And then I was in Indonesia

Trip Start Dec 07, 2009

Trip End Aug 31, 2010

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Where I stayed

Triniti Hotel

Flag of Indonesia Batam, Riau, Indonesia
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A 1 hour boat journey from Singapore Harbour front and we were in Indonesia, as British citizens we had to pay the US $25 visa fee and the process was painless and easy. After being granted a 30 Day visa we were in the real asia. Haggling had become, it looked dirty, dusty a bit polluted, the roads were not even any more and the people dressed appropriately rather than in Gucci, Zara or the high street brands. This was the real asia and I love that, it was nice to be back and what better still I was with my Parents and Min to. She had a day off so came with us and with her Malaysian passport didn't have to pay for the Entry. The Return boat trip cost us $44SGD.
We haggled for a taxi and got dropped of at the hotel. The Triniti Hotel was located behind a few streets in what looked to be once a happening area but seemed now to be deserted. The hotel itself was a boutique hotel, and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean and suitable for travelling with the parents so I was happy.

Batam itself was an escape more from the hectic life of Singapore, there wasn't much to do here apart from shop, eat cheaply , relax and get a cheap massage.

We hired a taxi and visited the Buddhist temple and also checked out one of the famous restaurants called Golden Prawn later that night. Min and I decided to check out the local Massage places and managed to find one that gave a 2 hour massage thai and Balinese for 100000 Rupiaah which is about �8, absolute bargain, and it was probably one of the best massages I'd ever had. Deffo come back here for that...

Min left us the next day and we decided to stay longer as we were in no rush. I used the time to plan what to do next as originally Indonesia was nowhere in my plans to visit so I was completely in the dark. We booked airline tickets and just relaxed.... however the following day we hired a car with a driver who took as around the entire Battam Island, showed us the big buddha at KTM Resort, one to remember if you want to get away and live in a cottage/villa. We went to one of the other Buddhist Temples with statues over the coutyard of buddha and other religious chinese artifacts, with all sponsors written over them from the local town.
Since we had the car we decided to go all the way to Barrelang bridge, which is more a less the symbol for "Visit Batam 2010" , to me it was nothing special but to stand here and talk to the local fishermen who had caught huge crab and understand that the islands were linked with numerous bridges was a great insight. We visited a Hindu temple next to the Kak Dadut restaurant and my mum conversed with the priests who spoke Tamil, and they told there tale of visiting Singapore every month to by supplies for food.
Thee day went very fast what with the driving and the rian as we had showers pretty much all day.
We simply rested that evening had some food in the hotel and got ready for our flight to mainland Sumatra - Medan to be precise the next morning.