for us!!! :-)
And.. that's all for this post, till the next!
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