I have stayed in Singapore for over 5 years and it has never come to my mind to visit Batam, a part of Riau Islands in Indonesia which is very close to Singapore (only one hour ferry ride away) until late last year. It is quite a popular destination for Singaporeans/ those staying in Singapore to head over to Batam for a short vacation due to its close proximity. I then planned for one short weekend trip (3 days 2 nights) with my friends and that finally happened last Friday.
We immediately made our way to Vivocity right after our work ended on last Friday’s evening with our travelling bags. Had a quick dinner at the mall before crossing to the adjacent Harbourfront Ferry Terminal to board our ferry at 9.35pm. It was very quick going through the security check and immigration clearance. We reached Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal over at Batam at 9.30pm too (as Indonesian time is one hour behind Singapore time). Checked in to our booked apartment which is right beside the ferry terminal (very convenient) and went out for supper. It was a rainy evening.
In no time, it was already Saturday’s morning. We went to a popular Chinese dimsum restaurant called ‘Si Fang Yuan’ and had a very satisfying and delicious breakfast over there. Their steamed tofu with prawn topping in soy sauce was unanimously chosen as our favourite dish of all the variety of dimsum the restaurant serves. After that, we made our way to Grand Batam Mall to look around.
Next, we walked over to the nearby Vihara Budhi Bhakti (Tua Pek Kong Temple), a beautiful Chinese temple with two separate place of worships for both Buddhists and Taoists. The temple is not too big but is very tranquil and has quite plenty of things to see. After that, we had lunch at Golden Prawn 933 Restaurant. This is our first seafood meal in Batam (more to come…haha).
We then made our way to De’Sands Cafe, a unique cafe due to its building design that is inspired by Santorini in Greece. There was not too many people during our visit in the afternoon as it was raining (cafe is outdoor-seats majority) and the place is more popular in the evening. After that, we walked over to the nearby Miniature House, a small park that features various miniature replicas of traditional Indonesian houses and places of worships. It was quite interesting.
Next, we proceed to visit Dendang Melayu, a place almost one hour away from Batam’s central zone. It is at this place that we were able to have a spectacular view of Barelang Bridge 1. The cable-stayed bridge built in 1997 has since becomes an icon of Batam. After that, we went to a nearby seaside restaurant for our dinner (second seafood meal of the trip). Beautiful atmosphere over there and we could see the bridge from there as well.
In the evening, we went to Next Level Koffie and Beachfront Bar to have some drinks and chill. It is a very famous seaside bar in Batam too. Again; beautiful atmosphere and the place was quite packed with visitors.
After checking out from our apartment on Sunday’s morning (it was a beautiful sunny day finally), we went to have breakfast at Love Seafood Restaurant. Yes, we are having seafood as our first meal of the day. Haha…a bit strange but why not. The crabs with black pepper that we ordered here were yummy. After that, we went to Itsumo Tart Cafe, another famous place with delicious tarts and teas. Had a few chats and we even played poker cards there. Following that, we proceed to get a massage at nearby Spring Massage Center before concluding our trip.
The workers were very professional but I do not really enjoy the massage (I did the 1 hour foot massage with brief massage of neck, back and shoulder). The masseuse who attends to me was too strong on his press against my foot, causing me quite a pain. Haha. The massage I did back in Phuket, Thailand last year was more comfortable. After the massage, we then made our way back to the same ferry terminal. Before boarding, we manage to buy some kuih lapis (layered cake; a famous delicacy in Batam) to try. We then took 4.30pm ferry ride back to Singapore (reached at 6.30pm after adjusting time back to Singapore time zone). Had dinner at Vivocity together before going back to our respective home.
There goes the end of my first oversea trip of the year. More to come…haha. Also there goes the end of my weekend. Would love to come back to visit Batam again in the future since it is so close to Singapore.