walletss Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 TRIP REPORT BATAM INDONESIA This last trip to Thailand I decided to vary the experience by undertaking a side trip to Batam Indonesia via Singapore. My reasons for doing so were, firstly I had read various trip reports posted on the web which made the destination seem interesting and also Qantas had just jacked up the price of their airfares to Bangkok from Melbourne. Not only had they added 25 percent to the price of the fare but also they had discontinued direct services to Bangkok from Melbourne and scheduled in a compulsory stopover in Sydney. Deciding to opt for Singapore Airlines as my carrier, I landed in Singapore late in the evening of May 20th. I had planned an early start the next morning so I didn't bother exploring the reputedly dull nightlife of Singapore, preferring to concentrate on my early start to Batam the next morning. I will say one thing about Singapore. They have the dam friendliest and most helpful taxi drivers. My morning stop was The World Trade Center, where I purchased a return ticket with Penguin Ferries. No complaints with their service, which is fast and efficient. The trip only took 40 minutes and the one stop ticketing and visa processing makes it seem like jumping on a bus. Arrival at the ferry terminal in Batam brings you to a whole new world. The contrasts hit you immediately. Money changing at Batu Ampa Terminal is a rip-off, yielding 10 percent less than the moneychangers in Nagoya will give you. I paid 20000 rupees for the 15-minute ride to The Mandarin Regency. After checking in I treated myself to a massage from the hotel massage service and I dialed the extension number and waited to see what they would send to my room. I wasn?t too disappointed because the lady they sent up really knew how to do her job. After an hour of her expert manipulation I thought it was time to find about the extras. She came through with flying colors and I ended up getting the full service for 70,000 rupees, which is about $8 US. What a bargain! After such a pleasurable experience I settled on the idea of doing a massage parlor crawl during the daytime. After a few disappointments I eventually found one behind the Sphinx Disco about fifteen minutes walk from my hotel. I was face to face with a stunner. She agreed to meet me at my hotel for a massage and I didn?t discuss the price for sex with her. Later that afternoon she arrived for our appointment looking even nicer than before. Her massage was great and after the hour was up I asked her about sex but unfortunately her price was astronomical as far as I was concerned. Her price was 500000 R. not including the massage. This seemed like a fortune to me after paying the first one only 70000 and also she wasn?t too friendly so I decided to decline her offer. My three evenings were spent checking out The Ice Pub, The Sugar Pub and my favorite place, the upstairs section of Lucy?s Oar house. This recently opened section is decked out Thailand style; with disco music and lovely bikini clad Indonesian girls, handpicked by the owner. Drinks are expensive but there is no pressure and on my third and final evening I barfined one of the girls and she stayed with me till the next morning. The cost was 300000 R She was worth every penny of it and it was a fitting ending to a good side trip. Summing it all up I had a great time but in all honesty the place is lacking the infrastructure and variety of activity that Thailand has to offer. Couple this with the relative dangers of walking round the place and I would not go out of my way to go back there again unless I was based in Singapore because I in my humble opinion all that Batam has to offer is fully covered in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted June 28, 2002 Report Share Posted June 28, 2002 I haven't been to Lucy's since January and they didn't have an upstairs then. They had been trying to let it out as an apartment. The guy who runs the place is real friendly, and he has always had great staff, friendly, intelligent, and sometimes even attractive. The foods not bad either if your in need or desire of starchy anglo fair, which is often the case if you have been in Indonesia too long. They can usually help you out if you need an honest driver, you do, in Batam. The place, Batam in general and Nagoya in particular, is pretty grungy, The wild west. AG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walletss Posted June 28, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2002 The upstairs disco of Lucys Oarhouse is fully operational and the girls are super friendly and good looking. Even though Nagoya is pretty grungy, the 40 minute ferry ride from Singapore is well worth the effort if you have the time. They get most of their business on the weekends from horny Singaporeans looking for a lively weekend. What about Jakarta? Does that have any similar distractions of interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted June 29, 2002 Report Share Posted June 29, 2002 What about Jakarta? Does that have any similar distractions of interest? The thread "Is Jakarta worth a visit?" in the regional forum is one of the most visited and contributed to threads on this BBoard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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