PREFACE

Sept. 2000, US$1 buys Rupiah 8,000 (varied a lot) or S$1.6

The Batam basics have been covered in detail by others much better than I could ever do. So my report is simply a record of one old, fat bule’s personal experiences in Batam. (I was told that bule literally means albino, in practice it means white honky, me!). They are long and probably boring. Some old men like to listen to themselves talk, I seem to like to listen to myself type.

This was my first trip to a South East Asian country. I was shocked at the third worldness of Nagoya, (Nagoya is the largest city on the Island of Batam, which is part of the Riau Islands of Indonesia), and had a hard time getting used to it. Actually I never got used to it, but by the end of my stay I was able to cope a little better than at the beginning. Bear in mind as you read the reports, that I always felt some fear, some paranoia, was overly cautious, suspected everyone, and always expected the worse. No doubt those feelings created a dark cloud over all my experiences. I put the blame for much of the negativity I felt during my stay squarely on my own shoulders, and not on Batam or it’s people.

I have broken up the long report into several sections, and will post each section separately. I have included my experiences in GETTING TO BATAM, the TAXIS, HOTELS, FOOD, MONEY EXCHANGE, SHOPPING, BOOKING SYSTEM, and most importantly, the GIRLS OF BATAM.

I debated whether or not to include the names of the girls, and decided not to, with one exception. There is just no reason to mention names. I am not making recommendations, only reporting my personal experiences.

I welcome all comments, either publicly on this board or in private email, asiaphan@hotmail.com.