Batam June 2012

I would say Batam trip was an achievement for my group of sec school buddies. Reason being, we finally managed to plan a trip with full attendance. 

As usual, I arranged for the ferry, hotel and tour guide for the 2D1N trip and everything costs less than $100. 

At Harboufront ferry terminal, we bought some champagne from the duty-free shop for the drinking session at night.

at harbourfront ferry terminal

dozing off on ferry

Upon reaching Harbourbay Ferry Termnal in Batam, we met up with our tour guide, Leo, who brought us to fix the schedule for return trip. There was a long queue at the ticketing counter and we were famished. So, we headed for lunch at BCS shopping centre, which was just beside our hotel. The ride was not exactly pleasant. It was a hot day and the tour guide drove at 40km/h. It was also partly due to the slow traffic.

Finally, we reached the mall. Lunch was average Indonesian cuisine. After filling our stomachs, we checked-in at The BCC Hotel and Residences. As there are 7 of us, we booked a 3 bedroom serviced apartment so we could all be under one roof.

The BCC Hotel - Lobby/Reception

gamer, accountant, calculator

xinyi exasperated from collecting ahgong money

......lol don't ask me what was going on in his mind.

 

Mingtai, relaxed as always. 

lovebirds

best friends

猪朋狗友

After settling down in the hotel, the tour guide brought us shopping for Batam's famous Kueh Lapis. If I didn't remember wrongly, one whole cake of Kueh Lapis costs $24.00. I never knew Kueh Lapis were so costly. Xinyi thought it was cheap though. There were several flavors available for tasting; original, chocolate, coffee etc. I bought half a cake of the original flavor.

Then, we were brought to Golden City for some recreation activities. We headed for the Go-Kart.

shower caps to keep our hair fresh from the smelly helmets

say cheese! :)

After a round of Go-Kart, we proceed to Flying Fox.

 

xinyi is afraid of high staircases.

mich and ivan 

Ivan trying his best not to look worried

First to go!!

happy me.

woohooooooo!

  

Flying Fox ride took barely 30 secs. I was keen on paintball but not all was interested. Hence, we ended our excursion at Golden City and went for dinner.

We had our dinner at a hawker centre beside BCS Shopping Centre. Ordered dishes from the zi-char stall and some misc items around the hawker. Then, we went shopping at the supermarket in BCS Shopping Centre.

Our initial plan was to get beer and tidbits for the night. However, we somehow ended shopping for groceries as if we were staying for a week...

Erm, the Kotex was much cheaper than in SG.

Hurrying back to our apartment as we were thirsty - for alcohol

TADAH!! Part of the alcohol inventory

chilling in the living room

ivan and mich bought their individual bottles of flavored Vodka.

i guess ivan was thirsty for too long.

YUM SENG!! - I pity our neighbors

TAU POK!!! reminiscing sec school days

 Cleared all the groceries meant for a week.

We drank till nobody remember what time exactly. I woke up with a super horrible hangover and mysterious head injury the next morning. Some of them went for breakfast and sad to say, I missed it. Hotel breakfast has always been my kind of thing. For the whole morning, everyone except for Ivan and Mich was trying to recover from hangover. We rested in the apartment till it was time to go for lunch. I felt sick for the rest of the day and could not eat at all; toilet became my second home that day. 

The tour guide sent us to HarborBay Ferry Terminal and bid us farewell. Having a tour guide was necessary. Some might wonder why we did not book  the trip through deals, where it would be more convenient. It was because we wanted to skip the city tour and seafood lunch at the tourist-infested Golden Prawn restaurant. It felt more free and easy to be on our own. 

Batam could be fun for a group of friends, it just takes some effort in planning and organizing. For my friends of 10 years, it was definitely worthwhile. :)