Thursday, January 19, 2017

Batam Family Trip

Last month, my whole family went to Batam for a short 3D2N trip! Not just 4 of us, but all 18 of us... including my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.



The main reason for our trip was to take family photos! Upon arriving on the first day, we went straight to a bridal studio to pick our gowns.



So many pretty gowns!

We eventually decided on white because it has the largest selection. All of us picked one, including Grandma! It felt like a huge wedding occasion. Haha.


After that, we went to Batam City Square for our first meal in Batam!


Ayam Penyet here is only $2??!!


Afterwards we shopped around and I had a mission to find an affordable black dress for the next day's photoshoot but it was so difficult! Most of the shops sell their dresses way overpriced at around $40 and above... for bugis street type of material and designs! After much effort, I finally scored myself a pretty $8 dress on a sale rack. Hehe. Best thing is, it doesn't look $8 at all!


Finally checked into our accommodation! We stayed at The BCC Hotel and Residence, which is located just beside Batam City Square!


We booked two 3-room apartments and it was comfortably spacious! This is the master bedroom.


2nd bedroom.


And the 3rd bedroom, which I stayed in with my sister!


Dining area~


Open kitchen~


And living room!


View from our apartment.


That night, we went to Nagoya City Walk. There is a mini amusement park in the atrium and we had the choice of joining the kids or shopping with the adults. Me and my sister initially planned to play for awhile, then find the adults afterwards, but it was so much fun that time flew past just like that and we only managed to shop in one outlet store selling sports attire and shoes. My parents who went to the huge department store came back telling us excitedly about the wide variety of cheap clothing on sale! My mum even saw a whole rack of exact same designs in Singapore selling for $39.90 when it's only $8.30 here! Wished we had more time to enjoy both the amusement park and shopping!




Mostly kiddy rides but still fun! There are some mild thrill rides, good for adults who are afraid of the real thing. Hahaha.



Afterwards we went to the arcade and spent most of our time there playing the dance machine! Less paiseh to play here compared to in Singapore because there was hardly anyone around and nobody will judge you. Hahaha.



Soon it was time for dinner and we settled for The Duck King, also in the same mall. Food were all good except for the dimsum which was slightly disappointing. I forgot how much the bill was but it's definitely wayyyyy cheaper than an equivalent nice Chinese restaurant in Singapore.









There was a J.Co branch and because I love their tiramisu donut, we went to check it out and to my pleasant surprise, the donuts here is SUPER CHEAP??? Two dozens for approximately SGD12...... which is around 50 cents per piece!!!! Wah they earn what sia. So we bought back for supper and it was damn shiok. If only it's also 50 cents in Singapore. hahaahaha. Then I will be damn fat because I'd buy one everyday.


The next day, we had the shoot! Got my makeup and hair done~


Final result! How do I look?


Changed into the gowns and all ready for the shoot!


Here're some final shots from the studio!




After this we changed into another outfit and requested for some poker cards...


Don't we look like gambling king and queens? Hahaha.


We had a good laugh posing for this picture!


A serious one to complete our shoot.


Got a behind the scenes photo of my uncle and his family! The setting is so nice and homely!



Shopping time again at Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Out of all the malls we visited in Batam, I'd say this is the most crowded and modern one.



My uncle brought us to a vegetarian restaurant called Nature Resto afterwards and every single dish was so delicious! Probably the best vegetarian food I ever had.









We had two tables each serving the above.... So much food right? Guess how much was the total bill? Only around SGD50 per table!! Meaning only $5+ per pax!

Went back to Batam City Square to get Kueh Lapis from Mombunz Bakery back to Singapore, since we were leaving the next day!


Early the next morning, we went out to the nearby wet market, supposedly to check it out but we ended up in a shop selling wallets and bags! There were many counterfeit bags in the shop and we had a hard time finding bags without logos on them... We only wanted cheap bags.... Not fake branded bags! Lol. We managed to purchase some bags with no labels, but actually it's not exactly cheap lah... Around $10 each? Quite normal Bugis Street price. I got a plain backpack and a handbag!


Casual OOTD for the day. Seldom see me wearing like this!




Bak Kut Teh for lunch~


Went to the studio again to select frames~


Then to a temple near the ferry terminal.


Extremely cute statues of the 12 zodiac animals!




Even the KFC is cheap. We had SGD13 left and I wanted to finish spending it but even after buying so many things I still had 3-4 dollars left!


So this sums up my first short trip to Batam! It was quite fun and enjoyable overall! I think the itinerary was quite well planned and if you are interested, here's the addresses to the places we went!

Addresses:

Batam City Square -  Jalan Bunga Raya, Batu Selicin, Lubuk Baja, Batu Selicin, Batam Kota, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Nagoya Citywalk - Jl. Imam Bonjol, Lubuk Baja Kota, Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall - Jl. Teuku Umar No. 1, Lubuk Baja Kota, Lubuk Baja, Lubuk Baja Kota, Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

The BCC Hotel and Residences -  Jl. Bunga Mawar, Batu Selicin, Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Nature Resto - Komplek Ruko Baloi Kusuma Indah Blok A No.1-2, Batam, Indonesia

4 comments :

  1. Hi Esther,
    Do you have the address of the bridal studio that you took your family shoots at? how much does it cost roughly?

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. hello guys, do you know there is a new mobile app to buy ferry ticket from Singapore to Batam, it is super easy, and cheaper! App is called Ezbooking, you can download it from your iPhone / Android. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Esther,
    Thanks for sharing. Your family photos are awesome! Can I know which bridal studio is this?

    ReplyDelete