We went on a 2 day 1 night trip to Batam during the Jubilee weekend. We took the ferry from Harbourfront and arrived in Batam Center in about forty five minutes.
From Batam Center Ferry Terminal, it was about five minutes walk to our accommodation at Harris Hotel. While the room was clean and spacious, there were visible signs of wear and tear. Our room was facing the city and we had a pleasant view of the neighborhood.
We had lunch at Ayam Penyet Ria located in Megamall. We ordered Ayam Penyet which is Indonesian local cuisine consisting of fried chicken served with samba chili, cucumber and fried bean curd.
After that we took a cab to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Traffic was quite heavy and the cab has to maneuver left and right many times before reaching our destination. We paid 80,000 IDR for the ride.
We went to JCO cafe where we had donuts and iced coffee. The air-con at the cafe was not very cold and perhaps that caused the donuts to become softer than usual.
After wandering in the shopping mall for some time, we took a cab back to Megamall. We headed to the ESKA wellness spa massage salon where we had booked an appointment for aromatherapy massage. Even though we had pre-booked the session, we still had to wait about an hour before our turn. The massage was done in a big room partitioned with curtains. The environment was not as conducive as a private room as you could hear your neighbors talking during the session.
While our massage session was not satisfactory, we did have a sumptuous seafood dinner at Sei Enam restaurant. The deep fried calamari was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The fish maw soup and black pepper slipper lobster were very tasty.
The restaurant is about ten minutes walk from our hotel. However as the streets were already dark by the time we finished our dinner, we took a cab back to the hotel and retired for the night.
Our stay included buffet breakfast which consisted of a wide variety of continental and Indonesian selection. During breakfast, guests were treated to a dance performance put up by the hotel staff.
After checking out, we went to Warung Cobain for lunch. The restaurant serves authentic Indonesian food at very affordable prices. This was the second time we dined here and the quality of the food was just as good as our previous experience.
While clearing immigration was smooth when we arrived, the experience was different for departure. There was a long queue which stretched two floors from the entrance to the immigration counter. We took more than an hour to clear and as a result, we missed our ferry. We had to wait another hour for the next ferry and on top of that we had to pay an administrative fee of 3,000 IDR per pax. On a positive note, we were given priority to board the ferry ahead of the masses.
Batam is a great destination for a short relaxing holiday where one can indulge in spa and taste authentic Indonesian cuisine at very affordable prices. We would probably choose a beach resort the next time we come to Batam.
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