There are two nice towns near Singapore and they are as called Batam and Bintan.
Oh yes, you are right - they are in Indonesia. Let us chat about what to do there ! Trust me., they are ideal weekend getaways...
Simple to reach, just an hour of ferry ride. No heavy tides. Straight forward immigration process at both sides. Sometimes, you might have put up with 30 min in Queue at Indonesian sides during peak hours. But 3 day or 4 day week ends - be there much ahead. You generally dont get questions about your purpose of visit or where you stay ...
Hotels: Lot of good hotels in Batam - ideal place to stay is Nagoya as it is closer to Nagoya Hill Mall. There are so many options and price range and I like Harmoni Hotel and Swiss Inn Batam. Some of the very good pubs are located walkable distance from Harmoni Hotel or Goodway Hotel - like The Last Pub or Chilli Bar.
What to do: Shopping at Nagoya Hill - try ManZone or Matahari... try excellent food at SSS - Saung Sunda Sawargi - recommended if you go in large group; or try Teras Cafe if you go as couple. Gadeno will fit the purpose if you are concious of spending.
Massage: There are so many massage parlours... they know what they do and offer quality massage services. Option for Plus Plus is generally asked if you go alone and need to be tipped separately - over the bill.
Nightlife: There are many options like Karoake bar - Permata Indah at Windsor central, Merlion Hotel or Kompleks Cipta Utam near centre point shopping centre - pls take separate room if you go as group ! Some interesting discotheque options are Ice Pub near Mandarin Residency Hotel or Ozon Discotheque at Bromo Komp.
Simple pubs with loads of sports channel options are available near Harmoni hotel. You are allowed to smoke while drinking !
On weekends, teen age kids ride up bike and do wheeling near Batam centre after 1030pm. Excellent to watch their enthusiam and try some street food !
Ferry ride is little volatile and can be turbulant at times based on high tide. Beware !
Hotels or Resort: My preference of stay are Bintan Lagoon resort, Nirwana Resorts or Bintan Agro Beach Resort. Excellent properties and food options. There are also water sport activity or mangrove visit activity etc.
There are also hotels available like Aston which can be used for any seminar or business meeting. I would definitely advise Bintan also for team building exercises for office goers.
Massage: There are so many SPA options available with many of the resoirts.. They know what they do and offer quality massage services.
Shops: plenty of shops also sell swim suits and other accessories. Dont worry if you forget to take some along with you.
Dinner: classy dining, wine options are available. You can enjoy peaceful dinner with family on the sea side.
Some of the resort like Bintan Lagoon have also got pubs inside resort.
Enjoy Travel and Bon appetit !
Oh yes, you are right - they are in Indonesia. Let us chat about what to do there ! Trust me., they are ideal weekend getaways...
Batam:
Ferry and Immigration:Simple to reach, just an hour of ferry ride. No heavy tides. Straight forward immigration process at both sides. Sometimes, you might have put up with 30 min in Queue at Indonesian sides during peak hours. But 3 day or 4 day week ends - be there much ahead. You generally dont get questions about your purpose of visit or where you stay ...
Hotels: Lot of good hotels in Batam - ideal place to stay is Nagoya as it is closer to Nagoya Hill Mall. There are so many options and price range and I like Harmoni Hotel and Swiss Inn Batam. Some of the very good pubs are located walkable distance from Harmoni Hotel or Goodway Hotel - like The Last Pub or Chilli Bar.
What to do: Shopping at Nagoya Hill - try ManZone or Matahari... try excellent food at SSS - Saung Sunda Sawargi - recommended if you go in large group; or try Teras Cafe if you go as couple. Gadeno will fit the purpose if you are concious of spending.
Massage: There are so many massage parlours... they know what they do and offer quality massage services. Option for Plus Plus is generally asked if you go alone and need to be tipped separately - over the bill.
Nightlife: There are many options like Karoake bar - Permata Indah at Windsor central, Merlion Hotel or Kompleks Cipta Utam near centre point shopping centre - pls take separate room if you go as group ! Some interesting discotheque options are Ice Pub near Mandarin Residency Hotel or Ozon Discotheque at Bromo Komp.
Simple pubs with loads of sports channel options are available near Harmoni hotel. You are allowed to smoke while drinking !
On weekends, teen age kids ride up bike and do wheeling near Batam centre after 1030pm. Excellent to watch their enthusiam and try some street food !
Bintan:
Ferry and Immigration: You need to first decide the play of stay ! There are special counters available at Bintan Lagoon Resort for example. Otherwise, there is Tanjong Pinang or BBT - Bandar Bentan Telani terminal.Ferry ride is little volatile and can be turbulant at times based on high tide. Beware !
Hotels or Resort: My preference of stay are Bintan Lagoon resort, Nirwana Resorts or Bintan Agro Beach Resort. Excellent properties and food options. There are also water sport activity or mangrove visit activity etc.
There are also hotels available like Aston which can be used for any seminar or business meeting. I would definitely advise Bintan also for team building exercises for office goers.
Massage: There are so many SPA options available with many of the resoirts.. They know what they do and offer quality massage services.
Shops: plenty of shops also sell swim suits and other accessories. Dont worry if you forget to take some along with you.
Dinner: classy dining, wine options are available. You can enjoy peaceful dinner with family on the sea side.
Some of the resort like Bintan Lagoon have also got pubs inside resort.
Enjoy Travel and Bon appetit !
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