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| BATAM ISLAND | |
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Overview Women Cost |
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| Weather Air Temperature Batam Island include the island around constitutes a low tropical region and is of hot climate, with average lowest temperature of 25.3°C and the highest averaging 34.4°C. Air Humidity Relative humidity ranges between 73% to 96%. Rainfall The region around Batam Island has a rainfall sufficient high every year, that is about 2600 mm a year. Rainfall can occur at any time of the year but is higher in the mountainous areas where there is very little distinction between the wet and dry seasons Wet Season November - April Dry Season May - October Best time to visit April to September, as rainfall is much lighter - although this is the busiest time for visitors. Best time to visit During the Dry Season when rainfall is lower. |
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| Holidays January 1....... New Year Feb 20, 21.....Idul Fitri Festival March 21.......Seclusion Day / Saba New Year April 5............Good Friday April 28...........Idul Adha Great Day May 16............Ascention day of Christ May 19............Hijriah New Year June 2..............Waisak Day July 28............Maulid of Prophet Mumammad August 17.......National Independence Day Dec 8.............. Isra Miraj of Prophet Muhammad Dec 25............Christmas Day |
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| Events On one weekend in late March, all the Batam pubs (not taverns), massage parlors, and discotheques were closed on Saturday and Sunday due to a two-day Indonesian holiday called Seclusion Day. One should check for Indonesian holidays, as part of planning for a trip. |
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| Prices | |
| How
to Preliminary Requirements The first thing to note in going to Batam is that you need the minimum of the following for a 2 day/1 night stint: A valid passport with 6mths on it. About SD$200, more than enough. World Trade Center/Batu Ampar tickets (about $26 max) |
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| What to Bring Clothing Dress is generally informal in Indonesia. Light fabrics are recommended due to the warm, humid climate. For men, a jacket and tie is considered appropriate when making officials calls or non formal occasions. Or, follow local custom by wearing a long-sleeve batik shirt. It is recommended to bring a sweater or light jacket for travel to mountain areas. Shorts and beachwear are not considered appropriate except at sports facilities and on the beaches, and never appropriate for visits to temples, mosques and other places of worship. Electricity Most hotels use 220 volts 50 cycles and two-pronged plugs. However it is not uncommon to find some hotels using 110 volts, particularly in the provinces. Check before using an appliance. Some hotels supply adaptors on request. |
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| Passports and
Visas Visitors must arrive in Indonesia with passports valid for at least six months after arrival and with onward or return tickets. Visas are not required for nationals of: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America and West Germany. A non-extendable tourist pass for citizens of these is issued for a maximum of 60 days with entry and departure through: Airports Medan, Batam, Pekanbaru, Padang, Jakarta, Bali, Manado, Ambon, Biak, Ku pang, Pontianak, Balikpapan and Surabaya; Seaports Medan, Batam, Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Riau, Bali, Manado, and Ambon. Through other ports, a visa is required. Nationals of countries not listed above can obtain 30-day tourist visas from any Indonesian embassy or consulate abroad. |
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| Customs Each adult is permitted to bring, on entry, a maximum of two liters of alcoholic beverages, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 grams of tobacco and a reasonable quantity of perfume. Photographic equipment and typewriters must be declared and are admitted provided they are taken out on departure. Prohibited from entry are the following items: narcotics, arms and ammunition, TV sets, radio and radio cassette recorders, pornography, fresh fruit, printed matters in Chinese characters and Chinese medicine. All movie films and video cassettes will have to be deposited for review by the Film Censor Board. There is no restriction on import and export of foreign currencies and travelers cheques; however, import or export Indonesia currency exceeding Rp 50,000,- is prohibited. |
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| Payment Methods
The local currency is the Rupiah. Foreign currencies, either banknotes or travelers cheques, are easily exchanged at banks and moneychangers in major tourist destinations. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels and restaurants in main cities. It is advisable to carry sufficient amounts of Rupiah when traveling to smaller towns or outer provinces. We suggest changing only $50 in Singapore and the rest over on Batam. The exchange rate on Batam is about 200Rp more than what you can get over in Singapore and there is a money changer right at the Batu Ampar Ferry Complex. It is still safe to convert there, as there are no touts yet to get you. Incidentally, SD$1 approx. 5,000Rp for quick conversion. Notes are usually in 100K, 50K, 20K, 10K, 2K, 1K, 500, 200 and 100 Rp. Change into 50K, 20K and 5K stuff. (March 24,
2001) The money changer, Banda Baru, across from Kentucky Fried Chicken, one block away from the traffic light where McDonald's was located, accepted my used dollar bills at the rates of 9700 rupiah and S$1.70 on March 15, 2001. Banda Baru has another outlet on the ground floor near the escalator of Lucky Plaza, which is about four blocks away from Lucy's Oarhouse. It gave me Singapore dollars at S$1.70 to US $1 (lower than the S$ 1.74 at money changers in Singapore, who accepted my traveler's checks), which I needed to pay a Batam travel agency for my hotel extensions. The lesson here on money in Batam is to bring cash, both US dollars (new condition for the slightly higher rate at banks) and Singapore dollars. Other posters have mentioned using their ATM cards, but did not mention the related costs and which ATM network system. |
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| How
Much Low budget weekend in Batam runs like this (Sing dollars) Ferry ticket $30, 6 cab rides within town $12, reasonable budget hotel $40, roast beef sandwich for lunch $5, 20 beers $25, girl for the night $50, huge American breakfast $5, cab rides to/from Batu Ampar ferry terminal $10. TOTAL, say, $200. Another low
budget weekend |
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| Tipping Major hotels add a 10% service charge to bills. Where it is not included a tip of between 5% to 10% of the bill would be appropriate if service is satisfactory. Airport poterage is Rp 500,- for a small bag and Rp 1,000,- if weighing more than 20 kg. Tipping taxi and hire-car drivers is not mandatory, but Rp 500,would be sufficient for a taxi driver, but more for a hire-car driver. |
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| Airport to Lodging To get to Batam Island you take a ferry from the island of Singapore. The ferry terminal to Batam is at the World Trade Center, where you can purchase your tickets right off the counters. You can also buy hotel vouchers at the travel agencies right next to the ferry boat ticket counter on the second floor of the World Trade Center in Singapore. Book the ferry to Batu Ampar, not Sekupang...much closer to Nagoya where the action is. You have to check in 1/2 hour before the ferry leaves. All ticketing and check-in systems are computerized, so you cannot appeal for the ticketing agent to relax the timing. Generally, tickets are valid for a period of six months. Return tickets cost less than one-way tickets, so it is better to book your tickets two-ways instead of one, unless you intend to stay in Batam for more than six months. We suggest that you book your tickets one day in advance over at the World Trade Center. Ferry's There are four ferry operators that goes to Batam. Their rates and schedules varies. Dino Shipping Also known as Batam Fast ferries. Each return ticket costs S$28. This is the most expensive of the four operators, but it is also the fastest and has the newest fleet. Auto Batam Owned by Sembawang Corporation, this is one of the most popular ferries for travelers to Batam. Return tickets cost S$24 each. They have slightly more departure frequencies than Dino Shipping. Widi |
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| Transportation Taxis There are lots of taxis to take you to any place in Batam. A tour around town in a taxi will cost around Rp10,000 per trip.($2-3) Any trip within Nagoya (short trips) should cost you only 5000Rp max. Always ask and negotiate, Some of the taxis are in pretty bad shape and the price of the ride may be bargained down to Rp7,000. The Ojak is the most convenient form of transportation in Batam especially if you are in a hurry. Although it could be the most dangerous and for the difference you'd be paying for a car, it would be stupid to take the chance. Don't be "fuelish" while vacationing. Ojak charges Rp5,000 per trip. The Ojak or Ojek motorcyclists will give you lifts from here-to-there. What they do is come near you and beep their horn at you, wanting to know if you'd like a lift. There are 2 types of taxis you should be aware of: 1. Parked 2. Cruising. Never do a deal with a cabbie who is not sitting his car with the engine running. Standard Fares Taxi fares in Batam are very negotiable. It is not impossible to "charter" a taxi from Sekupang to Nagoya for as little as Rp15,000. How? Not so hard, if you think about how the taxi system at Batam's six ferry terminals work. The drivers of the parked taxis, awaiting their latest victim, have plenty of time on their hands to discourage outsider taxis from picking up fares. If they can, they will "squeeze" an outside taxi for part of the fare. So, think about this from the viewpoint of an outsider taxi driver for a moment; he brings a passenger from Nagoya to Sekupang; inside the terminal area (Departures), the passenger gets down. For the driver to find a fare back to town, he has to run a whole gauntlet of taxi touts and drivers of parked taxis, all of whom will demand (and get) a commission, if he picks up are fare on someone else's "turf". If, on the other hard, you are looking for a taxi. You have somehow to succeed into fooling the terminal touts, so that they think you don't want transport. So, while looking busily engaged in the Departure area (e.g. pretending to talk on your hand phone), you spot an outside taxi that has just dropped a passenger. Without looking interested in finding a taxi, you just "happen" to come near his passenger side as the car approaches. You make eye contact with the driver and use a small pointing hand signal to indicate him to stop, you put your head in the passenger side window and say "Nagoya. Charter. Lima Belas Ribu." The driver will inevitably nod his head and quickly open the door for you. You jump in as quickly as you can (before the terminal touts realize that they missed a punter). In the car, it is a good idea to repeat what you just said. Swap the key words around. Say "Charter. Nagoya. Lima belas ribu." - This works like a charm, nine times out of ten. You have succeed in paying the standard market rate. The cabbie has got another fare without wasting any time and without paying any touts. Unfortunately, more often, the touts have figured out that you're looking for a transport and if you stand in one spot they will pester the hell out of you. In this case you have to start walking. ALWAYS IGNORE TOUTS. If you walk, you move out of that tout's "turf". Often, I have to walk out of the terminal area to road. Sometimes, you can catch a taxi on the move. Outside Sekupang's International terminal, there are more parked taxis, which you have to ignore. Because they are all hoping to make a rip-off killing. You need to have your eyes open for that genuine cruising taxi. Usually it is not necessary to walk more than 200 meters before your man shows up. Negotiation Sometimes, the driver may counter-offer "Dua pulu ribu"(20,000), just ignore him and keep walking towards the exit gate. Usually he will relent and agree. If a cabbie doesn't accept your price, WALK AWAY. Never get into negotiations or arguments with the lower classes; find another cab. Tips Never get into a taxi if there are other people in the car. Never let the driver pick up other people. If he does, just say "Nagoya, Charter". If other people get in the car, Get out. Charter means exclusive use of the car and every taxi driver in Indonesia knows it. Never get into conversations with the driver; if they try to ask you a question, answer by repeating the name of your destination. If they really want to talk, just say" "No English". It is better if you get a sense of the driver's character within those first five seconds of negotiation. Sometimes, I don't have a good "feeling" about something and look for another cab. The best way to check out the scene is to get a taxi to bring you around all the clubs in Batam. Most clubs open at 12noon Batam time. Some opens earlier at 11am. If you are new to the place, ask the driver to recommend you some clubs or massage parlors. Of course, they will try to bring you to those that pay them higher commission, regardless of the type of girls they have there. Always remember that you are not obligated to take any girls from any clubs if you do not see anything that you like. Get the driver to take you to another club to select your pick. Sometimes the mommy or pappy will try very hard to hold you and coax you to take one of her girls. Well, you will have to learn to resist them, in a polite way. |
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| Maps | |
| Hotels
Depending on your budget and tastes one suggestion is to stay in one of the 4 star hotels. The going rate is about SD$65 to SD$85 per night. One way to save some money is to buy hotel vouchers at the travel agencies right next to the ferry boat ticket counter on the second floor of the World Trade Center in Singapore. 4 Star
Hotels Novotel Hotel
Formosa Hotel
Singa Sahid
Rasinta Oasis
Hotel Batam City Hotels With Pictures Checking
Out |
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| Dining Happy Food Centre (Opposite Golden Star KTV, which is just across the road) Dishes include BBQ Fish, Chilly Prawns, kangkong veggie, fried horfan. Rasa Singapura Hotel
Novotel |
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| Water Always drink bottled water when you are in a third world country, it is safer. |
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| Language Mommy Mamasan or head Madame of a bar or club. Usually the boss of the girls. Poppy Papasan (same as above only a man.) BPG'S Beer promotion girls. They make a meal at a pujasera great fun. Most locals, including hotel employees, taxi drivers, and massage parlor employees, speak no English. Hardly any of the girls spoke enough English to keep a conversation going for more than five minutes. I suggest learning a little Bahasa to obtain more from a brief encounter than the usual courtesy interactions. Indonesian abbreviations. KTV means karaoke television. PT means perseroan terbatas, which is partnership limited. JL means jalan, which is street or road. TG means tanjung, which is cape in reference to an island. |
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| Security Contraband Don't bring back any VCDs and such, all luggage is X-rayed at the WTC, they will confiscate the lot, but before you reach home, they will already have 2 officers there searching for your hoard. The going rate is $500 per copy found. Beware of discos if you are in to those type of things, Ecstasy (sp) or Ubat as they call it are rampant and most of the girls are into it, though not in a big way. The worst thing that could happen to you is to go to a disco, enjoy, buy your girl some "ubat" and she pops half into your drink. Wouldn't like the Customs & Immigration at WTC taking a look at your urine!! All the troubles you see on TV about Indonesia are happening MILES from Batam. Batam is the richest and most prosperous place in Indonesia. Everyone has a job, there is no social unrest. Petty crime exists and it pays to take normal precautions: don't show your money off, don't get into arguments with locals, don't leave money or valuables lying around in your hotel room. Don't carry cameras, don't use back streets, stay away from street corners where youngsters are squatting. |
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| Scams Avoid taxis which are parked The drivers of parked taxis are much more likely to be scam artists. Taxi Scams In Sekupang, there are two main classes. The one who can speak English and scam the foreigners arriving at the International terminal. And Indonesian-only speakers who scam Indonesians arriving at the domestic terminal. Touts As you get out of the taxi, beware of touts who will ask you for your ticket and immigration card, which they will hand over to the counter for you, they will also grab the boarding pass and immigration card from the counter and hand it back for you for a tip. I was accosted once like that, but the trick to do is to take it back from them, pretend to search your pockets and at the same time walk towards the Police officer at the entrance, they will stop following at about 10 feet away! |
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| Medical | |
| Internet Located at Mandarin Regency Hotel, Hotel Formosa, Lucy's Oarhouse, and Anggraini (leave the Mandarin Regency, turn left, go two short blocks to the traffic light, turn left at Bank Lippo, go half a block, and the place is on your left). There were probably other internet cafes. |
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| Phones International country code: [62] Selected city codes: Bandung (22), Cirebon (231), Denpasar (361), Jakarta (21), Madiun (351), Malang (341), Medan (61), Padang (751), Palembang (711), Sekupang (778), Semarang (24), Solo (271), Surabaya (31), Tanjungkarang (721) Dialing Indonesia from Overseas |
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| Sex The Girls Batam has tens of thousands of factory girls. All are far from home; their salaries are small and it is hard for them to meet men, except if they go to a disco. They don't consider themselves to be prostitutes. Choose your bookings of the girls in the afternoon, for delivery to hotel later that night. There is a much better choice of girls in the afternoon and it is better to choose when you are still sober! Girls come in two categories freelancers, which you can find in pubs and discos and "booking girls", available from dozens of karaoke joints and massage parlours. While it is tempting to pick up a freelancer, the booking girls are a much safer bet, in terms of not getting robbed and VD. (You should ALWAYS use a rubber, anyway.) Find Jansen, who works at Lucy's Oar house, and talk him into driving you around to check out the various booking establishments. Indonesian girls have looks closely resembling a combination of Filipina's and Malaysians. Their faces ranged from pure Polynesian to Polynesian with some Asian characteristics. They tended to be short (under five feet) and brown-skinned. There were a few tall girls (up to six feet on platform shoes) and a few light skin and a few very dark skin girls. |
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| Legal
Age The age of consent is 18 years of age. |
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| Where Nightlife and Action Nagoya is the town you want to be in. That's where most of the action is taken place. Karaoke and Massage The vast majority of the available girls are located at the massage parlors which may have the word karaoke as part of its name. Most karaoke joints in Riau are fronts for prostitution. Some even have "fish tanks" in the room. There is ongoing pressure from reform groups to shut these establishments down. Opposing this, is the money from the business. As an example, a typical establishment charges Rp250,000 for a "booking", of which the girl keeps half. Most girls can save about Rp 1 million per month. Disadvantages are girls always sitting and their sitting in a group. One cannot easily gauge a sitting girl's height, body shape, coordination, and both front and side views. Also, one cannot communicate with a girl sitting in a group to gauge her reaction to oneself. On the other hand, one can pick a girl and she will not refuse to go. Massage Parlors Explained The massage parlors, not to be confused with real massage places, can be grouped into two types. The ones with the word karaoke or pub in their names have an area where one can hang out, drink a beer, play pool, sing karaoke, and eye the girls. The other type did not have such an area. The massage parlors seemed to open from about 11 am to 5 pm, no girls on display from 5 pm to 7 pm, and normal business from 7 pm to 11 pm or later. Exceptions to these hours included Dynasty 99's opening at 1 pm and Hawaii's and Horison's opening at 2 pm. On Saturdays, one needs to visit the massage parlors in the early afternoon for a larger selection. Other posters have warned of this weekend scarcity due to weekenders from Singapore. A massage parlor that has over 50 girls will have less than ten girls available on Saturday night. My favorite massage parlor for hanging out in the evening was Rio Rita. Crown's The clients that go here are mostly Malays. Most of their girls like Dangdut (Malay music) and they will usually request that you bring them to the Legend Discotheque for the night-out. Most of the girls here are not as dainty as those from the other clubs, but occasionally you may get a really friendly one that treats you like a boyfriend if you're lucky enough. Price of girls at Rp250,000. Dynasty 99 (opposite the Mati Hari food centre.) Fortuna hotel Top floor. Fishbowl. BJ. 240,000 R (24 bucks) to the mamasan and a 5000-10,000 tip depending on service. Horizon Karaoke Bar A clean rather up-scale place with a very friendly English-speaking Mamasan. Bets time to go is during the week. There will be about 30 girls present. They range in age from about 18 to 24. The price is about 280,000 rupiah all night ($38US) or 150,000 rp short time ($21US). This is pretty much the standard price around town. Memory One of the older clubs around town. Sometimes you can find a couple of nice ones here. Mommies are quite friendly, but don't be fooled by their friendliness. They are only friendly because of your dough. No booking and no dough, they wouldn't even give a hiss about you. Girl charges at Rp270,000. Rio & Rita Usually has a lot of young Indonesian girls. Prices are 300,000 per booking. Walking distance from Nagoya Plaza, Mandrain, Harmoni Hotel) Sensasi Has a very small, but nice interior. Sometimes, they have really nice looking girls. Last known price for booking of girls was Rp280,000. Indonesian. Massage Parlors Queen 8933 Lots and lots of girls there in a fish tank style. 100 girls on display. Cost is Rp100k short time or Rp270k for a booking. Cold beers are only Rp10,000 per can. Report A friend tells us he negotiated a price of 150,000 rp for short time. He we went up stairs and the place was clean and reasonably private. The massage cubicles were open at the top so you could hear some of the noise on the floor, especially if someone was particularly vocal. After she scrubbed him down in a shower, he received a good massage, an excellent, but short, BBBJ, and enthusiastic full service. He tipped her 40,000 ($5.50US) and they both went smiling back down to the fishbowl area. Nagoya Plaza Hotel Indonesian Traditional Massage, 1st Floor, 60,000 rupiah/hr. Older women massage you. Ginza Massage Located at the Harmoni Hotel (ex New Holiday Hotel) A good clean facility which has a Sauna, a cool pool, Jacuzzi pool, TV room and clean massage rooms. Cost 66,000 rupiah/45 mins. massage. Foot reflexology for additional 44,000 and you may use the facilities all day FOC. Hanky-Panky girls and dick massage available. Alishan Located above the Hotel Formosa. Clubs, Pubs and Taverns What is a club and does it work? Pubs have a smaller number of girls, about five to fifteen. Ice Pub, Sugar Pub, Jungle Pub, Horseshoe Pub, and Honey Pot Pub. The girls are older and experienced in dealing with customers and shooting pool. Other players have warned to be careful with one's money and possessions with such girls. Pubs seemed to open from 6 pm to 2 am. On one Thursday night, Ice Pub and Sugar Pub were closing at 1 am. Advantages of pubs were pool tables, slot machines, and friendly customers. Other pubs, or should we say taverns to make a distinction, such as the Red Cock and Lucy's Oarhouse, did not have any girls other than the employees when I visited. All the pubs were excellent places to meet Westerners and some non-Westerners and chitchat. BOVO |
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| Photography
Some girls like to be photographed and some some don't, better to ask first. |
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| Recreation Outdoor Activities The Australian owner of the Oarhouse, Evan Jones, also runs an outdoor adventure company called Riau Island Adventures. They use rough old sailing prahus to visit remote islands. Mountain bikes are carried on board. A weekend program costs S$180, which includes everything except beer ($2/can) and soft drinks ($1). See Riau. The Batam Hash starts Sundays from the Oarhouse, twice/month. Shopping in Batam continues to improve as the range of goods expand and new shopping centers spring up. The latest in Nagoya is the Lucky Plaza. At night it lights up like a Christmas tree and inside are shops & boutiques selling a wealth of duty free goods, branded goods and luxury items as well as exciting Indonesian products. A shop next to Yong Kee restaurant and one block in front of Ramayana department store offered a variety of souvenirs. For example, a twelve-inch high wood carvings from Bali were priced around 600,000 rupiah. This price was slightly less than the price for similar carvings when I visited Bali over ten years ago. An interesting item was a number of stone carvings framed like paintings. Stone carvings were in two colors, gray and off-white. |
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