I have been to Batam for a couple of times but were all for a one-day trip, together with my colleagues for company outings. So this time, I got to experience an overnight stay on Batam island. Thanks to 二叔. 二叔 owns a shipyard company in Batam and has been in here for almost 10 years. So, this is sort of like an invitation from him to play host and show us around in Batam.
We gathered at the Harbourfront at 8 am, purchased the ferry tickets at Level 3, and had morning breakfast while waiting for our time to check in for the 9.20 am ferry.
GK's first ferry trip to Batam!We alighted at the Sekupang Ferry Terminal by around 9.30 am (Batam time), 二叔 and his friend (a private taxi driver) were already at the Arrival Hall waiting for us. As it was still early for hotel check-in, he invited us to his house for a drink and take a short rest.
二叔's house and his Lexus!At 11 am (Batam time), we checked in at Hotel Harmoni and at 12 noon (Batam time) we were treated for a fabulously delicious seafood lunch, which we sat and ate for almost the full 2 hours.
After that, we went for our shopping trip in one of the biggest shopping mall in Batam - the Nagoya Hill. All of us had a good buy for toys, clothings and shoes within this shopping mall. The clothings and toys were cheap.... and GK were thrilled with all the Naruto stuff that they could buy from this shopping mall; toys, school bags, slippers, wallets, sweat bands, etc... My hubby also bought quite a number of pieces of bermudas and home-wear casual t-shirts... The t-shirts were like costing about S$2.50 - S$4.00 per piece.
After the shopping trip, we went back to the hotel to rest and at about 8 pm (Batam time), we were treated to bbq fish and durians and some of the local delights in Batam.
On the next day, after having our complimentary breakfast in the hotel, we went out the the nearby market as MIL wanted to buy the sea cucumber, ikan bilis and dried shrimps. However, she dropped the idea after 二叔commented that those good quality stuff are already exported to other countries, so what was left in Batam area would not be those superior quality that she was looking for.... and in the end, MIL bought smelly beans (臭豆）from the market instead.
We checked out early from the hotel at around 11 am (Batam Time), and loaded our luggages and stuff into the cars and went to Batam Centre Ferry Terminal to book our ferry timing which is for 3.30 pm (Batam Time), and then continued to spend the 3 hours plus to shop around and had lunch at the Mega Mall which is just opposite the ferry terminal.
We arrived at the Harbourfront at 6 pm and by 7 pm, we were already home sweet home, and unpacking our luggages....
Pictures taken during the trip:
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