Batam weekend Getaway

Planned a short weekend getaway for the weekend to celebrate puddin's birthday. Batam is just a short 45 mins away via ferry. I thought it would be an inexpensive trip, but I was so wrong. Most probably because it's more touristy than the other parts of the country.

Okay, let me breakdown the main expenses.
$ = SGD

Turi Resort, Riani Deluxe Beachfront (Agoda) - 238.99$
Ferry to Batam through agent - 85$ for 2 person round-trip
Majesty Spa 3.5h package - 194.57$ (IDR 1, 980, 000) for 2 person

I think overall, we spent like 74.25$ for food at Turi Resort and 100$+ cash also for food outside and snacks. So the total damage is around 750$ for two person for that one weekend. It's bloody expensive for a short weekend but, I did indeed booked a more luxurious resort for our stay, so by right, I shouldn't be whining at all. It's just a bit painful for my wallet.

Vlog

We departed from Tanah Merah Terminal since we were going to Nongsa Terminal, which is where Turi Resort is located. It is advised that passengers should arrive an hour before the departure time, but really, I don't think it is necessary because we were also waiting for quite awhile. Boarding time only starts like 10-15 mins before departure. I think half an hour earlier would suffice. (But don't listen to me, I don't want to become a bad influence or something. 

There was quite a number of people going to Batam. Mostly dressed up in batik or flowy dresses, I guess it's "holiday mode on". 

The boat ride was just 45 mins. Then there was a shuttle van waiting outside of the terminal for all Turi Resort customers. Waited for awhile since everyone needs time to get across the passport checking station. The resort is only 5-10 mins away from the terminal, it is quite close, but not advisable to walk all the way there with a whole loads of luggage. Not that we have a lot, since we were just staying for the weekend. But it's dang hot. 

idk what face is that but it was super windy

Check-in time was at 2pm, we reached there earlier like around 1pm. So, we went to walk around the resort and also took lunch at one of the restaurant there. To be fair, there's not much choices. Only one restaurant was open, they serve buffet, but you can also order ala carte dishes. We opt for the ala carte since I don't feel like eating a lot, so buffet wasn't a good choice.

The service was quite slow, it took awhile for them to serve our food. I ordered the ayam penget, the chili was amazing. Not very spicy but super aromatic. Also goes well with rice alone. Haha. 

When we finished, we went to the reception to check if our room was ready. Unfortunately, the cleaning service was slow, so they arranged another room for us temporarily. I think we were only showed to our real room around 4pm. I felt a bit downgraded, and also they did not compensate in anyway. I should have demanded for a late check out. 

Beach view from our real room.

I think I found a dead body.

Got changed into swimsuits and ready to explore the beach area and swimming pool! 

There was this really nice long jetty that I saw online, which is photo-worthy. But unfortunately, it was under maintenance during that time. 

They have this buffet dinner every Saturday night and also a live band performing, there's a lot of food selection which I am quite surprised with. There's also this ice crushing machine, and I found my new favourite dessert called Es Teler (crushed ice with jackfruit, coconut flesh, and avocado). Jackfruit is my new obsession, maybe that is why it was so appetizing to me. 

Short story. I dropped my favorite watch at the swimming pool when we went for a short swim. I only realized that an hour or two later. We went to the reception to make a report, and by dinner time, they said they have found it and returned back to me. I'm so relieved, luckily they found it! Thank you so much to the employees there for the help!

There's even a lucky draw event, the most extravagant prize was a free night stay at Turi Resort! Very generous!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Pussy Foot mocktail. I'm actually quite attracted by the name itself, not by the ingredients. As you can see, I was not  afraid to try a drink with raw egg yolk in it. Mostly the fruit juices covered the smell I guess but I did tasted one string of raw and hard egg white piece in there (if you know what I mean), it's quite awful. Despite that, overall, it's not that bad actually, and quite refreshing.

Checked out from the hotel after a short swim in the morning. The resort actually have 2 swimming pools! Although one of them is poorly maintained, but people still swim in it. I'm talking about dirt, sand and green moss growing kind of swimming pool. I feel disgusted when my feet touch the ground, because it felt a little slippery from the moss. Gross man.

Anyway, our next stop is Majestic Spa & Massage. I e-mailed them a week beforehand to book a package for two. Details as follow...

3.5 hours IDR 1.980.000 (190SGD) for 2 persons 

that includes

- 2 hours Bali-styled body massage 

- 45 minutes body scrub 

- 15 minutes ratus vagina spa for female/15 minutes ear candle for male 

- 30 minutes milk bath with jacuzzi

- Free ride from the hotel, to restaurant after massage, and also from restaurant to jetty terminal!

I am really impressed by the service. They also offered us free rides not only to and fro the massage centre, but also extra rides to our ferry terminal as well. There's also free tea and light snacks in the lobby.

Onion crisp is really good! They also have small packets of them for free, these big ones are for sale. :P

Herbal jellyyyyy so good.

Last stop for dinner before heading back. We went to Golden Prawn which is recommended by a friend of the boyfriend. It is apparently a must to eat seafood in Batam because the price is cheaper than Singapore (yeap, I guess that's the only legit reason). The place has a lot of space for customers, but surprisingly empty. 

Straight from the pond and into the frying pan. No mercy. You can guarantee you're eating really fresh seafood here because you can personally choose the creatures.. Well, not each and everyone of course, but you get my point. 

one of my personal fav is the prawn, Even the shells are edible! Crispy!

Also serve satay, which is mediocre.

Chili crab

Dono what this is called, but I personally didn't like this.

fried cumi-cumi AKA sotong. Never wrong to order one of this

and of course some vege, for some colouring... jk

A bit too much for two person, but somehow we managed to finish them. Overall, the food is quite good and it costs us 500, 000 IDR (which is around 50SGD) for everything on the table. 

I thought we would have time to walk around the mall near Batam Terminal, but we didn't know that there was some special event going around town, so the traffic was so bad, the road to the terminal were closed off. So, we kind of get down at quite a distance from the terminal and walked there. Luckily for us, the ticket I had from BatamFast allowed us to use it on any of the other timing even if I had originally booked for an earlier one. But I already knew that when I bought mine from the agent (whom I found in Carousell). 

I don't know what to say anymore, but this post is again, long overdue. I'm getting really busy at work, I didn't even bother to use my lunch hour to write my blog anymore. I'm usually taking a nap at my desk. Anyway, busy is good, more things to learn and time flies. Okay, I'm blabbering, I shall stop here. Toodles.