11 January 2014

BATAM - I LOVE!!!

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I went to Batam couple of weeks back with my family and had a whole great deal of fun thanks to Batam Holidays Travel!!! ^.^

It was my first time to Batam and i must say..

IT WAS GREATTTT~!!!!!! Now i know why more and more people my age or even younger are grouping up and going to Batam!!! Almost as much as families are going!!! Groups of friends are flocking over too. What the heck, FOR THE GOOD (and super affordable) FOOD AND FUN!

Nothing beats having your niece see you from 10 miles away (haha kua zhang) and shout "AH YI!!! AH YI AH! WO AI NI LEH!!!" Lololol. She's soooo gross and cute i love her! Mushy much?! It means "AUNT, AUNT! I LOVE YOU!!!" for those who don't understand Mandarin =D
KISSKISS ^.^ That's us waiting at the ferry terminal at Harbour Front!!!
And us onboard the ferry!!! =DDD Yurou was soooo excited!!! She keep raving about how it's awesome we are going on a boat ride haha. Suaku.

I am really thankful for Batam Holidays Travel for sending us to Batam for a day full of fun!!! They even offered to let us stay overnight but due to everyone's schedule, we couldn't =( What a pity!!!

A little bit of background info about Batam Holidays Travel (Known as BHT in my blogpost from now on!) - They have been in the business for 10 years, starting out as a humble site for people to do bookings online for resorts and holiday trip in Batam, Indonesia. They also help plan and customize itinerary for travellers (be it family, friends or corporate) in Batam.

As you would know most travel agencies have standard operation hours and after the working hours it's just really hard to find anyone for support or last-minute emergencies. But BHT prides themselves in being ever-ready and always being there for their guest.

In fact.. I just found out that the main office line is directed to Aini (one of the lady-bosses in this family-run business) during non-office hours. This is dedication man. One thing good about family-run business is there's always this personal touch and warmth to their services =)))

YAY ALMOST REACHING! The ride was quite comfy so we fell asleep though it was just about 45 minutes haha. Everyone was in excited mode when we wake up to find ourselves nearing ^.^
Reached Batam ^.^ One camho pic of myself and that's all you can expect for the rest of the trip becox other time i get too distracted with shopping and sampling of food and snacks hahaha.

Yurou dropped her immigration card when we were leaving Singapore =__= I don't know which adult so smart to go and let her hold her own immigration card haha. But Aini (who accompanied us that day to make sure everything and everyone is good) from BHT were really efficient and helpful so phew! When we reached the ferry terminal in Batam, we were greeted and taken care of by appointed guide, Dianto! AND I LOVE THE MINI VAN =DDD Feels damn get-together and cozy.
FIRST STOP IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE STOPS!!! CHOCOLATE HOUSE!!!!!
One selfie before i go crazy in there!!! Whole shop got discount one!!! =OOO
Lotsa unique flavours!!! REMEMBER TO TRY AND BUY THE BATAM TIRAMISU CHOCOLATE!!!! =OOO We tried and loved it so bought a total of 6 boxes and regret not getting more!!! My dad also like the Batam coffee and Batam coconut chocolate!!!
Back in the van, one with Josh ^.^
Naughty Yurou got herself a pack of Donald Duck chocolate haha. Inside got toys one.
Love how cozy and comfortable the van is! Perfect for group travelling!!! No need to worry about transport and all. BHT took care of everything for us ^.^
Next to Polo Ralph Lauren factory outlet!!! They are selling all brand new authentic PRL items!!! AT DISCOUNTED PRICES!!!
 My OOTD for that day haha.
Ah Bong bought like 4 pieces of tee-shirt at discounted prices. Two for himself, two for his brother.
Yurou also don't lose out when it comes to shopping. Haha. She bought like a $1 toy candy hahaha.

One of the BEST KUEH LAPIS (LAYER CAKE!!!) i've tried!!!!! Thank you for bringing me there BHT!!!! But omg now i am so sad i finished all the kueh lapis we bought!!!
Travelling with BHT is awesome cox they appoint nice guide for us hahaha. Dianto took the initiative to bring the kueh lapis samples for us to try in the van cox there were another big group there and to help us avoid the crowd and try in our own comfort. OMG DID YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF PRUNE THROWN INTO THE LAPIS?!?!? LIKE NO NEED MONEY ONE!!! I LOVEEEE!
This shop only has two flavours - Original and Prune. Another shop call Berlayer Kek has like ten thousands flavours, Dianto will bring the samples to us later!
Shop hop to this awesome shop where we are gonna have our lunch! But before lunch, we mass shop first!!! LOTSA YUMMY SNACKS HERE! My sister and Yurou damn gian bng one =XXX Hahaha. What is SAMPLE you don't know?!?! Hahaha. It means take ONE and TRY. Not take one and one more and one more and one more hahahaha ='DDD But the store assistant was very very friendly lah.

You see the top corner picture, I ask them to pose for a picture, this Baby Yurou was reaching out for another sample. And omg if you go to this shop, please buy the green chili sauce!!! LOVE IT! We bought two bottles. Finishing up soon. Goes great with keropok / meat / fried rice / instant noodle!
Grab their famous keropok (deep fried) fishballs haha. I LOVE THESE SINCE CHILDHOOD!!! Only in the shop i realise they go super well with chili sauce. I usually eat them plain!
Bought this super cheap (like maybe $1 or lesser?) pure banana ice cream from NESTLE. It was super good. Why this Nestle always don't bring the yummy ice cream into Singapore one ah!
One good thing about going away from the bustling city, kids gets amazed by everything. Even fishes in the drain haha.
And here is where we have our lunch!!! ^.^ SOOOO SCENIC HOR!!!
Deep fried fish with sweet and sour sauce!
Corn and egg soup, deep fried squid and something that i think might be call.. Gong Gong. Hahaha.
One picture before we tuck in!
Crab with glass noodle in curry sauce!!! Quite a feast yes?!
Okay eat dee don't say dee! Haha.
Yurou finished her meal before everyone else cox she wants to go run around. It's really nice to her looking at the sea water so happily. She enjoyed the space and fresh air quite a lot i think!
Whole day keep asking me for selfies =___=" My jie ban ren hahaha. She knows how to hold the camera and aim but don't know how to click.
And then we go back to our table to try the samples of kueh lapis from Berlayer Kek! They have so many flavours! Interesting ones were the Moca and Pandan! But prune and original i prefer the previous one!!! You see this one.. Like mother like daughter hahahaha.

AFTER LUNCH MADNESS AND FUN!!!
We went to this obstacle and activity arena and Bong is a daredevil so he confirm wanna try lah! We tried the shooting gallery where my brother-in-law and Josh throw face big time hahahaha.
And Ah Bong being the hero of the day, went ahead to try the flying fox.
WHAT THE HECK SO SCARY LAH!!!!!!!
Off he go!!!
Through the woods omg. Then we took the van to go meet him there where he returns the safety gear and all. I ask him scary not he say it's not scary and that he would do it many times more. HAOLIAN. They also have go-kart etc but we didn't try that!
At Batam Miniature House park! We pop by real quick cox the sun was too glaring! Haha. But a lot of local families were there to picnic under the trees!!!
Hello i am a giant.
Act cute. Lol.
Then we went to another factory outlet where i bought SUPERDRY tees for an incredibly low price!!! Omg so happy hahah. SUPERDRY is a Japanese label some more!
And then to get Batam's famous honey comb cake!!!!
We bought the Pandan and Original one!!! You can try all you want haha! Another thing i love about Batam haha. Lotsa sampling!!! =X
Something i really look forward to =O Their cultural show! One with my family! Josh poor thing, always behind the camera hahah. Aini and the guide got offer to help us snap lah but we don't want to trouble them haha.
Engrossed.
After a dance ritual, the performers go on to chew off a coconut =O It's damn hard lah use knife already hard lol. And swallow burning charcoal and eat real glass omg.
Quite a sight.
My dad say they pray for safety and pray to be numb to pain for a while.

I don't know how is that possible!!! Like how during Thaipusam, the people can stab / poke / pierce all sort of things into their body parts and not hurt at all. My dad tells me that they prayed before that. And so it'd not hurt at all during the whole of the parade thing.

Like this does it mean if i want to do more plastic surgery, i can go pray for me to be numb to all pain during the recover? O.O I mean.. If it works that way..

Getting some souvenirs while Pearl go get a drink..
Interesting random things..
AND WE GO SHOPPING~~~ The mall that Aini arranged for us to go to was quite huge!!! And it's quite strange they are really BIG on the whole kid's fashion industry!!! We saw many many kids apparel shops and they were even having a kids fashion show at the atrium!!!
Most of the shops were having discount!!! And most of the items are priced at $3 - $10!!! I bought those pair of shorts for $5 each!!! ^.^
Had to stay really long at the shop cox i ran out of Rupiahs hahaha. Shopped too much before that but it's all worth it cox all very yummyyyy!
If you see this shop, go inside and go crazy. ALL THE GIRLY STUFF INSIDE!!! At insanely low prices!!! WHY SINGAPORE DON'T HAVE LAH T__T I love girly shops like these!!!
Since it's free-time in the mall, we decided to take a break from all the shopping and rest our legs with maybe little snacks but..

We ended up ordering Sambal Udang (prawn) with rice, Banana Fritters with ice cream, Satay that was sooooo good, Ham and Cheese sandwich with fries and salad, that came in a portion that scared us hahaha, super huge. Also Tomato Chicken and cheese sandwich, along with four drinks. Everything cost us $34 SGD......... SO FREAKING CHEAP!!!!!

If i ever go back i wanna visit this restaurant again lah!!! Everything so yummy + cheap =OOO

Sorry no pictures of the rest of the food cox i was too busy playing with Baby Yurou haha. As you can see we bought Hello Kitty stickers for her and she gone a bit crazy with it. Hahaha.

Josh and Ah Bong ^.^
Yurou the Walrus =_=" Hahaha.
We continue shopping.. (Yes, Yurou also decided to paste Hello Kitty stickers all over her pram) while waiting for my dad, mum and brother-in-law be done with their massage ^.^
I snapped these pictures of the massage the guide brought them to. Very nice ambience!!! For very affordable rates you can relax with massages and spa here!
And we meet~

Alright!!! We're ALMOST coming to an end to the Batam day tour with Batam Holidays Travel!!!

We opt for the Standard Day Tour with Massage and Seafood lunch at only freaking $35/pax!!!!! MASSAGE + SEAFOOD LUNCH + bringing us to good shopping places!!!

HOW FREAKING CHEAP IS THAT?! =OOO SUPER LAH!!! I think for kids it's even cheaper.

Doing all the things we did and going to the places we went to at $35/pax WITH MASSAGE. Omg please, i would expect the massage alone to be more expensive than $35 already hahaha.

So if you wanna book, please do it quick and early!!! ^.^

You can also opt to have “Private” tour instead at $100 per van or per bus (minimum 8 pax)!!! I think this is much more enjoyable leh =X Cox you get to hang with people you know and travel together in your own comfort transport. And it's only $100 per van! Shared among 8 or more people, it becomes more and more affordable! This $100 / van or bus pricing is a promotional price! Valid until 30th April 2014. So if you wanna book, book early!

To enjoy the promotion, you have to LIKE and SHARE Batam Holidays Travel's facebook page!

Later we also went for dinner at an awesome place where they whip up fresh hot yummy food~

Super chillax environment at the restaurant =)
Slippers gang with Ah Bong and my dad hahaha.
Peaceful and spacious.. Something i really appreciate away from Singapore!
This was served and we were all like ????
It's rice rolled in banana leaf for extra fragrant! My mum went to the loo so my dad.. As he would usually.. Play prank on my mum again hahahaha. Ah Bong looks damn happy with the plot hahaha.

He collected all the leaf after we took the rice, and then roll them in one leaf and place it on my mum's plate. And when she return to the table.. She ask..

"What is this?"

My dad was like "Vegetables lah. Quickly eat if not later cold already"

My mum "Vegetables ah? Aiyo. How to eat like this? Looks raw"

"Just bite into it. Just bite"

Then my mum hold it near her mouth and we all burst out into laughter hahahahahahahahahah. NOW YOU KNOW WHY I SO LAME. Becox my dad is lame!!!

OH SO FREAKING GOOD CHICKEN!!!!!
This Saung Sunda restaurant is quite famous one wor! Lotsa ministers ate here before! You can spot a lot of famous people on their wall of fame haha. Really glad BHT took us here for dinner ^.^
I swear to god, only people who love spicy food can appreciate the tao-geh (beansprout). It's soooo good but eat already you want to cry T.T The rest were yummy also! Some love the deep-fried corn, but everyone raved about the tao-pauk! How casual tao-pauk is you know what i mean. But it's really awesome good, and even better when you eat it with the chili they serve!!!
Table full of food!!! ^.^ and more were being served up haha. I think it's either we look really hungry.. Or it's usual to feast like that in Batam.
To ease your tongue if you can't take spicy food (they also have a good mixture of non-spicy food, don't worry! My nephew Ah Bong can't take spicy food but he liked the meal too!!!). It really helps!
CLIMAX OF THE MEAL OMGGGGGGG. This deep-fried CRISPY MAX fish glazed with special sauce. It's good like that but if you dip it in their garlic chili sauce.. HOLY GOD.

You may also add a dinner at Saung Sunda Restaurant for just $20/per pax! I'd say give it a try if you want to try something local and super flavourful!!! You'd definitely loveee the chicken and fish!!! AND YES, the tau-pauk!!! Haha!

Anyway HERE's the link to the itinerary for standard day tour! You can check it out if you are following the itinerary! But if you're going for private tour (min 8 pax and above), the guides from BHT will be greeting you in Harbourfront and will accompany group thorough the entire trip.

Batam Holidays guides are usually Aini or Farley (Aini's spouse! Family business! And they are both really really nice people!!!) so you'd be in good hands!!! They both went with me and my family and we all had a good time. Hmm.. Actually they are always around when we need them hahaha. But other time we don't really remember they are there haha! So don't worry about anything and let them take care of you ^.^

For private tours, they will plan out the itinerary accordingly to the group’s preference. Like actually my family skipped the temple-visit so we can spend more time on shopping and massage for my parents!

Okay lah! If you wanna have some fun time with your family / friends / colleagues please take a look at Batam Holidays Travel website! You can purchase the tours on their site, how convenient!!!

Aini was really sweet to get me and my family a box of special tarts! Famous and only in Batam!!! Thank you!!! T.T It's so heartwarming to meet nice people like that.
Totally happy and fruitful day!!!
Happy family = Happy me! ^.^ There you see behind me, Farley and beside me, Aini and Dianto!

Thank you Batam Holidays Travel for the super nice and fun trip to Batam!!! Thank you Aini and Farley for taking care of us through out and for getting us a good guide, Dianto! ^.^

If you're thinking of going to Batam for an affordable but super fun-filled trip with Batam Holidays Travel for the private tour of minimum 8 pax, please remember to like their Facebook page HERE to enjoy the promotional rate of $100, do it before you submit your online booking!

Standard Tour is $35/pax! So to what i see.. Private tour is much more wu hua hahaha. But of course if you are not going in a group, standard day tour would be good for you!
And.. Since Chinese New Year is approaching..

*** SPECIAL ***

Chinese New Year packages!!!
I thought i bought a lot of snacks can last me till Chinese New Year right? WRONG.
Totally finished them up cox all too yummy =_=" Me and Josh alone bought 4 boxes of Kueh Lapis. After giving one away, we finished all. And also we bought lotsa Tiramisu chocolate and also bought honey comb cake. And lotsa keropok. ALL GONE!!!
And i wanna go to Batam cox i believe when it's nearing Chinese New Year, there will be even more CNY goodies selling!!! And it'd be as usual.. Be at a low price T.T I WANT TO GO LAH!!!
If you're thinking of going up soon, BHT came up with Chinese New Year Packages!!! You may check out the different hotel packages they have HERE! Prices of course will vary according to the different hotels you picked so here's the Standard package, it includes:
1) 2-way ferry tickets (SG-Batam-SG)
2) Standard Day tour on arrival with Seafood Lunch
3) Shopping and Sight Seeing (For itinerary please refer HERE )
4) 1 night accommodation with buffet breakfast
5) Fa Chai Yu Shen dinner with Live Music and Firework display
6) Red Wine

What the heck, sound very atas with the red wine and fireworks i really want to go leh how ah! I think i jio my friends go this time haha.

Please note that there will be limited rooms available during this peak period so you guys have to book FAST book NOW!!! Actually if you were to book elsewhere now, chances are you will be disappointed cox most of the rooms are fully booked.

BUT THANKFULLY, Batam Holidays Travel have blocked rooms just for my readers!!!

Very limited number only though. So quick check out BHT website to see what's still available!

 One more good news is that when you mention that you're my reader, you get a 8% off ^.^ Courtesy of Batam Holidays Travel of course haha. With that.. We end our trip to Batam =)))

I shall end my post with this picture of Pearl's arm. Hahaha. It's quite fun to be Yurou's mum, you get decorated like a Christmas tree. And if Yurou ask you if you like it, you better say yes.

Thank you again, Batam Holidays Travel =) You guys have been really professional, helpful and great at putting this fun trip together for my family and i =))) I'd love to go back there again soon!!!

Here's some promotion BHT has on-going:

BATAM HOLIDAYS TRAVEL MEMBERSHIP CARDS Membership
- Single ($30/3 years)
- Couple ($50/3 years)
- Family ($99/3 years)
For membership rewards click HERE. They have lotsa other privileges like birthday reward and retailer discount reward. So you can save while shop! Do feel free to browse around BHT website!

BHT have also opened up travel packages to other countries since May 2013! You may check them out! I am sure they will be as fun as the ones they planned for Batam travelers!

Links for your convenience:

Batam Holidays Travel Website for more information.

Batam Holidays Travel Facebook to LIKE and SHARE about BHT to enjoy the promotional rate of $100 for a private tour and to get update for new promotions!


BATAM HOLIDAYS TRAVEL PTE LTD
844 Sims Avenue #01-710
Singapore 400844
Office: 6546 1713
Email: sales@batamholidays.com

15 comments:

Hanna Lei said...

This looks like so much fun. -Hanna Lei

Jane said...

Superdry is actually a UK brand... I didn't know either until my Japanese friend told me :)

Anonymous said...

Next time go to caffein !!! 👍👍👍

Anonymous said...

Superdry is a British label, not Japanese label.

Anonymous said...

superdry isn't a japanese label

ivancouver604 said...

omg - kueh lapis. my favourite! Too bad vancouver doesnt have!!!!!

Nicole in China said...

You have such an amazing and bubbly personality. One simply can't help but love your energy. Haha.

http://nicoleinchina.com

Ana said...


I find this kind of posts very fascinating. Maybe you should be a travel blogger :D
Oh and why your other nephew didn't went? :(

Anonymous said...

So much fun! Whenever I see little spunky, adorable Yurou I wonder "when is QiuQiu going to have a baby?" lol. You would be the best mom!

Anonymous said...

hahah your dad is super funny.. i laughed when i read the part about him pranking your mom.

Best part is your mum seems the type that always fall for his pranks LOL.

nana said...

Hi Qiu Qiu, may I know which mall you went to buy a lot of the kids clothes and where did you go for the massage .thanks

Anonymous said...

SuperDry is not Japanese brand la HAHAHA...

batam lover said...

This batam driver was very friendly and helpful... thought just wanted to share with you:

http://beautifulbatam.blogspot.sg/

He speaks good english and mandarin, which makes communication easy.

Adam said...

Anybody know where I can buy cheap original ralph lauren polo shirts in Batam?

Unknown said...

Hi, the spa looks really good. Do u happened to know the name of the spa?

Thanks !

Sharon :)