Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

[miumiu6464]

Originally Posted by nono1973

Hmm...you went there during non-happy hours,hence its 312k. For a moment,i thought the price went up. Looks like they now have discount during non-happy hour too,hehehe...

Thank you for sharing.



Good to know you like the food. Prices were pretty much alright too.



I am actually curious to know if Momo is still around?

(went there a few times last year but they were closed)

Bro

New Spa Happy Hour ends at 3pm now, instead of 5pm. They have a massage package for 3juta - 5 Executive Room 5 VIP Rooms. Or, is it 6-6.

Momo closed already. I forgot who told me.

[micmac888]

Originally Posted by nono1973;15768726[

I am actually curious to know if Momo is still around?

momo absconded after borrowung money from loan sharks. best guess is he ran back to medan.

the nice thing he did was the stall rental was paid and not defaulted. so was his btm rental residence too.

could be more to it though, as his stall was thriving. perhaps got better opportunity elsewhere. and so did the tricky thing of leveraging on his reputation to borrow more money before taking flight.

well , heng ar got botakcun's bakme. the only noodle texture i know far that matches momo.

also, Anah BBQ shifted. will do a writeup on their location.

about nagoya... sorry bro, i cant find any stall yet that i think i would spend my time writing. its just ok. except for 1 so far and thats spiro pizza near brewsky. its that good that brewsky manager swears by too.

[Naka_Timo]

Originally Posted by micmac888

momo absconded after borrowung money from loan sharks. best guess is he ran back to medan.

the nice thing he did was the stall rental was paid and not defaulted. so was his btm rental residence too.


about nagoya... sorry bro, i cant find any stall yet that i think i would spend my time writing. its just ok. except for 1 so far and thats spiro pizza near brewsky. its that good that brewsky manager swears by too.

Another good place gone. Btw, how have you been?

[micmac888]

Originally Posted by Naka_Timo

Btw, how have you been?

fine man, fine. hope u doing fine too.

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by leekwantew

Wah sian, rush home from work to plan itenary and realreviews is down.

I also don't know why they were always down nowadays. Its use to be pretty alright.

Anyway,the basic to go Batam is simple,hehehe...its almost already imprint at the back of my brain.

For myself (if I am new), which is also written on the guide,i will do as below...

In Singapore :

1. I will book a ferry ticket from Horizon Ferry heading to Harbour Front (Singapore) to Batam Harbour Bay (do a google search for horizonfast ferry online booking). Take a look at their available ferry timing.

Please do not worry about booking ferry ticket from their website as no upfront payment is required (so no credit card or nets needed). If you happen to change your mind,just redo it all over again.

2. On the day of my trip,head over to the Horizon Fast ferry counter on the 3rd floor of Harbour front (ferry boarding is on the 2nd floor) about 45mins (weekday) or an hour (weekend) in advance to make payment.

1 Maritime Square #03-47, Harbourfront Centre, Singapore 099253

3. i will be issued a boarding pass and a return ticket upon payment (cash only). Keep the return ticket as I only need it on my way back to Singapore. The boarding pass is all I will need to board the ferry from Singapore to Batam. (I learned a lesson never to keep my return ticket inside my passport becos the Batam side's custom officer stole it from me before)

4. I head to 2nd floor to board my ferry to Batam Harbour Bay.

In Batam Harbour Bay.

1. The same old procedure,head to have my passport chop. Step out from the arrival hall,the 1st thing I will do is walk around...look for the Horizon Ferry counter at Harbour Bay which is about 2 mins walk from the arrival hall.

2. Take out my return ticket,get the boarding pass to go back to Singapore Harbour Front. I do this 1st upon my arrival to Batam becos I kiasu. I worry I may not be able to return back to Singapore if the date/time where I chose to return back ,ferry seats may be taken.

3. After settling all the above,i head to either grab a taxi or ojek to head to Formosa Hotel. And I never take the 1st taxi/ojek driver who approach me.

Once I reach Formosa hotel or any other hotels,i check my room's aircon,toilet,door locks,wifi and lightings (any problem,change room). The rest,i simply follow what I told you earlier.

https://sbfsg.agency/showpost.php?p=157...postcount=6256

...and once in Formosa hotel,i wont have to worry anymore regarding provision shop,MP,KTV and overnight booking girls anymore. I usually advise my friends to walk around the perimeter of the hotel to get a feel of the hotel on their 1st day and to grab some toiletries.

Ground floor : Provision shop (front door turn left,walk straight and turn left again..then walk straight) They sell CDs.

Alishan KTV : Hotel 4th floor (opens at 7pm,has booking girl too but cost more) Do book room in advance if you plan to sing there. Hotel members has some discount (cant remember,i think its either 20% to 30% off but discount not applicable for girls).

King Massage : Hotel 4th Floor (100k/hour,can go to your room to massage but need to bargain hard for special service/s or I will be chopped. Do not be afraid to reject special services becos there will always more choices elsewhere) Hotel members get 10% off. Membership is free.

Shopping : Behind Formosa is Citywalk Mall (2 mins walk). Turn right from Formosa,i see Lucky Plaza. In between lucky plaza and Formosa hotel straight down 5 mins walk is Nagoya Hill Mall (has a theater).

Behind Formosa Map...

Just remember,out from front door of Formosa Hotel with my butt facing the glass door. Left hand side is Center Point Mall,right hand side is Lucky Plaza.

If you can reach Biz Hotel,then you can use this walk through...

( Click to show/hide )

Walking to Happy 8 -

( Click to show/hide )

The above is gonna keep me busy enough for a 3D2N. So until I find out what I am looking for, will I dug in more and dwell in them (everyone's definition of fun is different).

Enjoy planning and may you have a good trip.

Cheers!

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by leekwantew

Is it because no cab or always full?

In Batam,some hotels can really have no taxi at all. So the security guard or their bell boy have to dial a taxi for me,which can sometime make me wait for an extra 10 to 20 mins.

I can order a meal from a zhi char road store,the 1st dish can sometime turn up 30 mins later,hehehe...

I take a taxi from point A to point B,it can take 5 mins,but when I come back from point B to point A,i can end up using 20mins (and the reason is not becos of heavy traffic but of the way they structure their roads).

I walk into a massage shop,the moment I start getting the massage can be up to 15mins or more upon my 1st step into their shop.

What I am saying is, do not use Singapore efficient way of time planning to plan in Batam. You may end up getting piss off. Simply just go patiently slow and relax.

Originally Posted by leekwantew

yes thats what I read; I think to and fro from hotel and ferry terminal is NP because can book, is going girl hunting thats the problem

Good.

For "girl-hunting" in booking joint,just take it like you go to wet-market to buy poultries ,hehehe...use your own judgment tactically with some basic common sense. I am sure most cheongsters will have those instinct.

Originally Posted by leekwantew

I'll bear in mind what you said about choosing girls, since I not super handsome I'll pick a 5-6/10 girl and hope she is good

What happen when a 9.5/10 girl shows interest in you? And the 5-6/10 one don't?

This will depend on luck then,hehehe...

Originally Posted by leekwantew

thanks man!! just sharing what little I know

Those were positive info sharing, minus the grievance (with positive attitude). You deserve to be helped when you help others. If everyone does that,the internet world will become a better place to be in even when perspectives were different.

[naga888]

Very informative thread.

[BFOMF5]

I kaypoh abit...

Originally Posted by nono1973

In Singapore :
1. Take a look at their available ferry timing.
....

To prevent delay by big cruises check this..
http://www.singaporecruise.com.sg/index.php/?page_id=110&action=cruise

For Your departure fr HBF
make sure your ferry departure time is more then an hour before any "arrival" time of the cruise.
And half hour after the "departure" time of the cruise.
You might asks,
Why need to give more time for the arrival cruises?

The reason...
All these big cruises came in to HBF via west keppel fairway. They hv to along-side with the bow facing Labrador.
As they can't manoeuvre within the narrow channel (Strait of Singapore).
Tug boats are used to help them to position at the eastern end of west Koppel gateway(in front of Labrador) and reverses into harbour.
They why take more time.

As for departure., the vessel hv already facing out. So less time required for them to move out.

For your Arrival to HBF
Due to the diff in time zone(1h) and the travelling time fr BTM to HBF (1h)
You hv to depart BTM 3hr before the cruise HBF Arrival.
E.g. if you see a cruise scheduled to arrive HBF at 18:00 (singapore time) you departure time fr BTM should not later then 15:00WIB.
If not., you are not only been delayed on the sea. (Even you can clear the immigration faster) You might be seeing long que at the custom scanner.

Originally Posted by nono1973

...
Just remember,out from front door of Formosa Hotel with my butt facing the glass door. Left hand side is Center Point Mall,right hand side is Lucky Plaza.
....

Right in front...
Cross the road..
$ changers.

My 2 rupiah worth....

[Black Page]

Originally Posted by nono1973

2. Take out my return ticket,get the boarding pass to go back to Singapore Harbour Front. I do this 1st upon my arrival to Batam becos I kiasu. I worry I may not be able to return back to Singapore if the date/time where I chose to return back ,ferry seats may be taken.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT advice.
In my SOP, I always get my boarding pass to return to Singapore right on my arrival, immediately after exiting the immigration.

This is important, not only to avoid to have the bad surprise to find all seats booked when I want to depart (this happened on my FIRST VISIT to Batam; I could find a seat only because someone did not show up; I was missing my flight from Changi! ), but also because this allows to save significant time on the day of departure.
With my boarding pass in my hand, I can leave Formosa 45 minutes before departure time (I am always very busy on my last day, guess why... ).

Originally Posted by nono1973

3. After settling all the above,i head to either grab a taxi or ojek to head to Formosa Hotel. And I never take the 1st taxi/ojek driver who approach me.

Why avoid the first, if he offers you the appropriate price? The first is not necessarily bad.
As a matter of fact, I always take the first taxi, I never had problems with the first, agreeing to pay the standard 50k (if one wants to pay 40k and save 10k, then he can definitely walk to the toll barrier or look for someone else in the parking lot, but are 10k worth 5-10 minutes of walking or additional quest? Note: I travel with a big luggage)

Originally Posted by nono1973

Once I reach Formosa hotel or any other hotels,i check my room's aircon,toilet,door locks,wifi and lightings (any problem,change room). The rest,i simply follow what I told you earlier.

I failed doing this last time, so I had to change room AFTER unpacking my big bag
I could only blame myself (and that room, which notoriously is not covered by WiFi, although the signal seems strong)

[BFOMF5]

Bros travel to/fr BTM next 7 days take note. Especially on 5/3 Wed.

[yourslovingly]

https://www.groupon.sg/getaways#category/indonesia

Groupon got many offers. Did any body used before? is it the price will exact or will be increased at final buy stage? i need more details. pls sombody explain here or pm me. tks

[bestbest]

Originally Posted by Black Page

Why avoid the first, if he offers you the appropriate price? The first is not necessarily bad.
As a matter of fact, I always take the first taxi, I never had problems with the first, agreeing to pay the standard 50k

Sure or not? all taxis in front willing to accept 50k? They always quote minimum 70k and refuse to budge. So you are saying 50k + 20k tips in lieu of your big luggage

[Black Page]

Originally Posted by bestbest

Sure or not? all taxis in front willing to accept 50k? They always quote minimum 70k and refuse to budge. So you are saying 50k + 20k tips in lieu of your big luggage

NO. The standard fare for a taxi from Harbour Bay to Formosa is 50k, period. That's what I pay.
Hard bargainers with experience on site can definitely achieve 40k, but I don't push for saving 10k (taxi also pay the entrance toll to be there).
I NEVER paid anything more than 50k from HB to Formosa or from Formosa to HB in my life (maybe 25-30 visits overall? I am really not sure)

SOP:
- When I exit the door near the Horizon Ferry checkin office, a guy approaches me with "Taxi Sir?". I reply: "Yes thank you!".
- The guy literally runs to the car and comes back driving, or calls a driver waiting in the lot.
- The driver takes my luggage (1 bag 25kg). I say "Lima puluh ya" (just to be sure), the driver nods, and there we go, both happy.
A few times I did not even say "50k", but I had no problems on my arrival to Formosa when I paid 50k. Everyone knows it's the standard price. Taxi drivers understand immediately if one is a regular or permanent resident in Batam. Sure, if the driver understands there is allowance to get more, he will avidly try to catch the opportunity.

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by bestbest

Sure or not? all taxis in front willing to accept 50k? They always quote minimum 70k and refuse to budge. So you are saying 50k + 20k tips in lieu of your big luggage

The taxi booth (after one came out fm xray baggage clearance) taxi charges is fix/standard. Other than tis taxi booth, any other taxi around or outside vincinity of HB is negotiable.

[miumiu6464]

Oh.. nowadays got SOP for taking taxis in Batam.

Don't disagree with the "market price" for trip between Harbour Bay and Formosa, but that seems to be the market price for most 2 points travel in Batam. Like, 50k is also the price they asked for trips between Formosa and Windsor, Formosa to BCS. And, in my case, Batam Centre to Formosa. There's this once we are just going from Gold Bird to Nagoya Hill, and the driver quoted us 50k too, though another driver 5 steps away quoted us 40k.

So, ya, there really is no strict market price. Just as the drivers will always try to get more, we can counter for less and walk off with a smile if price is not acceptable. It makes sense for Black Page to get the first 50k driver, but I won't. If I'm paying 50k from Batam Centre to Nagoya, why would I pay 50k from Harbor Bay to Nagoya when the former is about 3x the distance. I'll just hop on an ojet for 6k from Harbor Bay if I'm alone.