Batam Trip Day 1

The electronic tap card to board the ferry and the voucher for our return ticket

It was a last minute trip to go to batam, but overall , it was still good. We booked our rooms at Harris batam website and then went to harbour front centre third level to buy our ferry tickets few days before departure date.
The price for two person from harbourfront to waterfront centre, batam was $80.00 ( not inclusive of the $7/pax departure fee from waterfront , batam back to singapore so you will have to prepare cash to pay at the custom in batam when returning to singapore)

We arrived at 730am at harbour front terminal to have our breakfast before checking in at the departure hall at 820am for our 920am ferry.

Our Batam Fast "Ocean Raider"
It was pretty crowded today

Us on the ferry , ready to go batam

Once we reached Batam , waterfront ferry terminal, we thought we were supposed to go confirmed our return ferry timing at the Batamfast counter, but they told us that since we are staying at Harris, the staff at Harris will take care of this for us.

So we went towards guys in orange and white at the entrance of the terminal (harris staffs) and board the shuttle bus parked outside to be transported to Harris resort.

The bus ride is approximately 5mins or less as its pretty near, i suppose we could walk ourselves if we wanted to. Along the way , its just empty quiet streets .
After we arrived at Harris, we realised that more than half of the people we met on the ferry boat were actually staying at Harris too. Imagine the queue at the check-in counter. LOL
They have another counter for guests to book their return ferry tickets.

From Harris lobby to the Cafe

the Old funky building that is probably in need of some refurbish

The pathway to the pool

They have ducks and wu gui in the pon. I saw a few koi fishes too!

As our rooms are not ready when we arrived, we requested to deposit our bags at the counter and then went on the 1030am shuttle bus to Nagoya Hill shopping centre.

They only have two shuttle bus timing:

1030am and 1430pm

you will be given 3hours of shopping time where the bus will pick you up again at where you alight.

The Harris shuttle bus

We always sat at the very front row of the bus because our butts were too big to squeeze through the tight pathway to the back. hahha

After approx 30mins of smooth traffic , we arrived at Nagoya hill shopping mall

Nagoya hill shopping centre is probably sufficient enough to keep you busy for 3 hours.
They have A&W, KFC, a hypermart, a departmental store, many small shops which sells outdated fashions, a money changer near the entrance, electronic store and the kueh lapis stall "Layers"

First thing we did was to do our shopping at the hypermart

I know i probably look like a housewife or auntie in this picture but i bought lotsa stuff at cheaper price as compared to singapore. The sanitary pads here are real cheap, if i have more luggage space, i probably buy a few more packs. The toiletries were of course really cheap too. I bought Garnier facial scrub for only 11,500Rp !! and hair dye only at 52,000Rp. of course we bought some Indomee to try since you cant find it in singapore already. each pack is around 20cents sing dollars only. We saw people buying cartoons of indomie.
Of course cigarettes and beer are cheap too.

He is always excited about shopping in hypermart.. i wonder why

After spending almost 550,000 Rp on groceries and toiletris (OMG!) we went to take a rest and have some food with our remaining money.

Happy Ong at the bak kut teh stall at Nagoya food street

I barely read the menu because it was in malay/indonesian so i just told the waitress (who barely speak english) that i would like to have a bowl of bak kut teh -mix mix and two rice

Thave have mincemeat balls, intestines, one piece of bak kut and two miserable piece of "pig"blood?
But anyway, it still taste good , total meal including a cuppa kopi o costs us 45,000Rp

The boss was an uncle who spoke in hokkien to me . Luckily Ong is an expert , I barely hear what he says when we make payment.

I wonder if the shops here dun open so early or are they just permanently closed

Heard alot about J.Co donuts which is a must try, so we bought 6 donuts at 31,000Rp

He is so happy being able to buy cheap cigarettes and the freedom to smoke everywhere he goes
(which includes, shopping mall, restaurant)

We waited for the 1430pm shuttle bus to pick us up and then came a small van which fits about 11 of us , and then came a bigger bus which ferried the rest of the guests.
It was another 30mins ride back.

The Tua pek gong temple is not near nagoya hill shopping mall , so you probably have to walk about 20 to 30mins in the hot sun to reach the temple if you took the shuttle bus to nagoya hill shopping mall. On the way to the mall, you will pass by the temple. We dun see any pedestian crossing the roads in nagoya so we are not sure if there was any pedestrian crossing light available.

on the way back

After we reached Harris, we went to the counter to find out if our rooms are ready . We were given room 2406 at the new Trendy block.
Even though we have requested in the booking form that we would like to have a double bed (queen/king) in the trendy block , preferably with a bathtub in the bathroom, we got a room with twin beds and a bathroom with a rainshower. Well, at least i got a room in the trendy block.
The staff at the counter were very helpful, they offered to change our rooms to the family room in the old building but we rather stay put as i loved the balcony view.

Our twin beds joined together

The simple decor and the flat tv with many good channels

The balcony and the lounge chair

Simple sink area

The unpredictable rainshower which alternates between hot and cold within seconds

The cosy area with hot flask, mini fridge

in room safe, open concept wardrobe and a large full view mirror

After exploring our rooms , we changed into our swim suits and headed to the pool

View of Harris Resort from the pool

the pool area is rather cool with a "centerstage", a mini bar , differnt depth to cater to various needs 

Thats the trendy block where we are staying with the colourful balconies. Music were being played while we were at the pool.

relaxing at the 2m depth area

Enjoying the 4pm sun while the Harris crew setting up the BBQ dinner area.

The staff all seem to be very energetic and helpful , smiling . They set up the dining area quickly and the canopy area is probably where the candlelight dinner is being served

The electronic room card with their mascot on it

The Cabanas are all behind the trendy block but it seems to look deserted and scary

The "beach" area in front of the cabanas

I wonder where can we catch a good view of the sunset from here.

Anyway, we went back to our room after a while as we started to feel hungry. After taking a shower, I took out the donuts we bought from J.Co

The attractive packaging of J.Co

Tasty Donuts!!!

I will have to admit that the donuts really taste good. Yum Yum. Wish we had bought more.
We stayed in our room and watch some tv while waiting for our spa at 9pm.
We received a call asking us to come earlier at 815 instead so we went ahead.

The H spa garden is really romantic at night , didnt managed to get a few pictures as my camera didnt really work very well in the dark and the flash light seem to get too bright and destroy the dimly light atmosphere of the place.

We were led into a big room with wooden panels , two bathtubs and two beds.
It was my first time going for a spa/massage.
And due to the rain, the Spa personnel said that we will not be able to have the herbal bath as the heater works on solar power. So they offered an additional 15mins of massage.
From a 1.5hr of couple spa into a 1hour 15mins of massage.
Well, as we are here on a relaxing holiday, we didnt wan to spoil our mood so we didnt asked for any more offers or ask to speak to the manager.

The bathtub that we didnt get to use

The nice balinese style decor

massage bed where Ong lay - which he told me that it smells really bed at the area where he place his face.

I enjoyed my massage as this was my first experience . Although i was kinda dissapointed that we didnt get to soak together in the herbal bath , it was still a good experience as I had a good sleep after the massage session. It was my first time letting a stranger look and touch my naked body . Lol!

It wasnt Ong's first time and he complained to me that the massage wasnt good enough and paled in comparison to those he had in thailand.

Hope to go for another session of couple spa with Ong soon .