Weekend in Batam, Indonesia

Muffy willingly got abducted to Batam over the weekend by my gym friend and her co-workers… Booked the ferry tickets and hotel the Sunday before the trip and off we go!

⛴️ Ferry

I took the 0940 ferry, which my friend took 0910 as hers was full already. Reached Harbourfront at 0840 and happily enjoyed my breakfast alone until 0910, then I realised that I still have to collect my ticket from the ticketing counter at level 3!

The staff told me that need check in an hour in advance and if I missed ferry, there is no refund. I brisk walked to the departure at level 2, passed the security checks and the immigration. Reached the gate within 10mins and saw a giant queue at my gate. Went to the washroom and just nice ready to board!

The ferry is free seating, which the kiasu me took the nearest leftover single seat. The journey was slightly less than an hour, no wifi, however the reception for my SG line and IDR line (eSIM) was very good.

🛂 Immigration at Batam

Reached Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal in Batam at around 0930 (IDR Time). And OMG, the queue at the immigration, 1.5hrs of my life wasted to get my passport chope to get into Batam. Luckily, my friends and her colleagues also got stuck in the queue. Paiseh me regretting not cutting the queue to join them, but kind them went to collect the return ferry tickets and ordered kueh lapis from lamoist after sampling all the stores in the terminal. By the time I got out, just nice can go already!

⛱️ Itinerary

As the trip was planned by my friend’s colleagues, I just be the extra one and follow through! It’s mainly food, food and food.

First stop, lunch at “Ikan Bakar Cianjur”. The rice is really good! Soft, fluffy with ikan bilis. The dishes were alright, not wow but not bad. Maybe I was still full with my MacBrekkie. Then we visited a Buddhist Monastery, “Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Monastery”. It extremely huge with 3 temples and a nice place to take pictures! At around 1400, we had massage at “Spa Central Nagoya Hill”. It’s 430000IDR (SGD35) for 120mins of traditional massage. Highly recommended for the great service, skill and ambience.

Then, we check in the hotel, “Aston Nagoya City Hotel”. It’s 64SG$/night for 2pax (including hotel brekkie)! It just location in the Nagoya area of Batam, a place with Mount Austin feels, a lot of cafes and Chinese food in walkable distance. As meeting time for dinner was 1800, my friend and I went to a nearby cafe, “Koji”. We ordered lychee kombucha, matcha toast and burnt cheesecake.

Back in hotel by 1800 for dinner at “Love Seafood Nagoya”. The food was nothing fantastic, but not bad. After dinner as one of the colleague’s birthday was on the next day, we went to “De’sands Cafe and Restaurant” wanting to have a mini celebration there, however, all of us were not feeling the vibes there. Took a few pictures and off we go to “Alio Cafe and Bar”. Ordered a tower and Soju and everyone found out I’m a game blackhole.

We then left for “Warkop Agam Happy” for supper and gosh… the indomie there was the best meal I had! We ordered 5 bowls for 11pax. I tried the indomie Bangladesh and the one with pudding telur. I like the one with pudding telur and it’s more spicy, flavourful and texture was right on point. We then dropped by the AlfaMart for some snacks and water before heading back to the hotel.

Got a 4hrs sleep and had our hotel brekkie at 0600 before heading to “Panbil Nature Reserve” for a trek at the Pandan trail. Was dreading the trek as it’s so early in the morning, but ended up enjoyed it the most. Unlike Bukit Timah, the trek didn’t leave me breathless but it was so challenging with the slippery and steep path. There are a few points where we had to pull ourselves up or down with ropes. The plants there are exotic and interesting! There’s also a mini waterfall in the trail where we played with water before trekking back to see and feed deers! Before we left the reserve, we were served with local cuisine which I chose nasi goreng, erm, edible.

Rushed back to hotel for quick shower as we have to check out by 1200 and catch ferry back at 1245 (don’t be like me, need manage time better). Luckily the immigration out was just a 5mins queue.

And yes, that’s my enjoyable short getaway to Batam. I really had a lot of fun with my friend’s colleagues, thankfully they are all so welcoming and fun people!

- Muffy