Boomtown
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2006
1
106
179
Trip End
Oct 31, 2007
Batam, Indonesia
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Tim and Rachel come to Batam because they want to get to Java and direct flights from Singapore to Jakarta are rather pricey. So they are flying with Air Asia from Batam to Jakarta for about 25$ each. They took a boat from Singapore's lovely, plush Cruise Centre. The boat took about an hour and, a 30 day visa fee of 25$ each later, they stood on Indonesian soil.
Batam is pretty forward by Indonesian standards (we are to understand) but pretty backward by Singaporean standards - which raises the question of why it's a popular destination at all. Perhaps it's the quality of the massages? There's nothing much for two white westerners to do except to go to the only mall/hypermarket in the town of Nagoya where we were staying and get stared at by the locals. All the locals, mind. Still, they seemed friendly enough and Tim even managed to buy a natty short-sleeved shirt for a song (which was "Climb Every Mountain" - since you ask - and a very tuneful rendition it was, too).
We had a bite of dinner (lots of rice and curries, one of which had some rather suspicious meat in it and was no doubt one of the cheaper cuts - ear, perhaps, or toenail maybe) and then just got an early night to make the most of the extra hour the Indonesian time change had provided. Tomorrow: Java, East of Krakatoa. (T)
