Getaway For My 26th Birthday

I had a getaway trip to Batam for my birthday. (Thank you my precious dear for planing this trip!)

We reached Batam View Beach Resort on Valentines Day around lunch time and our room was not ready.

Happy Valentines Day to all

Thus, We had lunch first at the hotel's restaurant. We both had Mee Goreng (as the chicken sandwich was not available)

Batam View Mee Goreng

The restaurant was empty as if we owned the whole place! There are chinese new decorations hanging around, bringing up the atmosphere.

The Restaurant

Chinese New Year decorations

Finally, we managed to get our room! (They hold us for a few hours because of a faulty clothes hanging line >.<).

Rainy sea view from the balcony

Adding on to the disappointment, it rained the whole day and we were trapped in the hotel watching the TV.

Bouganvilla plant at the balcony

Fortunately, the room was up to our expectation and we love the comfortable bed.

For dinner, we had a bowl of piping hot mee soto soup. I missed Indonesia's spicy chili sause for this dish. Unfortunately, they did not serve that kind of sause.

Mee Soto

Fruits

My dear fell asleep while watching the TV. I tuck her in before noticing the beautiful night scenery. I took a few shots before turning in.

Facing the Seafood Restaurant

A golf cart cruising by

The light streaks at the left of the photo are caused by a cruising golf cart. Who plays golf this late?

I love the blue star brust

We woke up early in the morning trying to catch the Sunrise. However, the location was wrong - the sun rises behind the hotel.

The huts at the beach

Silhouettes

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Batam Trip 2012 - Part 2

We had lunch at Golden Prawn 933 restaurant. The food there was not too bad. It's kind of awkward eating with a group of strangers. I conserved myself so that I would not kill their appetitive when I "unleash" the REAL me.

After lunch, we watched a performance where they did an Indonesia cultural dance - dancing with red ribbons and a lion costume (unsure what it is). Next, they ate burning coal, glasses and jump through fire hoops like Vitaly the tiger.

Cultural dance

Peeling a coconut using only the teeth

Eating burning coal

Us wearing the traditional headdress

Eating glass

Jumping through fiery hoop

The pretty girl

After the performance, we headed down to Golden Beach. I was expecting the golden sun, breeze and sea but none of it was there. The place was quiet and barren with a go kart station and the mosquito infested miniature park. DISAPPOINTING!

Go kart station

Miniature house

Skulls

Next, we dropped by at BCS mall for 2hrs before transiting to Harmoni Hotel. We bought a few souvenirs and had our dinner at the mall. The food was cheap! We had Soto Ayam, some chicken ball mee soup and 2 glasses of juice. These cost us only $7. Once we reached the hotel, we showered and watched a few series of Dexter and Homeland before heading for bed.

Rise and shine, we crawled out of bed, washed up and get ready for breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. The choice of food was disappointing (maybe we pin our hopes too high up). The food we had are shown below. Although the choice was limited, the food was well cooked.

The restaurant at Harmoni Hotel

Economic bee hoon

Porridge

Baked beans and a omelet

After breakfast, we toured the hotel. It was quiet, dark and "dead" at the lobby. The lights are switched off to conserve energy. There is a gym, a function room and a swimming pool at the 6th level.

Harmoni Hotel

Christmas tree

Ornaments

Say cheese

It's a short 2 Days 1 Night trip. We enjoyed ourselves and had a break from the busy lifestyle of Singapore! Back to reality already (X_x).

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Batam Trip 2012 - Part 1

It's our first time to Batam and also the first time using Groupon. The ferry, coach and a night stay at the hotel cost us a total of $80. We met at 0710HRS, exchanged our boarding passes and had a quick bite at McDonalds before boarding the ferry.

On the ferry to Batam

After checking out from the arrival hall, we were greeted by our tour guide, 'Otah' and she directed us to our coach for the city tour. I couldn't help taking a shot of this kid bouncing around on the bus.

Our first stop, the chocolate outlet. There's nothing special about the shop, it's just a store that resembles Candy Empire. We bought a few packs of chocolate and took photo with the mascot.

Next stop, we went to Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Buddhist Temple. The temple was clean, posh and surprising not that smoky (unlike temples in Singapore). It's a great place for me to take photos!

Facing the outer of the temple

Inside of the temple

Buddhas

I noticed the reflections on the marble floor which could create an interesting and unique photo. Here is the photo I came up with.

Beautiful reflections

After visiting the temple, we patronized the Ralph Lauren polo outlets. We had 20% discounts and the basic polo tees are priced at $50 per piece. I had my doubts whether it is genuine Ralph Lauren but in the end, I bought 2 of it. HAHA!

Ralph Lauren Polo Outlet

Next, we visited Diana's, to understand more about Kueh Lapis. This cake originated during colonial times in the Dutch East Indies. Making the Kueh Lapis requires a lot of time and effort. Each layer is spread out and baked separately.

Baking Kueh Lapis

The Kueh Lapis is affordable with a price of $25 for one cake. Let me inform you beforehand that the cake is of the size of a medium birthday cake! I was surprised when I first receive my Kueh Lapis. I didn't except it to be so big.

to be continue...

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