Batam? Bottom Maybe

Recently spent a weekend in Batam. For those who dont know where this is, its an island in Indonesia just near Singapore. By fast ferry its 45 minutes (well thats what the brochure says but in reality is one hour). Even so its a very pleasant experience zipping across the top of the water at high speed. On the day that I went over it was very warm and sunny, wells its always very warm here, but sunny it is not.

What I didnt expect was that the ferry ride was the best part of Batam. This place has almost nothing to recommend it, for a tourist anyway.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, good start. Then found out its a minimum 30 minute drive to anywhere you may want to go. Taxis are not metered and of course being a Bule there is an expectation that you are made of money and so demanding extrotionate rates for a third rate cab is the norm.

The Holiday Inn itself was pretty good. Booked room on the internet and managed to get the crappiest room they have. What is it about marketing people that they dont understand that if you book a room on a cheap site, and you like the room and the resort that you are more likely to return again and again but take better rooms at a better price for them.

My experience there was ok, but felt as though I was being punished for trying to save $10. What I did discover with Holiday Inn is that you will almost always get a better rate by booking on their own webiste. If I had booked on their site the room would have cost me only marginally more, I would have got a better room and then not had to pay $20 for breakfast. When its a buffet breakfast does it really matter if people pay for it or not, and there were no other options. The nearest place with food was a $20 taxi fare away.

Would I stay at Holiday Inn Batam again? Yes. but only if I wanted a weekend of complete R&R with no intentions of going anywhere else.

Saturday night we decided to head into the main parts of town. There are two in Batam. One is called Batam Centre. There is nothing there but a ferry terminus, and a bunch of shopping malls. Nothing for night entertainment. The night time stuff is in Nagoya. Lots of hotel, ranging from 4+ to who knows how low you can go. Our driver promised to find us a hotel with live music and food. After driving around for 20 minutes we takes us to a karaoke place, no food, but we can eat the Taiwanese place next door?

Now if you know anything about Indonesia you know that Karaoke lounges are only fronts for the bar girls. There is a pretence that its all about singing, but its all about screaming. Alcohol and some food is served, but thats not the point of the place.

Some harsh words, both in English and Indonesian were spoken and he took us to a 4* hotel. After I interrogated the concierge it seemed that there is no such thing a live music with food and dancing in Batam as there is in Jakarta, Bali or Singapore. so we settled for a nice aussie steak at the 4*, had a beer or two and then back to the Holiday Inn (also no live music with food).

Actually the concierge was a funny guy. I asked him where we could go for live music, a steak and some beer followed by dancing. His reply "We usually go to Singapore or Jakarta" and yes he did have a very big smile on his face at the time, but he wasnt kidding.

Back to Holiday Inn, HBO and listen to rain.

Sunday, leisurely morning by the pool, although the tropical downpour was incredible. Afternoon headed to Batam Central (hotel bus $6) shopping. Lots of nice knock offs of watches, perfumes, clothes, leathergoods. And some really good quality local product as well. Once the shopping mall is finished will be quite something. has a direct link to the ferry terminal, so the Singapore Tragi Shopping brigade can have a day out from Orchard Road and their feet will never touch Indonesian soil.

Decided to stay on the Sunday and get 9am ferry back to Singapore and in the office by 11am, close, almost made it. Had huge storm on the way back , see photos. Check in at Batam Ferry a little less organised than the Singapore end, but hey it is Indonesia after all.

Overall why go to Batam. Well if you have never been to Indonesia and you want the stamp in your passport, this is a quick and cheap way to do it. The shopping mall at the ferry terminal is ok, just dont expect too much. 3 hours tops is going to be enough. Then get out of town. If you want a very relaxing pleasant weekend at a low stress resort, Holiday Inn at Waterfront City is the place to go.

Oh and the names. Waterfront City is where the Holdiay Inn and some other resort are located. It looks like someone tried to build a small city there but there is row after row of empty houses and lots of broken down bits of road, but the sign welcomong you to Waterfront City is very impressive, shame nobody thought to get the city bit right first.

Bangalore, or is that Bangalot??

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks in Bangalore working, cannot tell you what we did or who for or we would have to kill you, but it was a lot of hard work and a lot of fun at the same time.

Ran into some really nice and crazy people, not just from our own organisation but also from others. Some other Aussies, some locals, some Brits, Canadians and dare I say it, even some pleasant Yanks, oh I did say it.

Anyway the locals were great. We got invited to someone else's birthday party at a local restaurant, which wasnt too bad as there were more than 100 other people there as well, and then just managed to have a great time. We got kicked out around 11.30ish as the local police chief has the view that he can prevent drug abuse by closing all the nightlife down before midnight. Some people just dont get it. And it seems a lot of people go to the cinema at midnight until some ungodly hour of the morning and others seem to prefer my hotel room, until later in the morning. Now what did happen to that bottle of bourbon??

Turns out the locals were very friendly and great fun, lots of laughing and many coffees and so on over the few weeks we were there. Very hospitable and very interesting people.

Bangalore itself has little to offer a tourist, or even a business traveler. The hotels are a challenge. Everything is hard to do, hard to get, hard to keep, including your room. I was asked to vacate my room one night as the hotel had overbooked and needed my room, of course they had no plans to find me another one and seemed very put out that I was not prepared to be put out, even for some alleged VIP. I said I was happy to vacate as long as they put me up at the Oberoi or the Leila Palace, but alas they were also overbooked. Dont really know what happened to the VIP and could care less. My relationship with the front desk staff deteriorated somewhat after my refusal.

Traffic in Bangalore is as bad as anything I have seen in Jakarta, Bangkok or Manila. A 10 klm journey can take up to 3 hours, I kid you not. Most days it was only 1 hour, but 3, thats beyond friendship. The city seems to have grown and grown and grown but the roads are still the same. And getting around the cows without an incident is some form of magic.

A week in Bali is never enough

Spent last week in Bali, it really is heaven on earth.

Some observations however!

1. Why do the taxi drivers insist on driving around and around, or in Bahasa 'mutar-mutar', tooting their horns every time they see a tourist (bule only) in some forlorn hope that we might suddenly need a taxi. Surely if we wanted a taxi we would stop and hang an arm out! You can and will go deaf in no time flat, I promise you will get very tired of it.

2. Why does every person sitting on the gutter say the words 'Transport' while at the same time holding both arms out in front of them and giving an impersonation of someone driving a car, truly after ten minutes, let alone one week, this is very tiring.

3. Why do Australian women insist on getting really bad hair beading done on the beach by local women who have no idea what they are doing? It looks really really bad and must hurt like hell.

4. Why do the touts outside the local restaurants insist on throwing a menu in your face as soon as you walk out of the restaurant right beside theirs, as if one meal is not enough?

5. And, the worst of all are the tag teams on the motor cycles. Here is how it works. "Hello Mister, you speak English? Please take one (handing you postcard) I am not selling anything, please just take one" It is of course advertising for any number of time shares, tourist traps or hotels or restaurants, and if you take one they will insist on you going there right away as they get a commission if you do and nothing if you do not, and you of course feel sorry for them and agree to go to their bosses place, at your own expense, so this poor chap and his friend get a commission. Its cheaper just to give them Rp10,000 and save the Rp20,000 taxi fare!! No we didn't do either.

There is more: Of course there is always more.