Batam SMS - Shopping Massage Seafood!

So since I've blogged about Bintan and referenced it a few times to Batam, I thought I should start backlogging my travels of over 70 countries so here's the one on Batam! I managed to get a 2D1N deal to Batam inclusive of 4-star hotel accommodation + 7 course seafood meal + breakfast + ferry ride + local tour + 1 hour massage for SGD$49 (USD $39). Cool, right? *triumphant grin*

The journey was much faster than we expected - only 45mins by ferry! Upon reaching, the local tour started - which was provided the answer as to how our trip could be so cheap.. COMMISSIONS, COMMISSIONS, COMMISSIONS!!!!

We were brought to a couple of shops: dried indo foodstuffs shop (with free samples of local honey cake, arabica coffee and layer cake (Kueh Lapis) shop. Prices were obviously marked-up, okay by Singapore standards but awfully expensive by Indonesian standards. 

Layer cake (Kueh Lapis) is a traditional Indonesian layered spice cake, baked with an insane amount of butter and egg yolks. Very time-consuming and hence, expensive.

The highlight of our tour up till that point was definitely the seven course seafood lunch included in our package. *Nomz nomz nomz*

Pretty generous portions, right? OMG - the coconuts were bigger than our faces!  O_O'''

Thereafter, we visited the Miniature House Indonesia which showcased the different architectural styles of houses in Indonesia, given that Indonesia has the world's largest archipelago with >17,000 islands!

Just across the Miniature House was a Go-Kart place ($15 for 10mins, totally not worth it). There was also a Flying Fox next to it but we didn't have time to go there, plus I bet it must be insanely priced too. So we scampered to explore the "zoo" next to the Miniature House. 

The next destination we were supposed to go to was the traditional Batik factory. (Batik is a cloth that is traditionally made and colored using a manual wax-resist dyeing technique.) I have great admiration for this art form but I was happy that we skipped this as time was running out.. I'm pretty darn sure it's gonna be just another commission-based shopping experience - just like the First Factory Outlet we were brought to. 

The tour guide, Harry (he asked us to call him Harry Potter O_O''') then took us to the Tua Pek Gong Chinese temple. Tua Pek Kong 大伯公 literally means "Grand Uncle", is one of the pantheon of Malaysian Chinese Gods. 

A one-hour massage was also included in our tour - which, solely, would have been a good reason to buy the tour package. A one-hour massage would typically cost northwards of SGD$50 in Singapore but in Batam, it is not uncommon to find two hours of massage for SGD$14-20. Awesomeness!!!!

As usual, Harry Potter tried to do his magic in transferring $$ from folks to his own pocket by upselling and cross-selling massage services...+SGD$10 for aromatherapy, +SGD$10 for 30mins extra massage, +SGD$30 for aromatherapy + body scrub... again, it was okay by Singaporean standards but wayyyyyyy too expensive by Indo standards. Harry Potter got not an extra cent from us. ^_^

Other reasonably priced, clean massage places in Batam: IndoThai, Sawasdika, Isabella Massage House.

The best part of our trip got started when the tour ended. We were dropped off at HarborBay Hotel Amir around 5+pm and from there, we explored the harbor and its seemingly never-ending stretch of seafood restaurants. 

Sotong with salted egg yolk paste ($3), Sweet and sour fish ($9), Avocado milkshake ($1.50)

Coconut ($1), Baby Kailan ($1.50), Stir fried Kang kong with belachan chilli ($1.50)

Crispy kampung (village) chicken ($6), Baby squids ($3.50)

Dinner was insane...we had a seafood feast for less than $30!!!

Top attractions in Batam. My conclusion: there's only 3 things to do in Batam: SMS. Shopping Massage Seafood. :) I don't think much of the shopping unless you're not on a group tour and can find places that aren't obviously marked-up to cater to fat-pocket tourists.

For massage, I give ***THUMBS UP*** to Tempat Senang Spa, which was *totally* deserving of its status as one of the TOP 11 SPAS IN ASIA. 

We got the same 3 treatments: Balinese massage, Hot Herbal Compress and Foot Reflexology.

Basically you can choose any 3 treatments for a half-day package (3 hours, $75 weekdays/ $99 weekends) or 6 treatments for a full-day package (6 hours, $149 weekdays/ $195 weekends) from the list of available options below. 

The resort was really, really beautiful. It had so many elements of my dream home - the simplicity, openness, greenery and plenty of water features. 

What made our whole experience even better was that we stayed for dinner and by then, all the guests in the hotel had already left..so we were given a tour of the villa property. There are 8 luxury rooms and I really loved how the owner was able to inject her personality and travel collections onto the property. 

JAPANESE ROOM

BALI ROOM

INDIAN ROOM

INDONESIAN ROOM

THAI ROOM

TREE HOUSE (gosh, it even has a big coconut tree right through it!)

JAVANESE JOGLO (100 year old antique Javanese teak house)

This house was literally transported to Batam via a container, in as-is condition!

After touring the property, it was time for us to go to the main hall where our dinner awaited us. It felt like we were in paradise with the serene golf course next to us, the fresh light rain, and breezy winds.

INDONESIAN DINNER: NASI CAMPUR

Our gorgeous platter included: Beef Rendang, Gado Gado (Indonesian rojak/ salad), Lumpia (spring rolls), Satay (BBQ shrimp skewers), Peanut sauce, Kaffir lime chicken, Fish fillet, Rice, Acar and Emping crackers

I was really pleasantly surprised at how fantastic this trip was. It's a great substitute to the more expensive (air tix alone cost >SGD$200!) Bangkok shopping massage food adventure. :) 

Foodprinted on 21-22 April 2012, Saturday-Sunday

Slug weekend at Bintan, Indonesia

I had *no idea* that I was going to Tanjung Pinang (a place I often hear my parents mention) when I got the weekend trip to Bintan planned. Turned out that Tanjung Pinang is Bintan's capital. Bintan is an Indonesian island about 3.5x the size of Singapore, and 1hr 30mins away by ferry. 

We met a wonderful Malay lady who goes shopping in Bintan twice a month because things there are supposedly very cheap. I thought it was too much work for SGD$50 in tix price & 3 hr roundtrip travel time!

Although I didn't know what to expect, I've had vague impressions of white sands, gently lapping South China Sea waves and pretty resorts from my foreigner friends who flock there each weekend. But when we first got to Tanjung Pinang, a town of ~200,000 people, the air is dusty from the motorcycles (ojek), streets are pretty cramped, hawkers of all sorts line the streets, and ohhh the heat was unbearable!

First up, a visit to the Monument of Young Generation (the Raja Haji Fisabilillah momument), a 28m concrete structure erected in the middle of a roundabout to commemorate the Malayan king of the same name who died in a battle against the Dutch in 1784. Unimpressive.

Directly opposite it was the famed Gong-gong statue. I had no idea what it was, only to find out that it's literally a statue of the Gong-gong (edible sea snail/ conch). Undergoing renovation. Equally unimpressive.

So by now, you can tell that my enthusiasm for Bintan is pretty much near zero. Then came lunch at Jawa Timur (apparently a popular restaurant for tourists) - which was pretty good, except that it took ~1 hour for our food to be served. Not cool given that we were the only patrons in the restaurant.

Lunch: Coconut rice, Ayam Penyet, Sambal Kang Kong, Fried Fish, Indonesian Vegetable Soup

Then our driver, Simon, took us to the Guan Yin Temple, where you'll find the largest sitting Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) in South-east Asia. I was really surprised that the entire temple was empty, as was the rest of the sights we went to for the entire day! Even our tour group consisted of just my mother and I. (!!!)

Guan Yin Temple - very spacious and interesting architecture. All the statues and temple carvings are made in and imported from China!

Simon then took us to Sarimas Kerepek Tempe where I learned about the famous fermented soya bean crackers (kerepek/ our Sg version of Keropok). The only man in the kitchen slices locally ordered Tempe, which is then dipped into a flour batter mixed with garlic, candlenuts, coriander and cumin by a group of women huddled behind him. They then deep fry it and out comes the supposedly super famous Kerepek Tempe that I only found out about here. I'm neither a fan of the taste nor the grease, but I enjoyed the learning process! :)

Next stop: the 500 Lohan Temple. I thought this was quite possibly the highlight of our trip (besides the massage later on). Serene, spacious, and awe-inspiring, this is also the place to have a little picnic by the garden next to the 500 Lohans. Lohans are apparently the Arhats that have achieved deliverance from their earthly existence in Theravada Buddhism, and commonly act as guardian angels of Buddhist temples with their wisdom, courage and ability to ward off evil.

Magnificent 500 Lohans behind us.

Another pavilion housing a golden Buddha perched at the top of the hill overlooking the entire temple. Reminded me of Thailand!

Next up: a visit to the Cuttlefish packaging factory to see how the local dried cuttlefish are processed (cuttlebone is removed manually, then cuttlefish is flattened under a roller), oven-grilled, seasoned and packed/ sealed. Funny how the women who were previously only chatting started to get busy with their hands as I walked towards them. >.<

I'm not a big fan of processed foods these days so we only bought 2 small packets out of courtesy. What to do when you're in a tour group of two???? Boh pian lah!

Next up: The tour was supposed to include a visit to the famous Tripadvisor rate #1 Penyengat island (since it was shown in the photo). But somehow the tour agency denied it so nvm, we paid 5000 Rp (SGD $0.60) 1-way per person for a 15min boat ride to the island. The boatman offered to get the boat moving immediately if we paid 30,000 Rp but there's really no need for that as the boat filled up pretty quickly with locals commuting between the two islands.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE the sea! Oceans, seas, lakes, anything to do with water - I like!! :)

The first imposing structure you'll see as you exit the boat is the old vice-royal mosque, a yellow mosque - which houses a rare 150-year-old handwritten Koran. Legend has it that the mosque was built using a mortar foundation of eggs (Note: the mortar, not the whole building). A pujasera - an open-air karaoke with a stage was also mounted there, clearly the surest way to experience the islander's way of life!

The island (which is really tiny) is reminiscent of Singapore in the 1960s/70s - kampung (village) style and very quaint. Needless to say, I played an eager listener to Mom's stories of her kampung (village) childhood. Actually the trip was really nice in that I learned a lot about my family history and especially about the life of my grandmother (popo).

Kids playing cards greeted me with excitement as I walked past them, so I stopped to say hello!

Colorful houses on stilts in the sea along with similarly colorful boats are a common sight.

We were done with Penyengat island in just about 30mins so off we went back to mainland Tanjung Pinang where we were treated to one of the best massages of my life (on par with the AWESOME Tempat Senang Spa at Batam island) at Ladies Spa (Jalan Brigjend Katamso, No. 8) - a misnomer as it's suitable for both men and women. Mom and I got the Balinese massage (~SGD32 for 90mins) and it was really heavenly!

Dinner was at a local seafood restaurant. I thought portions were small, pricier and not as tasty as the one I had in Batam.

Salt & pepper squid, Fishball soup (Mom loves), Sambal Kang Kong, Garlic and chilli clams, Baby cuttlefish (separate additional order) and Avocado milkshake!! :)

On our way to Akau, a night food market, we came across a rally by one of Indonesia's Chinese-Indo politician. The entire Chinese community was there to support him and it was quite a sight to catch a glimpse of the local entertainment: makeshift stage with a ladyboy performer.

Ok. Now on Akau Potong Lembu (Akau) - THE PLACE for authentic local food. This is a parking lot by day, and a crowded hawker area by night. Boasting of smells that will set your mouth salivating, this is the place to chillax and have some ching tng (cold dessert soup filled with all sorts of jellies) while soaking in the charm of naked bulbs hanging on exposed wires and wondering how life was like back in Singapore.

Tour guide Simon with his bowl of sugary cold Ching Tng dessert. Apparently opposite the road not far off is the best Crab Bee Hoon in town! ^_^

The next day was spent chillaxing at our Bintan Cabana Beach Resort. It's a little way out, about 1 hour from the harbor but it was really quiet and perfect for a retreat.

Cute swing hanging from the tree! 

Happy jumping shots with kelongs (floating fishing villages) behind us. :)

The calm, shallow waters stretches out for like 300m and even then, the water's barely at my hip! :P + taking a dip in the pool after

For a weekend retreat, I think Batam is closer (45mins ferry) and cheaper. But the sea is definitely wayyyyyyyy nicer at Bintan than Batam. The next time I'm here (not anytime soon), I might try the pujasera (karaoke) which is a favorite past time here. Apparently the island's biggest pujasera Pinang Marina and Rimba Cafe (133 Jalan Gudang Minyak, Komplek Rimba Jaya) is good for that.

A stayover in a Kelong (fishing village) + fishing trip is also in my list of "Somedays/ Maybes".xls. We drove past a few, and Elly's Kelong (Jalan Pantai Trikora Km.39, Bintan Utara) with clear waters and rooms surrounding fishes in enclosures comes highly recommended. Elly's also has houses on stilts that goes further out into the open sea (cooooooool) and provides a 3D/2N all-inclusive fishing package. :)

Foodprinted on 10-11 Nov 2012, Sat-Sun