Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

[yaz86]

I'm in batam right now. Anyone want to cheong go dinner then karaoke can pm me.

[fde83]

Gojek prices goes up till 3rd January since its the festive season. This, i didnt anyhow loosly translate from a local articale

[yaz86]

Originally Posted by fde83

Gojek prices goes up till 3rd January since its the festive season. This, i didnt anyhow loosly translate from a local articale

Ya this is true. Usually gojek price is 13k to nearby places, now up till 27k. Try grabcar, is cheaper just 20k to nearby places.

[cougar666]

Originally Posted by nono1973

Agreed. I think the only reason why i am in Grand Batam Mall were mainly is becos i like Top100 supermarket .

Agreed that BCS has several exhibitions. There was property exhibition previously. I was served by a MILF sales
The teak wood in Batam is good and solid. I would be more than happy to buy from there if they're able to deliver to Singapore at reasonable price.

You are right that as a nation develops the expectation and lifestyle changes, gone are the days where workers are able to specialize and do 1 or 2 things, they are expected to do more with less resources to be more efficient unless the country is not well developed and the cost of workers are low which technology is yet to catch up.

That's also why the stress level is much higher in some countries like sillypore, Japan, etc.

I dont know if i hear this from Bill Gate, but if i didnt remember wrong, he was quoted saying this :

Yeah, Bill Gates and some of the successful people have put in many efforts and sleepless nights during their startup. That's why hardworking still plays a major factor in the success of the entrepreneurship. That's why some said that life is fair as one can't be rich by idling or doing nothing.

By the way, Rambo, the last blood was a bit of a disappointment. - Yeah, the show is so so only. That's the problem that sequel is usually not as good as the first though there were some exceptions such as Rambo 2, Godfather 2, Taken 2 but not the subsequence. Infernal Affairs 无间道 was one of the rare one where the trilogy are all good and they took such a short period to produce the movies which Hollywood will never able to make it. This is also called efficiency hahahaha.

[BFOMF5]

I thought I saw a Xmas Tree???

Watch carefully.


HoHoHo
Marry Xmas

[Leoric]

Originally Posted by BFOMF5

HoHoHo
Marry Xmas

Nice unique X'mas tree...& Merry Christmas to all.

[Kaboon]

Originally Posted by Leoric

Noted on this. Must check with ice, he re-winded some expiry date of the older coupon, don't knw will have issues or not.

No need to hoard mar coupons so much, now or abt 20 mins ago, got ppl selling end Feb 20 coupon for $2 each & there's a chance can bargain dwn lower if buy more.

The nearer it is to the coupon expiring date, the lower the price.

Buy only what u need.

[biostar]

where do you all collect these horizon free ferry ticket coupons?

are they given free after eating at a restaurant or something?

i see many posts on carousell selling at $5 or less.

[marco69]

Originally Posted by biostar

where do you all collect these horizon free ferry ticket coupons?

are they given free after eating at a restaurant or something?

i see many posts on carousell selling at $5 or less.

bro, Gain city.

[Leoric]

Originally Posted by Kaboon

The nearer it is to the coupon expiring date, the lower the price.

Buy only what u need.

Thx, u are right abt buying only what's really needed. Few hours ago got another ad with $1 per coupon but expire on 15 jan.

Originally Posted by biostar

where do you all collect these horizon free ferry ticket coupons?

are they given free after eating at a restaurant or something?

Eat at Ban Heng grp of restaurants, & with every $50 spent there gives u 1 coupon. It's advertise on straits time some time ago.

Buy from those online market places usually won't cost more then $2.5

[nono1973]

My December 2019 Batam trip (its a 3D2N of rain)...and i bought a new toy at 480k rupiah, and it also comes with a Telkomsel sim card. And by the way, this should be the 1st time i visit Batam on a December,hehehe...i dont usually enjoy myself when there are enormous crowd, unless its CNY.

The sim card's gonna last me for about 2 months or so (together with the data). I deliberately bought another spare to try out so that in the event my other fails, i have another spare. I am testing out hotels in Batam too and if the hotel wifi happens to sucks, i would be helpless.

Uncles and aunties were with me, so wherever i go, they get the free wifi signal,hehehe...i am not the one who uses much wifi data, they did. So they subsidized me a little on this new toy.

Thought this Richeese Black series food was interesting.

Ordered using Grab Food via PC to my room to try them out,hehehe....as mentioned before, i dont put the Grab apps on my mobile phone.

For those who are curious about whats all the "black" made off, its just cheese in Black (made from black squid ink). The drinks cant be cheese,right? Its actually plum juice. Taste wasnt all bad, neither is it fantastically good.

Total cost of this meal, 89k rupiah. Yes, they are junk food, but thats also something i barely see in Singapore too,hehehe...so there's no harm trying.

Just remember to brush you teeth and rinse your mouth thoroughly after the meal.

________________________________

The hotel is struggling to bring up the price of their massage service,hehehe...

Offer above only applies from Mon to Thu. Not Friday, Saturday and Sundays. Their old price was 30% off during Mon to Fri, before 4pm.

Just observing the "before and after" of a business entity in Batam. As my 5 odd years ago in Batam says it, when business is good, price is always going upway.

I dont like to pay the "normal" price there.

[nono1973]

One good day has passed. The next day, i move myself and my people to Utama hotel for another night stay.

On the right side of the photo above, you will notice there are some switch below the telephone,hehehe...they are meant to be like a switch for the whole room, including the television. Yes, you switch in the lights and everything using those.

This hotel is like Formosa Hotel 6 to 7 years ago, but it is a direct opposite of Formosa Hotel in many ways,hehehe...i will come to that part as i go on.

Look at the room, in Formosa and many hotels in Batam, when i step into a room,i would pass by the toilet 1st before reaching the bed. This one is different, i pass by the bed before i reach the toilet. On the left side where this photo is taken is actually a cupboard for clothes and the pantry where there is coffee maker, kettle and a mini fridge. Almost exactly like those i seen in Formosa Hotel.

But unlike the other hotel which provides black coffee,tea, sugar and creamer in the pantry, this hotel provides 3-in-1 coffee,tea, sugar and creamer.

Nice change,hehehe...and upon looking around the room, on the 1st photo above, there is a calendar-looking greeny thing that caught my attention. Thats for this hotel's in-house massage,hehehe...i do a little flipping.

Yes, i did try their massage shop at the ground floor. Believe me, whatever i choose to have in the menu shown above, they will tell me "dont have", only Javanese Mix Thai Massage available but going at 180k rupiah per hour.

Uncles,aunties and myself drop the idea of trying. Maybe let my richer friends go try them out next time.

In general, this hotel is a smoking hotel. Everywhere,anywhere..i see people smoking. Yes, i am a smoker, but this one really went a little overboard to the extend the staffs did not bother cleaning their air-con filter. The air-con in my room starts "puffing cigarette scent" in the middle of my sleep. I need to sleep with windows opened.

With opened windows, noise came in and as this hotel was near the main road, i am guessing noise pollution would be inevitable (i have my lowered expectation). But to my surprise, i was awaken in the morning NOT by the noise from the main road but by the guests staying opposite my room who were checking out,hehehe...and few of them were closing their room door with the incredible hulk's might.

With the room window closed, the room was better sound proof-ed against vehicle outside the main road (i tried it and there was very minimal sound), but with the door closed, i can still hear clearly the conversation of 2 Sillyporean chinese man talking loudly in Hokkien when they checked out. And they arent even shouting.

In general, Utama hotel is relative clean enough for a decent stay. I lowered my expectation when i was there, buying stuffs like Baygon insecticide, prepared room slippers, shaving kit,toilet roll etc, taken them from the other hotel i stayed in on the day before, to this one. To my surprise, this hotel was practically insect-free,hehehe...probably due to the number of smokers this hotel housed, but they do NOT provide shaving kit (so i am lucky to bring it along from another hotel).

They do provide slippers tho.

Next thing would be their customer service level. This is also the 1st hotel whereby i was given ONLY one room key when i specifically state there is 2 person staying in it. Hotel receptionist just tell me if i cant open my room door, i go to reception and they will call housekeeping to open my room door.

In my one night stay, i called their receptionist thrice to get my room door opened. The uncles and aunties staying there did the same twice,hehehe...proofs that they have better memories than me, as i forget to bring my room key out of my room more times than them,hehehe...their housekeeping were very busy that day. But i need to compliment the point that they were quite fast in coming to open the room door for us tho.

Below is their price list for walk-in customer, i guess.

I check with the receptionists how to be a member. Below is the illustrated conversation with her (to my surprise, our conversation is in Chinese) :

My query below was done in the evening when they have cleared the check-in crowd of the day.

Me : Hi, may i know how do i become a member of this hotel?

Receptionist : Oh, actually i also dont know. I really dont know.

Me : Then who should i talk to?

Receptionist : Ok, actually members is for those regular who stay at least once or twice a week and a couple of times a month.

Me : Oh...no exact figures? Like how many night stay a month?

Receptionist : That, i really dont know.

She walked away.

Overall, the receptionist wasnt on the whole rude but more of trying to push me off the question i am trying to ask. Its a weekend, there are only 2 lady receptionists coping with the gigantic crowd. I see the same team of receptionist from the early noon i checked in and in the evening after our dinner when i made those queries, and even on the next day at 12pm when i checked out.

In between, we have ask them to open our room doors several times due to the one room key issue and even request for late check out at 1230pm (even tho we check out at 12pm). The receptionist tells us that its ok that we check out at 1230pm and we will be charge extra fee if we were to check out after 1pm.

After i checked out, and when the same receptionist i talked to yesterday evening returned back my passport, she finally smiled. Its the ONLY smile i seen in her from the moment i checked in, to that evening queries i made regarding their membership, and until i checked out (yes, i was served all along by the same Indo-Chinese receptionist).

Life must be stressful working in Utama Hotel, as a receptionist.
(its NOT a 2-man show in the battle front there,but a 2-lady show there)

[nono1973]

So much for my stay in Utama Hotel after so many years and i was close to trying to introducing some friends to go stay there but after looking at this, i had a change of mind,hehehe...

This hotel in general is very Formosa-look-alike. Its like the Formosa 6 years or more ago.

Breakfast :

I cant really give a fair review on this due to the peak season. But during peak time,i easily fail it all. Restaurant for breakfast is big enough to accommodate most of the staying guests (bear in mind,its peak season on weekend), hence no waiting in queue, as compare to Goodway hotel when i was there during peak season.

Food varieties were white porridge, white rice, curry chicken, fried kueh tiao, vegetable,bread, jams, corn flakes, some fruits and desserts. I would say its Zest hotel's standard but just more messier. There is a EGG station whereby i dont see that in Zest tho. I usually go for porridge in hotel breakfast but guess what, i can only have white porridge as there were no "you tiao", no chicken slice, no ikan bilis, no duck egg...only soya sauce, peanuts and a bit of onion leaves. I end up taking bread with Kaya and had one mouthful each of their kueh tiao, white rice, curry chicken and the vegetable. Taste wise is actually not bad. There is something that many hotels do not provide which i found there. Utama Hotel provides condense milk in their coffee/tea station.

Ambiance wise, hmm...its a smoking hotel. So i am having breakfast in a little hazy wonderland. The waiter/waitress clear the used-table fast enough too.

1st impression and 1st interaction:

Stepping into the hotel, it looks as i have expected, very Formosa-look-alike. As if its like formosa hotel many years ago. But after handling over my passport to their receptionist, my impression changed. 1 hotel room key issue, ask about how to be member, and NOT allowing me to place a deposit even after i hand them my passport.

See now, i cant tell anyone how much deposit i am suppose to place if i dont hand them my passport,right?

Anyway, the whole reception counter is like a war zone,hehehe...and their tone tends to be on the ruder part. A NO is a NO, clean and sharp rejection w/o compromise or alternative. Thats what i see.

But like i said earlier, its peak season, but it is becos its peak season, i get this unqiue chance to see them working under pressure. Let's not forget, there are way more non-peak season in the 365 days than peak season/days.

Room :

The room is generally clean. They just need to clean their air-con. The next time if i am going to stay in Utama hotel again, i need to bring an electric air purifier and a air freshener. Simple, the air-con itself spit out heavy cigarette scent (just like those auto electric air freshener) ,which is enough to wake me up in the middle of my sleep. This is a VERY BIG minus point for the room.

Noise pollution wise, well...i can give that part a miss even tho i am a light sleeper. Like in my army days, i am pretty much an adaptive person who could sleep anywhere and everywhere, easily. Even in muddy red soil under the rain,hehehe... to each its own ,i guess.

The next time if i am going there again, i am more likely to stay in their bigger room (or any better room),hehehe...

I will still take their smoking room tho, just this time i will bring at least an air freshener. I am going to shop for an electric air freshener next round.

Food menu for room service :

Notice the part that says "all prices are subject to government tax and service of 21%".

Didnt have extra stomach space for their food this time. Perhaps if fate allows it one day, i might want to try their All time favourite "Indomie" in the menu at 20k rupiah. Plus 21% tax and service would be, 24200 rupiah.

______________________________________

Looking out from my Utama hotel room, i notice there is a semi-smoking 2 starred hotel called Namii Hotel. A no-elevator hotel.

The view on the photo taken was actually right from the Utama hotel front door. Opposite Namii Hotel is Alfa Mart and beside has a money changer, so this is actually a not bad hotel in terms of convenience. Lots of eatery at the side walk of Namii too. In other word, the Alfa Mart is actually just on the left hand side from Utama Hotel front door.

Took me no more than 10 mins walk to DC Mall. And in front of DC Mall (from their back entrance), i saw Romance Hotel.

Yep, another cheap 1.5 star hotel costing less than S$20 per night stay with fairly good room. Price stated here is un-measurable due to season becos during peak time, their room can cost as high as S$30 a night but during non-peak season, it can go as low as S$9.70.

Took a walk from behind Utama hotel and saw there's also quite a few other smaller scale hotel, like Hotel 18...

Probably a 1 starred hotel as they have as high as 3rd floor but w/o elevator. Hope should be pretty much cheap too. But do keep expectation low.

Walking further down, i saw Pagoda Hotel. Looks 2 starred to me...

...hence i walk in to snap a shot of their price list.

If i were to stay there, might probably take their family room. Most time, those one starred or two starred hotel pride themselves with those bigger better room as guest often need to pay double the usual. Double the usual, still cheaper than many 3 starred hotel,hehehe...

Walking further down the 2nd block after Pagoda Hotel, there's S hotel...hehehe...this is another 2 starred hotel that price themselves pretty low.

Peak season would cost about S$25 or so for their bigger rooms, but during non-peak, it can cost as low as S$13 or so. Like i mentioned above, low starred hotel doesnt mean it would be small room, lousy service, providing nothing in-room etc.

I, for one would like to try out low starred hotel in the coming 2020 year but with calculated risk. Meaning i need to go prepared with things like Baygon insect spray, air freshener, shaving kit, slippers, own transport etc. And i will be targeting their bigger better rooms.

Many a times, smaller scale hotels provide better quality service than 3 to 4 starred hotels. In my own words, i would say...most 3 to 4 starred hotels provide at times, "robotic" good service (pre-programmed service), but many 1 to 2 starred hotels provide either up-to-own-mood lousy service or if not "good human-like" service.

So much for hotel talk. I have given Newton hotel and Biz Hotel, and any other nearby hotels a miss as they were further away from where i stayed in.

I will be looking deeper into :

1. Pagoda Hotel

2. S Hotel

3. Namii Hotel

4. Romance Hotel

5. Maybe Hotel 18 too, which i am keeping in view.

Hehehe...to be continued.

I am saving the best for last on this December 2020 trip.

* Please DO NOT quote my whole post. Thank you.

[iicycold]

Originally Posted by Leoric

Noted on this. Must check with ice, he re-winded some expiry date of the older coupon, don't knw will have issues or not.

aiyo, by nw if i stil no finish tose nov ferry vouchers, then mus keep until nxt year qing meng 2 burn dwn 4 all the 'good brother' liao....lol

expired vouchers all clear liao, nw prepare 2 buy teh botel in btm & ask nono gim me sm of his vouchers on cny....lol...

Originally Posted by nono1973

My December 2019 Batam trip (its a 3D2N of rain)...and i bought a new toy at 480k rupiah, and it also comes with a Telkomsel sim card. And by the way, this should be the 1st time i visit Batam on a December,hehehe...i dont usually enjoy myself when there are enormous crowd, unless its CNY.

wa! u go on dec ah? mus buy 4d liao....lol

u got join the crowd 2 collect yr boring pass bo?



may all hv a happi cummin 2020 new year & belated Xxmas.

[Barimuth]

Bros... I think i getting my carrot head chopped here in batam. Any laojiao here currently in batam can intro for better prices?