Sunday, May 05, 2019

Two day trip to Batam

Here is my impression of Batam since my last visit more than five years ago.

Batam has developed a lot with new buildings and more cars on the roads - but the roads are not congested yet.

I feel quite safe in Batam (but it is just an overnight stay). The shopping malls are quite busy and offer a good variety of products. The people that I met at the malls and on the street are nice and can speak English well. The Chinese run shops can speak Mandarin and Teochew.

I stayed at the Baloi Hotel in Nagoya City. It is a new hotel and provides excellent breakfast and service. The discounted room rate is $70.

I checked Agoda and found that many good hotels offer rates of $20 only.

Batam is popular for the massage services. I had a 1 hour foot and back massage for $13 at the Batam Center Mega Mall just before boarding the ferry. I gave the masseur a $2 tip which he received gratefully.

My friend said that two ferry operators offer a return fare of $31 for senior citizens. I think the normal fare is about $50.

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