Welcome to the message board of the Batam Nightlife Website, located at: http://nedbatam.com
Best deals for hotels, dining, drinking, pubbing and discos.
Riau Adventures-"The Booking"
by KenI thought I'd start my reports on the Riau Islands by describing the ASFO system there. ASFO activity centers around the "Booking".
You hear it constantly, "You looking for booking?", "You have booking?"
Even freelancers in the disco will ask if you want a booking.
My understanding is a booking entitles you to the services of the girl from the time you pick her and pay the "booking" fee to sometime the next morning. Girls report for duty around lunchtime and this is the best time to look for a booking because the selection is best.
If you look for a booking girl in the evening, you'll only see the leftovers. Some guys want maximum shagging and take the girl as early as possible. If you can't stand that much togetherness, you can book her early, but have her delivered to your hotel later that evening.
Naturally the girls are happy to have a guaranteed booking but not have to report for duty until later. This seems like a very civilized way to do things with benefit for all concerned. Since she's with
you long time by default, the experience is much more "girlfriend" like. I found the girls to be real sweethearts, hugging, caressing, touching all night long like a girlfriend. The mama/papasans seem to
take pride in their service and always give you their card with instructions to call if any problem with the girl, I never had any. I think this also prods the girl to deliver very good service. There's some discussion on when she's supposed to leave.
Some say 11, but I think this is more if she really enjoys being with you. After shagging all night and early morning, it was fine with me when she got up
at 8 or 9 to get dressed. I'm sure she has some personal things to take care of before reporting back to work around lunchtime to begin the cycle again. If you really like her and want to keep her, just
call the mama/papasan in the morning and drop by later to pay the booking fee. Tipping her in the morning is discretionary, average is probably 30k-40kRp. Some guys give 0, some give 100k, up to you.
All establishments(massage, karaoke, pub) are focused on making bookings although they have small twists. Massages have rooms on site if you want to just do a short time. I suppose if you really wanted to, you could negotiate short times everywhere if you wanted to maximize body count. Karaokes typically have at least a DVD player on hand if you want to hang out a bit, tho mostly its
used by the girls while waiting for bookings. In all places you could sit and have a beer or a drink, though all the time you're there the Mami/Papasan will be pitching booking girls to you.
Given the booking system, pursuing freelancers in the discos seems like a bad strategy. By late night all girls are booked and you're down to a freelancer you might not ordinarily consider or sleeping
alone. They know this and will ask top booking fee for just a few hours with you. Not to mention that many are older hustlers who'll rip you given the chance.
I found the prices highest in Batam. Initial asking price for a booking midweek was 300kRp($36.60USD), dropping a bit to 270KRp
if you stall a little. Queens asked 100kRp($23.80USD)
for a short-time in their rooms. Saturday night freelancers in Ozone were asking 300kRp. In contrast midweek, the salons in TG Pinang and TG Balai asked 200kRp($24.40USD) for bookings.
If you wanted to maximize body count I'd head to the brothel villages where it's 50kRp($6.00USD) a shot.
Unfortunately the scene is dominated by the Singaporean and Malaysian punters who just call ahead to reserve their favorite girls. Weekends when they descend, the pickings are slim unless
you book early.
I personally like the booking system. It seems much more focused on personal attention and service than the Thai barfine/ST/LT system. With the mama/papasan guaranteeing the girl, never a worry about her staying the night.
Basically for a 1000baht, you can get an all night booking, for 300baht you can get a ST in the brothel villages.
KenPosted on Sep 13, 2000, 9:54 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Indo girls
by Nai Khanom TomHey Ken, I liked your post. I feel you write well and have a good perspective on what it is like there. I am also a frequent Thailand pussy hunter and am curious about the Riau islands and really want to know how it stacks opposed to Thailand. I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip there as I will be going back to south east Asia in a month and Riau is going to be part of my itinerary. So what are the discos like and did you pick up any freelancers from there and what were the costs? What did you like about Bintan? Was is the fact that it was the most beautiful of the islands or something else? I want to go to Batam, TJ Balai, and Kundur, but now I may be persuaded to go to Bintan so why don't you try to sell me on the place! How do you like the Indo girls as opposed to Thai girls? Maybe both are good, but just different. Take care.Posted on Sep 13, 2000, 4:05 PM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Indo Girls
by KenFrom my limited viewpoint I think that Thai girls
are more attractive on average than Indo girls.
The biggest differences are in personality. I
think Thai girls are much more emotional and
impulsive. A thai girl may pick you up just
because she likes you or quickly fall in love.
I think the Indo girls are friendly but much more
conservative in this respect.
I found the whole scene in the islands much more
"basic" than Thailand. The farang areas in
Thailand are very glitzy compared to the islands.
Girls are dressed simply with little makeup,
very natural. Their beauty is very natural.
As reported, the discos are very dark and
smoky. Some of the freelancers are real
hustlers which really turned me off. Prices
are the same as for a booking girl. Except
as last resort, I don't see a reason to get a
girl from a disco, better to just get a booking
girl.
I only went to TJ Pinang on Bintan and it was my
favorite stop. Relatively speaking I thought
it friendlier and cleaner. A lot of this was
due to staying at the Rainbow hotel which is
very friendly. More details when I write my
reports.
Posted on Sep 14, 2000, 8:30 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
indo pussy
by americanoHey dude: if you want some quality pussy on the cheap, try Batam. I would say it is about one half the price of Thai pussy and just as good. Shop around and you will find just what you want. I got a great indo chik who was a full time fucking machine for 270k booking from Crown Karoke and she was prepared to fuck all nite. I should have done a two day gig with her because she offered to show me Batam island. Kissing, BBBJ and BBFucking (but refused) and a real girlfriend experience.... Wanted me to take her to Spore for the 2nd day.... should have done it.....Posted on Oct 18, 2000, 11:34 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Riau Adventures- "We all Scream for Ice Cream"
by KenTraveling through the Riau Islands, girls would proudly exclaim "they like Ice Cream" or "my friend like Ice Cream" I was surprised at this hotbed of Hagen Daaz worship, but of course, you need a cool treat in a hot climate. Even started having visions of retiring with a Baskin Robbins franchise. My dreams quickly evaporated when I realized they were talking about another smooth, creamy treat they wanted to lick and suck out of you. Not that I minded in the least. I really like the euphamism and took to asking every interesting girl I saw if she liked "Ice Cream" as a test to see how open she was to ASFO activities.
KenPosted on Sep 14, 2000, 7:38 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Riau Adventures- "Singapore Transit"
by KenI tried to do a lot of research before my trip and found a lot of info at the following sites and forums.
www.Batam.com
www.Batam-info.com
www.mybatam.com
http://batam-nightlife.hypermart.net
http://oarhouse.hypermart.net
http://www.asfo.com/cgi-bin/dlist.exe?dir=images/Johnno
http://www.batam-info.com/accomod.htm
http://www.netbabbler.com/goto?forumid=19627
http://www.delphi.com/sammyboy
Batam night life, http://network5com/Hide/Forum/19627
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/19627
http://www.webcom.com/leongsam/welcome.html
http://www.webcom.com/leongsam/batam.html
http://www.webcom.com/leongsam/bintan.html
http://www.webcom.com/leongsam/bintan2.html
http://www.delphi.com/sexbatam
My plan was to fly into Singapore's Changi Airport and hop a ferry out to the islands. Hoever my flight got in long after the last ferry so I was faced with a choice of spending the night in the airport or finding a room. Spending the night in the airport isn't a bad way to go, it's very safe and they're used to farangs
camping out. But after traveling so many hours I thought I'd be in need of a shower and bed for a few hours. I set out to find a budget hotel and found two budget chains on the web, Hotel81 and Fragrance.
http://www.hotel81.com.sg/hotels.htm
http://www.fragrancehotel.com/
http://www.can.com.sg/maps/index.cfm?
I ended up making a reservation at Hotel81. They are both located in Geylang, one of Singapore's designated red light districts.
Flight landed on schedule and was out in a flash. With the taxi surcharges for after midnight and airport, fare came to about S$15.
As far as redlight areas go, Geylang is pretty tame. In fact if you didn't know any better, it'd just be another quiet neighborhood.
The salons are very discreet with just an unmarked door. As you walk by, the doorman very very politely invites you to take a look.
The only risque thing in the neighborhood are all the hotels covered in neon. In fact Geyland may be more notable as a major budget hotel area. There must be a thousand rooms available within a few blocks of each other. Apparently entrepreneurs have been buying up old hotels and renovating them. As I check in, the daily and 2hour rates are posted. Payment is asked in advance, preferably cash, plus a refundable S$20 deposit for key and incidentals. The room is postage sized but nicely decorated and quite adequate. Rates in the area are S$45-S$50($26.50USD-$29.00USD) per night or S$20 short time. In all, Geylang turns out to be a very convenient place to transit because every taxi knows how to get there, can find a food stall almost 24hours a day and there's always a taxi driving by when you need one. But not too convenient to the MRT which is a good 20 minute walk away. Stayed in Geylang again on the way back, but at the Darlene hotel, Lorong 8 which I liked slightly better. With all the rooms in the neighborhood and their
hourly turnover, probably not necessary to make reservations.
Next morning, on to Batam.
KenPosted on Sep 15, 2000, 10:23 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Your posts are extremely helpful, Ken. Keep them coming.
by OngI am waiting for the "nitty gritty" stuff. It seems you had better luck in Tj Pinang than me (I prefer Batam). Will enjoy reading about what you found. Keep those posts coming!Posted on Sep 15, 2000, 2:22 PM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Riau Adventures-"Tanjung Pinang"
by KenAfter several days in Nagoya, started getting restless. Hadn't seen everything in Nagoya, but had a good idea what the scene was like.
Better to save further exploring for next trip. So wake up Sunday morning and instantly decide to bug out for Tanjung Pinang on Bintan island to the east. Quickly pack up and check out. Now I have no idea how to get there or even what to do when I get there. All I know are a few trip reports I'd read on Sam Leongs Conservative Asian Values forum. But it's an adventure. TJ Pinang would turn
out to be my most favorite stop.
I know enough that I need to take a ferry so I ask the guys on the lobby door which ferry terminal to go to. They reply I need to go to Kabil, you need taxi? This time I broke down and say yes to a
hotel taxi, then they tell me 50kRp, which means it's really a 25k trip. In this one instance it was probably worth it because Kabil is across the island and a long 30min drive. Besides which the driver made sure I got to the right ticket window, which I would have guessed wrong. So got a nice ride across the island. Kabil is a small ferry terminal and when we got there, there a lot of
guys with wheelbarrows which I thought were working on the construction there. Turns out they're the baggage handlers.
Bought a ticket on the MV Sentosa and 20 minutes later we're on our way. This boat is just like Widi, loud and well worn. It didn't look that far on the map, but it took us 60 minutes to get to TJ Pinang. It was interesting to see the lone fishing huts the
Indos would build on shallow shoals along the way. On a later ferry ride it occurred to me that you could probably get to TJ Pinang from the Sekupang ferry terminal, but the service isn't as frequent and probably an extra hour on the water.
We pull into the TJ Pinang jetty and it looks like a nice town.
I found it relatively cleaner than Nagoya, and even a little more polite. They even have public art which surprised me. I learn later that Pinang has some history, nearby Penyengat island was the cultural capital of Malay in the 18th century and has some sights like the Royal Mosque.
It's a long walk off the jetty pier and greeting you are the small white station wagon taxi guys. The trip reports seemed to like the Rainbow hotel so I decide to try there. I negotiate a 20kRp ride with one of the station wagons. He got me to the hotel, no problem, but the better thing as I figured out later would have been to beg/borrow to use someone's handphone on the ferry and call the hotel to pick me up. This has the added advantage of being able
to have the hotel driver stop along the way so you can make a booking.
I probably made the best hotel choice with the Rainbow which helped make this my favorite island. The Rainbow is basically a 2 star hotel and the second best hotel in the area. It's at around km6. The best as told to me by a booking girl is the Royal Palace, but it's further out of town at km11. The Rainbow is very clean, very relaxing, nice pool, well run, the staff is warm and friendly, they took very good care of me. I took their best room which was very large with AC for S$50. They had a promotion of ˝ off your third night so my three nights came to S$125. But the best feature of the hotel are the
girls staffing it who are darlings and quite attractive. I was sorely tempted to break my rule of not playing where I sleep
TJ Pinang is a small town, the main town area is maybe a 1/3 the size of Nagoya. You could probably walk across town in 20 minutes.
However a lot is built up alongside the roads leading out of town so it's kind of sprawling. Places of ASFO interest are spread out along the main road and are described by how many km from town they are.
There's not a great reason to be staying downtown since the places you want to go are so spread out. The better strategy is to stay at a hotel with good car service. As I checked into the Rainbow they
told me that rides downtown are free, personal business is S$10 per hour. But a quick stop while driving to town was OK. Since the Rainbow was at km6 and a lot of the places I wanted to go were
between the hotel and town, I got a lot done for free by just stopping off.
It was early afternoon and time to get a booking girl. Dropped my key at the front desk and asked for a ride downtown. Some discussion ensued about where downtown, (I was just going to walk around a little after booking a girl) so we settled on their "office" from where I could call for a pick up. Turns out the Rainbow owner is also booking agent for Penguin ferry and he has an office in the Bestari mall downtown. This settled, a few minutes
later a hotel land cruiser pulls up. Driving to town I ask the driver if we can stop for booking girl, "OK, no problem". We pull off at Bintan Plaza, km3. Not really a plaza, just a group of non-descript buildings surrounding a pujasera area. The roads are dirt and we drive to the far building. The building looks shuttered up but he leads me around to the back doors. Walking in, it's a booking room with benches around the room. The papasan calls all the girls for a line up, about 15 girls total, all different types.
As I've said before, the girls don't have great looks, but they can be real sweethearts. Some girls have great bodies but it's hard to tell because they dress very plainly in jeans, shorts, whatever. So you have to have a keen eye. One catches my eye and she comes to sit next to me for a bit. I check out her english skills by asking if she likes "ice cream". She laughs and says OK. Enough english for
me, and I make the booking for 200kRp and arrange for her to come to my room that night. Booking Tip- carry several hotel cards so you can write your name and room number on the card for the girl.
This taken care of, we jump back in the car and head downtown.
Bestari mall ends up being a very convenient place. The street it's on is one of the main streets in town and all the banks are nearby. The mall is one of the nicer places to shop in town and it's got an internet store on the second floor in the rear. Also several fast food places and a food mart. I'd buy water and things for the room and take it back in the car. Two blocks towards the water front is the Bintan mall which is more of an enclosed building and carpark.
There's an internet shop there too. The connections at these internet places was pretty slow. Not too much to see in town but take a walk out to the point where the Laut Jaya hotel is and walk around to the Chinese Temple. This is a working harbor and
interesting to watch them loading small boats.
Back to my booking girl, she arrived very punctually and was a total sweetheart the entire time with me. Very interested that I enjoy myself. She was really into it, I was enjoying that she was having a great time. Total girlfriend experience, couldn't have asked for more. Tempting fate, went back next day and picked another girl. Another total sweetheart, young, barely legal, incredible body.
There are some very attractive girls that I saw around town in the mall and bank, and there are a surprising number of discos in town, I was told the best were Stella and Club 5. Club 5 is right next to Bintan Plaza and Stella is near downtown. I tried
Club 5 one night, but it was a dead weeknight. Still, several hustling freelancers in attendance. Hung around a little but was really tired after days of booking girls and decided to head back to sleep. The disco guard was nice enough to call the hotel to
come pick me up. Just my luck that as the hotel car was pulling up,
I glimpsed a girl with the most incredible body going into the disco.
I don't think straight when I'm tired and I didn't go after her which I've regretted ever since. I think there are some good opportunities in the discos if you go on a weekend night and can separate the wheat
from the chaff.
There are other ways to get around besides hotel car. There are minibuses that cruise the highways of the island, just hop on and yell at the driver when you want to get off. Any minibus you catch will go past km6 and the Rainbow. And of course there's the ever present ojek. A hotel driver told me reasonable fares between the hotel and town would be 10kRp for taxi, 5kRp for ojek and 1kRp for
minibus.
The are two other hotels, the Sentral and the Halim right next to the Rainbow that do the same car service thing and have similar prices, but don't have as nice hotel setups. In Pinang phone numbers Rainbow 0-771-21982, Sentral 0-771-312000,
Halim 0-771-23719
Phone number calling from Singapore Rainbow 001-62-771-24982, Sentral 001-62-771-312000, Halim 001-62-771-23719 FAX number calling from Singapore Rainbow 001-62-771-25982,
Sentral 001-62-771-311751, Halim 001-62-771-23710
One afternoon had the hotel car drive me out to Batu 24. Actually when you get to around Batu24 (km24), you turn off onto a side road and go several km to get to the village. On a map that I bought,
I think the village name is Bukit Indah, can any experts verify this. The turn off is after the town of Gesik but before Tuapaya.
Just look for the large arch gate. Anyway it's a dusty little village set against a hill. The village follows a little road that loops against the hill. Edge to edge the village is maybe 500meters.
Walking around, some houses had girls sitting on the porch, some houses no one to be seen, girls all probably taking a nap. Very friendly place, at one house the girls dragged me in and was rescued
by my driver, not that there was any danger. The cutest girls I saw on my trip were in this village. The house layouts were all the same, a long corridor down the middle with individual rooms on either side.
The houses were very clean, the girls healthy, well fed, friendly. Every girl has her own room and when you go with her to her room it feels incredibly personal. The feeling is much more like you're in
a private home, very relaxing. You can just sit on the porch or sit inside with the girls, have a beer and spend some time before deciding what to do. One of the nicest, most memorable experiences I've ever
had. I'm definitely a village lover now.Posted on Sep 23, 2000, 7:29 PM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Riau Adventures- "Batam"
by KenNext morning check out of my little Geylang hotel room and head over to the WTC to catch the ferry. About an S$8 taxi. The WTC is a first class way to catch the ferry. The ground floor is a mall with stores to pick up anything you might have forgotten. Also several places to eat and snack. As you get to the ferry end of the building, take the escalator to the second floor which is the ticketing area. WTC is like Grand Central station for ferries in the region, with the most service to everyplace you might want to go. All the ferry companies and schedules have been well reported on other sites. With all that I had read about Batam, I planned to head there first. The departure board showed the next ferry to Batu Ampar as Widi. Walked to the Widi counter and the girl quoted S$17 one way or S$20 round trip including seaport tax. I wondered what was so bad the nobody wanted to ride them back. Wasn't sure what my plan was to come back, but S$3 more for a return ticket was too good to pass up. Later looking at the ticket, return good until Jan. Handed over my passport and the computer prints all the embarkation information on my white card. From the ticket counters, there's a departure area at the end of the building. Head there, walk in, then turn left and keep walking. Soon you encounter the immigration booths to check you out of Singapore. Then go down the escalator and you're in the boarding gate area. As reported elsewhere, the Widi boats are noisy, fast, and well worn. But I was enjoying my first trip across the straits, cruising through the harbor, passing all the ships at anchorage.
A little over an hour later we dock at Batu Ampar. The ferry terminal is small and sleepy, quickly pass through customs and immigration. A girl at a wooden counter is changing money, I hand over some S$ and I'm a rupiah millionaire. A lot of good advice has been written about dealing with the taxi mafia at the ferry terminals. I wasn't in a mood to play the game and just wanted to get to the hotel with my bags, so I engaged with the guy at the taxi table. Paid 20kRp for what at most is a 10kRp trip, but still, it was only $2.50USD. But soon got pretty good at negotiating fares around Nagoya. Driving into town my initial impression is WHAT A DUMP, bad smells, garbage laying about. As I later learn, I probably saw the worst of town and it's not all that bad. My first impressions aren't helped any by staying at the Melia which is a first rate hotel but in a dodgy part of town next to the shanty market and in front of the stinky drain. My room at the Melia is very nice, comfortable bed, in room safe, S$70. I'd stay there again in a minute. Just mention Jensen enterprise at the desk, be sure to ask for 2 breakfast coupons per day. The breakfast buffet is very good. I also like the Melia because it has a food mart in the basement, ATM machines and a nice attached department store.
I like to walk around a lot to get the feel of the town, so I drop my bags and I'm out the door. No sooner do I step out than a pack of kids is on me begging money. They're very persistent and follow me ˝ a block through traffic before giving up the chase. Strangely, that was the only time I ever saw them. The first landmark I come upon is Lucy's which has a very central location. Being lunchtime I drop in for something to eat. I'm the only one there besides the staff which surprises me until I realize I'm on Singapore time which is 1 hour ahead of the Riau islands. No problem, the staff is cute and I have their undivided attention. Finish lunch and continue my walkabout. Nagoya's a good sized town but the areas of ASFO interest are easy to figure out and in relatively better areas of town. Most within walkable distance but have to be mindful of street hazards and garbage. I limited my walking to daylight hours and took taxis at night. In my pretrip research I came up with a locator guide of ASFO venues and restaurants and a landmark or hotel that they're very near to, so that I could take a taxi. You can download it at http://members.nbci.com/asfoarchive/ look under Riau islands. Also there is my Bahasa Indonesia phrases cheat sheet. As some point I'll put a map together too. Unfortunately couldn't get to everyplace on the list. My exact movements after this point are a blur which is just as well since details would be boring. But I do have some very strong impressions.
I generally found the ASFO venues pretty low end and basic. By this I mean you won't find anything like the upscale palaces of Bangkok. Even Annies in Bangkok would be a step-up. Things seem focused on booking out girls for which they are well stocked with upwards of 40 or 50 girls in places like Queens. Queens has so many girls, they can't all fit into their fishbowl. I thought the best girl quality was at Mutiara next to Hotel Puri Garden. The number of girls available in Nagoya is probably a little bit more than Balai and a LOT more than Pinang. Quality is very individual but I found the girls maybe a little too commercial and professionally experienced for my taste. However that's just my opinion. Prices higher as noted in my "Booking" post. I wasn't looking, but never saw any girls who looked underage.
Every girl I invited back did her "duty" so no complaints there. However I personally found the most enjoyable girls to be the ones in the business for just a few months which can be hard to find in Nagoya. My impression is a lot of the girls in Nagoya are very experienced pros, at it for years. In this regard, I think the better place is TJ Pinang.
The western style pubs are great, friendly, inexpensive, good places just to hang out. If you're a pub fan, I could see just going to Nagoya for a pub holiday. They all have a different character so can't single any one out as "best". A couple of memories stick in my mind. In front of Napoli Pizza/Ice Pub/Sugar Pub are a couple of 8yr old street kids who will absolutely not leave you alone unless you give them a handout or let them shine you shoes. My luck, I was wearing my running shoes which he absolutely insisted he could polish J. Beyond the usual pub darts, Sugar Pub has three pretty nice slot machines which take 20c Sing coins. Watching one punter play, they do pay out.
My only disco experience was Ozone Saturday night. As reported elsewhere, packed with people but incredibly dark and smoky. Of course as a farang I was the only one to pay the 25kRp entrance fee. At least I got one drink with it. There were only maybe 10 girls who I would have guessed were freelancers hanging back at the bar. I got there at 11 so maybe there were more earlier but they were booked out. A freelance papasan came up to me asking if I wanted a girl, I waved him off. I decided to strike out on my own. Most of the crowd were just there with friends enjoying themselves. My opportunity came with a girl in her 20's who was there with friends. A bit drunk, she was feeling sensual and looked good in tight jeans. She spoke no english so never did find out much about her. She asked 300k for the booking, I think she was just trying to make up for her bar expenses that evening.
Went to the Tavern club in the Melia several nights since I was staying there. Absolutely dead except Thursday ladies night and weekends. But a live band every night. Packed on ladies night with a lot of good looking puying, but never could catch the eye or interest of any. They all seemed just there to have fun with their friends.
The traditional massages were really great, among the best I've had in asia and inexpensive. Rates were 30k-40kRp per hour. Higher at places with private rooms as opposed to curtained stalls. Was never offered any "extra" services except at the Harmoni and she was strictly doing it freelance. Best massages were in the shops across Seruni hotel and top floor Formosa hotel. Other places I passed but didn't try are mid block between Melia and Lucys, mid block along the back street between Harmoni hotel and Mandarin hotel, a place 2 blocks to the left of Mandarin hotel, a small shop between Mandarin and Napoli pizza, Nagoya plaza hotel.
The taxis and ojek motocycles were less of a problem than I had anticipated. Of course they'd all offer their services as I walked along but were easily waved off. Never took an ojek, stuck to taxis. I soon settled into a routine of offering either se-puluh-ribu or lima-ribu depending on the distance. I'm sure could have negotiated less, but this seemed fair. As reported elsewhere there are 3 classes of taxis. First there are the street cabs which are the cheapest, which I usually took. Next there's the Port Taxi company which had clean cars but cost a bit more. Last there's the hotel taxi. I never took the hotel taxi in town, they wanted around double a regular fare. But I did ride one after checking out of the hotel and they have absolutely the cleanest cars I have ever seen anywhere. I liked to take the Port taxis to Batam Center which was a longer ride for 20kRp fare. One tip- when you walk out the Melia, the door guys ask if you want a taxi which means expensive hotel taxi. I would always say no and just stand there a few seconds and jump into a taxi just pulling up to drop someone off.
The seafood is very good, had a great crab dinner one night at Sri Rayahu for 40kRp. I liked the pujaseras, wide selection, very inexpensive. Didn't eat much western food, but Nagoya's the only place you can get it before striking out for the other islands.
Used the internet everyday, there are several cafes around town. Going rate is 10kRp per hour. For some reason Lucys charges 45k/hour to borrow their computer. The cafes are are all shared dial up line and impossibly slow with several users. Best time is earlier in the day when no one around. There's a café called Anggraini about a 100feet up from the Bank Lippo intersection towards Hotel Puri Garden. This is just a few blocks from Lucys. Near Lucky Plaza, there's a cafe above the California Chicken shop, kind of between Lucky Plaza and Nagoya Plaza Hotel on a side street. Never did try the chicken there. The best connection I found was the RAM Computer Center in the Carnaval Mall out in Batam Center. It's a bit of a drive and a 20kRp taxi fare. Look for the yellow building with a carnival carousel hanging over the front. RAM is behind the Karisma Bookstore. They open at 9 but the mall opens at 10, so before 10, go in the mall back door.
I found it hard to read Indonesian expressions, they seemed reserved, almost indifferent. None of the smiles and exuberance like in Thailand. But on the other hand, none of the elaborate scamming like you find in Thailand, the worst I encountered was overcharging which was pretty obvious.
All in all, Nagoya's pretty easy for a newbie to negotiate. Just take my locator guide and hop in the taxi. Book early in the day, have the girl deliverd to your hotel later in the evening. Rest of the day look around, get a massage, etc.
Posted on Sep 24, 2000, 9:08 AM
Respond to this message
Goto Forum Home
Riau Adventures- "Tanjung Balai"
by KenAfter several enjoyable days in TJ Pinang had the
tough decision of whether to spend the rest of
my days there or go check out TJ Balai.
Convinced myself that Balai might be a lot of
fun and that checking out all the major stops
(Nagoya, TJ Pinang, TJ Balai) would really help
when planning future trips. But in the end TJ
Balai would be my least favorite place. Briefly,
I found it annoying and sleazy.
As I checked out of the Rainbow they asked what
ferry I had booked. Being a dumb bule, replied
no booking yet, by the way, how do you get to
TJ Balai. This caused some concern and commotion
over how to get me there. After a flurry of
activity they announced a plan to take me to
the booking agents office to find the sailing
time and buy a ticket. Load up in the land
rover and we head to the jetty. One of the
hotel staff comes along and he figures out all
the details and even buys the ticket for me
while I wait in the car. The boat doesn't
leave until 11:40, an hour and a half away, so
he also arranges for me leave my bags with the
agent. What great service, just an example why
I love this hotel.
To kill time, I walk over to Bintan Mall to use
the internet there. Walking out of the mall,
stop to buy something to take with me for lunch.
A Chinese girl working there waits on me and
she seems really friendly and personally
interested. The ASFO gods are giving me the
sign not to go, but like a dolt I don't listen.
Get my bags from the agents office and start
walking out to the pier. They were collecting
a tax on the pier, something like 2000Rp. This
is the domestic, not international pier. My
ferry is the MV. ARENA 5, for the 3 hour ride
to TJ Balai the fare is 35kRp. Out on the pier
it's mass chaos when the ferry pulls in as
everyone scrambles to get on. Add to this the
baggage handling guys are unloading/loading
cargo from the roof of the ferry. Figured out
that if you have bags, you leave them on the
pile next to the hatch you came in. Otherwise
if not too full, can put on the seat next to you.
Another noisy ferry, pretty full the whole
trip. An uneventful ride with a quick stop in
Sekupang.
We finally dock in TJ Balai. Didn't know much
except that the entertainment areas were west
of the jetty. I'm barely off the boat and a
guy is in my face pitching something, I have no
idea what he's saying. Balai must have the
dumbest touts I've ever seen. They aren't smart
enough to carry pictures, brochures, cards of
what they're pitching. I start walking and he
keeps following, jabbering away. I might have
entertained what he was pitching if I knew what
it was. He followed me over a block, I was
getting tired of this act and ducked into the
Holiday hotel. Had no hotel plan so asked how
much for a room. Ended up spending the night
in a nice room overlooking the water and ferries
for S$40. The room was nice but the staff was
the most indifferent I'd ever seen. As I found
out, they were typical of Balai. Most of the
hotel seemed to be occupied by
Singaporeans/Malaysians and their booking girls.
Went for a walk around town, not much to see.
Maybe 1/2 the size of TJ Pinang. Balai is long
and narrow, basically hugging the coastline.
The ferry terminal is almost at the far eastern
end of town. About 9 blocks to the west is the
other end of town and the entertainment areas.
The town extends 3 blocks up from the water.
The becaks(bicycle rickshaws) were incredibly
annoying, just wouldn't take no for an answer.
In Nagoya and Pinang there were easy to wave off.
Same with the kids begging for money. The
whole place seemed pretty dodgy, tried not to
walk around much at night, always watching my
back. Lots of little stores and shops and
eating places along the streets, they closed
pretty early. Seemed to be lots of Chinese in
town running the little stores.
In walking around town, found the Paradise hotel,
a large building rising out of nowhere. This
was the 'Nana" hotel of TJ Balai, a large hotel
whose major, if not only clientele were punters
with booking girls. The lobby felt like Nana
with booking girls walking in and out. Their
prices Weekdays Standard room S$33, Deluxe room
S$41. Weekends S$36 and S$45
Went to bed early in the Holiday, several days of
shagging in TJ Pinang had worn me out. Next
morning checked out of the Holiday, decided to
recreate my arrival and walked back to the ferry
building. When you come off the ferry, if you
go left you'll end up at the Holiday hotel. If
you go right you end up at the ferry parking lot
and taxis. Pretended that I'd just landed and
everyone's yelling "taxi" "taxi". I just say
"Paradise hotel, se-puluh ribu" Everyone wants
25kRp, it's only a 5kRp ride, so my 10k is fair.
They say, "let's go, you come" but no agreement
to 10kRp. So I just stand there staring them
down. 2 minutes later one of them relents and
agrees to 10kRp. I asked at the Paradise later
and they said if you call them, they'll pick you
up from the ferry. Their number is 0777-23111,
fax 0777-31824. From Singapore 011777-23111
The Paradise is slightly friendlier than the
Holiday, but the staff seems a little weary.
The rooms are ok, kind of worn, with the very
heavy stench of stale cigarettes. The rooms
had the worst air conditioning I've ever seen.
They're mounted high on the wall and barely
cool. If your room has a really strong one
capable of actually cooling things down, it
would drip condensation constantly, flooding
the rug. Otherwise the room is spacious for
S$41. The booking houses are one block further
west, over a dirt road, through an open market
area. They're a series of about 7 shop block
buildings occupied by small karaokes and pubs,
about 25 total. They all looked alike, benches
full of girls waiting to be booked. It's very
easy to see all the girls by walking door to
door. Out of curiosity dropped into every one
of them, but girls all basically same same
everywhere. The system works the same as
Pinang and Nagoya, best to go early in the day
around lunchtime to book. The mama/papasans
were pretty easy to deal with. They were among
the most courteous people I ran into in Balai,
trying to take care of their customers and
close bookings. In this shop block area was a
Bravo disco which looked out of business. I
think this was the old Ozone disco. I never
made it to the new Ozone. Across the Paradise
hotel was the Santana disco. Carlos Santana
seemed to be pretty popular, I'd hear his music
a lot.
If you're looking for a cheaper place, there was
a very clean little wisma next to the Paradise,
farther in the lane. Wisma Balai Indah
011777-31420. Rates were 88kRp standard,
110kRp deluxe. No english spoken except by one
of the Chinese family running it.
In all my walking around town, never found an
internet place. There may be one, didn't
bother asking.
I got the feeling that the best way to enjoy
Balai was to hole up in you room with a
favorite booking girl. Otherwise the town was
shit. An ojek guy told me that the Marina hotel
disco has good looking freelancers, but never
got around to checking it out.
I had to head back to Singapore late Saturday
afternoon to catch a Sunday morning plane. The
hotel strictly enforced the check out time since
hordes of punters came to town on Saturdays.
My plan was to drive out to Paya Labu village
before my afternoon ferry. This was a bad
strategy, taxis were swamped picking up punters
at the ferry. An hour and a half later, a taxi
showed up. One of the hotel guys helped me
negotiate, made a deal for taxi to take me to
Paya Labu, wait and take me to ferry for 80kRp.
Probably expensive but running out of time so
quickly agreed. Paya Labu had an entrance fee
for the car of 2000Rp, drove around the compound
a little and parked at a house. Seemed like a
friendly enough place, though Batu24 is
friendlier. Both about the same size. Everything
worked the same way as Batu24, pretty relaxing.
Didn't have lunch so one of the girls fried up
some nasi goreng for me. Sat around with the
girls for a bit, until one dragged me into
her room. A really nice way to spend my last
afternoon in the islands. As promised, the
driver got me to my ferry on time.
I rode Penguin ferry back, it was like riding in
first class after all the other ferries I took.
I bought my Penguin ticket for 65kRp from a
travel agent near the Holiday hotel and saved
30kRp compared to the price at the Penguin ticket
office at the ferry. The travel agent is very
easy to find, from the Holiday, walk out to the
road in front of the hotel, turn left. Go to
the end of the block, on the left corner is the
travel agent. The Penguin schedule is depart
WTC to Balai 07:50, 09:50, 12:45, 15:00, 16:25,
18:10. Depart Balai for WTC 07:15, 10:00,
11:00, 13:30, 15:30, 17:00.
I suppose it was worth it to see TJ Balai once,
but if I had to do it again, would stay in TJ
Pinang. Balai was the most annoying,
indifferent, sleazy place I visited. Would
recommend Pinang or Nagoya above Balai.Posted on Sep 27, 2000, 5:56 PM
Go to another page:
CLASSIC POSTS AND FAQs .. from the Batam-Nightlife Discussion Board:
* Clover's Guide to Batam. ;
* 17 long and detailed reports from Batam by Asiaphan. ;
* Tanjung Pinang (Bintan) FAQ. ;
* Love or Scam: Part#1;
Part#2;
Part#3. ;
* Housing a Mistress ;
* Pubbing in Batam. ;
* Tipping. ;
* Jansen Flame Wars. ;
* bataminfo.com has up to date reviews of places to eat, drink and stay.
* Batam Discussion Forum Swap ideas with others: Entertainment, Travel, Business, Relocation, Nightlife, Property.
* Batam-Nightlife Forum Archives Thousands of searchable posts.
* Batam-Nightlife Forum Classic Posts
* Private Parties Checklists.
* Rental Apartments ..above Lucy's and Ethnic. No need to own a car.
* Pleasure Island Tours Adult Vacations
* www.riau-islands.org/gobatam has info on hotels and resorts
* Personal Services by the NED Team Private parties, Golf, Fishing, Bachelor Parties, Property Rent or Purchase, Visas, Marriage, Relocation, Retirement, Business, Investment, Job Hunting, Bank Accounts, Company Setup, Tax Returns, Drivers License, Legal Advise, etc.
* Lucy's Oarhouse website at: www.go.to/oarhouse
* PP Banana website at: www.getit.at/gogobanana
* Party all night at the Ice Pub. Needs updating.
* Fine German Cuisine and a quiet atmosphere at the Bistro,
* An unforgetable day out: Swim with Dolphins
* Business and investment in the Riau islands at
www.matrix-batam.hypermart.net
* Badan Otorita Batam Business Investment website
* Another Batam Government website.
* Big waterpumps for hire from www.get.to/batamdiesel