Singapore-Batam Trip

Mar 12, 2009 by Syahiera Farhana

Day 1 – Saturday

Early 2009, I managed to go for a trip to Singapore & Batam with Zue, Ana & Yatt..my former classmate taking BPharm in Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, IIUM. We took one fine Saturday to take Airasia flight to Spore (RM180). Being in KL, I have to wait for Zue & Yatt taking morning flight from Kota Bharu, while Ana took flight from Kuantan. Our flight to Spore boards at 3pm.

We reached Spore around 350pm. Walked around the airport, found the Uniquely Spore booth and grabbed some brochures on travelling/shopping in Spore. Took a cab to our hotel, Treasure Resort Sentosa located in the heart of Sentosa Island. Sitting elegantly on a gentle slope right beneath The Merlion and overlooking the sea, Treasure Resort boasts her colonial architectural heritage tracing back to the 1940s. However, there’s construction work being done. So, the swimming pool is not available for us. Yet, the price? RM 695 for 1 night + bfast for 4 person + the card for getting around in Sentosa for 4 person! I guess, the most expensive hotel room in my life.. The room is OK..comfy & cozy..but too small from what we expected from a Deluxe room.

After much resting & munching our food stock.. we went out after jama’ Mgrib-Isya’. Getting the kiblat direction is one issue. Luckily i brought the Nicorette keychain..which has a small compass on it. So, it helped us. We went out.. using the free ride from Imbiah to Harborfront. The Imbiah station is just opposite our hotel entrance. From Harborfront, took the train to Esplanade. So many ppl there..and we found prob in searching for halal food..and we were getting very hungry by then. We chose one Thai restaurant and had to wait for half an hour before being placed. 3 of us ordered Nasi Goreng Thai Special.. and it was very hot & f***ing spicy..i couldn’t finish my dish. And it was RM32 per dish! We went back to hotel by cab after the delayed dinner and a few photo-shoots.

Day 2 – Sunday

After bfast, we straightaway check-out from the room. And started our tour in Sentosa Island. We planned to do the Luge & Skyride..but the hot wheather made us dehydrated and losing mood to do the activities there.

We just took bus rides & beach trams to get around the island. Went to Siloso beach.. wonder how they play beach volleyball in bikini in this freakingly hot wheather. We stopped and got a taste of 3 scoops of Ben & Jerry icecream with the cost RM15. We walked around Imbiah Lookout later on before getting to the souvenir shop to get something.

Damn.. I look so fat during this trip (comparing with my post-fever weight)…

I was then feel dehydrated and didn’t have the energy to walk around Sentosa anymore. We decided to go to Batam early so that we can get some rest. We took the free Sentosa bus ride to Harborfront. Getting hungry by then..still having prob getting halal food, we decided to take our dinner in Batam once we reach there. One thing stopped the girls in Harborfront.. this shop selling handbag. I admit that i quite like the design.. but i dont plan to shop in Spore. Our main target for shopping is in Batam Island.

The return ferry ticket price from Spore-Batam costs us around RM100 per person. Plus, SGD 7 tax to be paid per person. We board the ferry at 430pm..and reached Batam about one hour later.

~ Sorry for the low-quality picture.. ~

Performed Zuhur-Asar & Maghrib-Isya’ prayers at a surau in Batam Centre, we met a very nice lady Mrs. Bambang there. She is a dentist with her own dental clinic. She guided us on where to shop and where to stay in Batam. A very useful info. Then, she lead us to Batam Megamall by connecting bridge from Batam Centre. We never knew Batam is very industrialized. We had our long-awaited dinner there.. So relieved to get halal food easily. Thanks to Mrs. Bambang. We then took a cab ride to Puri Garden Hotel, near Nagoya area where we gonna shop tomorrow. We took a Deluxe room to accomodate 4 of us. And we quite satisfied with the room. Very spacious, with a dining table and a sofa in addition to other basic amenities. Resting the whole night, preparing for a long day shopping tomorrow.

Day 3 – Monday

After bfast at the hotel, we walked around Nagoya..asking ppl around on the shop names as suggested by Mrs. Bambang. We went shopping for the whole day. The aim is to get back in hotel before the day gets dark. Original perfume is very cheap there. For instance, i bought my Bulgari Omnia Crystalline for RM 230-240 (40ml). Here, the same perfume in 75ml only costs around RM 100-120! We managed to get some perfume after 2-3 hours bargaining in a shop named Coco. Then, we walked around Nagoya to search for handbags. Original handbags are slightly cheap than in Malaysia. But the brands are limited to Bonia, Elle, Braun Buffel.. to name a few. The pirated handbags are many..with diffrent grades based on quality. Some of us bought branded watches which is slightly cheaper than in Malaysia.

We stopped to have our lunch..having the famous Nasi Padang.. with many lauks.. And thank God the restaurant provides prayer room. Easy for us. We continued shopping until evening. Our last stop was in a shop suggested by Mrs. Bambang (I cant remember the name of the shop). We spent time for our final shopping there. All of us bought original sunglasses from that shop..(with a special price for Mrs. Bambang’s friends). We got the famous Kek Pisang Batam there..A yummy banana cake coated with either chocolate or cheese topping. So delicious!! I’m still craving for it.
The best part was the owner of the shop asked her personal driver to send us back to hotel after shopping in her shop!

~ the T-shirt we all bought ~



We went back to hotel safely and then getting ready to go out to eat the Batam famous seafood (again, I forgot the place). The crab, prawns & fish were very fresh! We love the dish. Went back to hotel, we rushed to redeem the free spa treatment (Batam is also famous for cheap spa). Our hotel gave us free 2 spa treatment (sauna, whirlpool etc) per day. Other treatments such as body massage can be enjoyed with good price (cheaper than in Msia).

Day 4 – Tuesday

After much resting, we woke up and had our bfast at the hotel. Everybody was satisfied with the whole-day shopping trip yesterday. We packed our things and checked out from the hotel at 930am. We only paid RM150/ person for 2 nights stay + bfast for 2 days + spa treatment. Very affordable! Makes us wanna come again..

We reached Batam Centre (the jetty) at around 10am. It was still early. Our ferry boards at 11am and reached Spore Harborfront at around 1pm. We straightaway took a cab to Changi airport. Had our lunch there before boarding our flight at 415pm. We reached LCCT at around 5.05pm. Performed Zuhur-Asar prayer before Ana made a move to KLIA to catch her MAS flight to Kuantan. Zue & Yatt were taking Airasia back to KB that night. I waited until after Magrib then took the Skybus ride to KL Sentral. Already heading home in KL.. with sweet memories of the trip.

Cant wait for our next trip!