[nono1973]

Originally Posted by CelestialBeing

Recently came back from my first solo trip.. have to say i made quite a few mistakes..

Finally,your turn for me to reply you,hehehe...(i reply non-urgent post in sequence to keep myself from replying out of impulse) i was looking forward to your FR becos i knew you are a sensible person and whatever you took from this thread,you give back so that those who read them can benefit from it. Well,at the least i am one of them benefited from it today.

Back to your FR.1st and foremost,thank you for sharing. Mind if i ask you a small question 1st? Who in this thread do not make mistakes when they travel to Batam for the 1st time (or new)? I have read this entire thread about 4 to 5 times and sad to say,i found yet to find one. So there is no need to brood over your mistakes. You knew what went wrong and given another time in Batam,will you still go the same direction again like in your current trip? I highly doubt so,hehehe...

A really bad scenario would be those who didnt know its a mistake and yet continue to make them over and over again or worse still,those who knew and still continue to make them due to a big PRIDE (and ego) and then come back telling everyone he had a good time (which in real fact he didnt).

You knew and recognized your mistake/s from the beginning of your post. So i am sure your next trip,which i dare lay my head down to bet with anyone,will definitely be better than this one.

Originally Posted by CelestialBeing

Tried to bargain for a 40k ride from Harbour bay to Da vienne Hotel but all the drivers insisted on a 60k price, finally settled for 50k, en route to the hotel the driver offered to bring me around looking for girls, plus bring me to massage and makan for 250k, agreed price at 200k.

This part would require some techniques to explain in case you think you read them wrong and think you are doing it correct or not right (there is no right and wrong,bro). I will just put myself in your position to narrate the situation from my newbie perspective. If i am you (narrating myself as a newbie),i will not grab a full day taxi from the harbour itself. 2nd,i will definitely not do so if i fail to secure a GOOD BARGAIN from the very beginning (unable to have a 30k taxi fare,yes..not 40k or even 50k). 3rd,if i am new and its my 1st travel to Batam,i will choose ONLY Formosa Hotel as advise by most of the senior batam travellers in this thread.

My Batam beginner's travelling guide was written when i was very very super new to Batam,hence i am actually standing in a close enough newbie mindset when writing them.In other word,in order to understand newbie,i need to be a newbie 1st and have that mindset,eg lacking confidence,mixed up with what other says online,unsure about everything etc etc. I did make some alteration due to the change of Ferry name etc recently tho,but they stay largely the same. And today,i will NEVER be able to rewrite them again becos i am no longer,a newbie in Batam.

1. I book Formosa on a weekday from online,i reach Harbour Bay. I get a taxi,try to bargain to 30k but the driver die die wants 50k (or maybe 60k). I go to another driver,tried again still fail. So i dont really have a choice but to take the taxi at 50k/60k to Formosa Hotel. No,i dont need to ask the current taxi driver who already "chop" me once when i took his service from Harbour Bay to Formosa Hotel for a full day taxi usage and especially not from one that is so hard up becos i know if i have further transaction with this "guy",every other things thereafter will never come cheap.

2. I reach early in Formosa,its on weekday...i wont know if i am able to check in when i reach early,but during the room booking online,i would likely have read that checking in time should normally be 2pm indo time (3pm for Sillypore time and if hotel has enough rooms,they actually allow guests to check in as early as 12pm or at times much earlier) I stay around,walk around,maybe talk to everyone around me since 100% of Formosa Hotel staffs speaks English,some even speaks Chinese. If there is a nono1973 during my time who wrote a Batam travelling guide,i will likely be talking to the Bell Boy after following his postings,hehehe...or if i really need help,i will PM nono1973 via hotel wifi.Anyway,just hang around until close to check in time.

3. Checked in time likely to be 1pm at worst baseon current experience. Check the room,lie around,play with the taps,lights and TVs. More importantly,hotel's wifi...well,since its free,so why not just play with it. Come to SBF,log in and ask in the Batam Info thread for the next possible step to do.

"Hi all,i followed bro Nono1973's guide and reach Formosa and just checked in 115pm indo time,can anyone help me with the next step? Get a taxi to joint or go eat 1st? Thank you."

Alternatively,you may have notice just outside the hotel,there are MANY TAXIS (which is at the hotels's disposal). I am a newbie,its my 1st trip,i have no confidence to travel alone,i need a taxi guide for whole day. Cool,since i am newbie,i am 1st timer,i approach the receptionist (or if i read Nono1973's guide,i approach the Bellboy). Booking a taxi from reception will cost more,say 500k/day? (i am 1st timer ma,next time once i get the taxi driver's HP number,i wont have to pay so much liao) Getting the bell boy to help you will bypass the hotel commission and pay lesser which i also dont know how much,but a small tip to bell boy will go a long way if i plan to return to stay.

Yet another alternative,ask the receptionist to dial me a Blue Bird Taxi stated in Nono1973's cheong List. There we go,i will get a cheap taxi,this is definitely guaranteed to be one of the cheapest option (or fairest) available since they are running by meter. Get the taxi driver to bring me to get an indo sim card for sms,communicate with the driver and GET his number.

4. Before i start travelling on the taxi,most likely i would already know where i wish to go. I usually have my itinerary ready. For a beginner,i wont be greedy,i want to go to the 5 major joints (Gold Bird,Bunga,New Berry,Permata and Happy 8) with the most number of girls in Batam to choose girl,i want to have lunch,i also want dinner. Maybe even shopping or movie at night until next morning send me back to Harbour to head to Sillypore.

5. Massage is at the 4th floor of Formosa hotel if not enough confident,KTV at the same floor. Provision also at the hotel downstairs too. More massage shops just opposite the Hotel,food court Indo rasa directly behind Relax Massage. Even Money changer is opposite the Hotel.

6. Shopping wise,just read the Batam travelling guide again to locate Nagoya Hill Mall from Formosa Hotel. This mall is big enough to kill at least few hours of my time.

All in all,i will ONLY make one mistake from the above 6 points. Thats the 500k taxi fare for the whole day. But well,i am a newbie or 1st time traveller to Batam,come on...one mistake for now and forever i wont have a chance to make it again. So is the 500k worth? My taxi is from the hotel,so it is afterall a little more reliable than Harbour's taxis,and if in the event there is anything not right,who do i look for? hehehe...you know,i know..everybody knows. The hotel of course!

Safety 1st. And dont worry too much on budget as it will still be within the budget spending i quoted on your last year's post during May 2014 (i do read back a lot):

https://sbfsg.agency/showpo...ostcount=25387

Originally Posted by CelestialBeing

Here is what happens next, i reached the hotel pretty early like, 9:30am, was told only can check in at 12pm, so no early check in. Ask driver to bring me to clean massage, and here is where i go wrong, should had picked a list of massage place posted by bro nono, but in the end he brought me to this place called Nagoya Spa & Massage, price listed for a 2hr Aromatherapy was 300k. My instinct tells me its more than expensive but i decided to take it anyway. Thankfully the massage was decent and the therapist was good and thorough.

Nagoya Spa and Massage is a good place for massage,bro. The price is on the menu as stated. Yes,they are more expensive than other massage shops but what you are getting is close enough with Spa Secret standard of massage tho not as good. But its one of the lowest in pricing under the same category kind of top class massage. In my point of view,this is not a mistake. Its always good to try all categories of massage in Batam which will enrich your experience in your future trips to Batam.

Read on,you will understand better...

Originally Posted by CelestialBeing

After massage, driver brought me around to look for girls, went to quite a couple of joints, first thing he suggested to me was to go to Morena, but i flat out reject him when i rem what bro nono said about them. He den brought me to MM Massage, Happy Massage, Indah 2. Saw a nice cewek i like at 1 Juta from MM massage, confirmed with the mandarin speaking Papi whether its only 3 shots max, he said yes and i just told him that i'd consider and left.

Look like the taxi driver only brings you to 2 out of the 5 major joints.

Gold Bird and Happy 8. And Happy 8 being the 2nd most expensive big sized booking joint in Batam. (no.1 ranking goes to Bunga Massage from my perspective)