Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by Gaze

His good experience does not guarantee you will have a good experience.

Agreed with what you just said.

The exact same indo girl in Batam serving different clients, their attitude can be very different. Learned that during the 1st year of my Batam trip. Thats the one big inconsistency that i have been facing in Batam all the time,hehehe...and still looking for a solution to it till today. Guess most would knew, i do not speak indo bahasa.

However, Indo Chinese i encountered in Batam do not have that kind of inconsistency issue (becos of culture difference?).

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by iicycold

wa! u chg here chg tere until got so mani free ferry tix liao ah? Can gib me one?

No, cannot. Buzz off... Already taught you how to barter trade ferry tickets/coupons. You go create those free ferry tickets yourself.

Now i am just waiting to barter it for the blue color type, which expire end of 2020.

Originally Posted by iicycold

got spare venus koupon bo? can passin me one 2 go try?

my fren clever, go tere with tat koupon tel em 4get bring member card & got 30 person disc lei....lol

This one can, i dont go Venus and i have a few of this coupons with me now, can pass you one if you happen to catch me in Batam,hehehe...wait, maybe i should sell you instead.

Ok,ok...mod says not allow to sell/buy in the SBF forum w/o paying the forum so i am not going to sell you. Buy me a Teh Botel instead and i will give you one.

Originally Posted by iicycold

sorie brother, wich cuntry currency u chging 2 indo rp frm?

Have you tried this, changing money in Batam using Brunei ringgit to Indonesia rupiah?

You will be surprised,hehehe...

Anyone knows where i can change SGD to Brunei ringgit in Singapore? Thank you.

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by workshop0709

newbie here, normally buy ticket to which ferry terminal are better? batam center or habour bay? thanks!

I chose to pick the best of both world. Alighting at the more expensive Harbour Bay ferry terminal but pay Batam center ferry ticket price.

Do read :

https://sbf.net.nz/showpost.php?p=19...ostcount=14420

Other alternative (from Tanah Merah to Harbour Bay) :

https://sbf.net.nz/showthread.php?p=...post190 37727

My result so far :

https://sbf.net.nz/showthread.php?p=...post191 74393

Note that when you ask a question, you would have different people with different perspective standing from different angle to answer it.

Example 1, a Singaporean, non-Singaporean and sillyporean will give you 3 different kind of replies which is all correct in their own perspective hence it is often good to spare some time read back a bit of history. And you ultimately also need to know if you reading a message AS a Singaporean newbie, non-Singaporean newbie or a sillyporean newbie to be able to know which answer best fits into your initial question.

More like a Vegetarian guy or a Malay man asking what is Batam's best food, then a Chinese/Indian man replied, Bak Kut Teh and Char Siew Rice,hehehe...

Just an illustration.

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by Black Page

Look at the map.
I assume you will be spending most of your activities in Nagoya, and you will have a room in hotel in Nagoya.
If that is the case, NO WAY I would recommend a friend to take a ferry to Batam Center. Go to Harbour Bay.

Same here,that is if my objective is cheonging in Batam (dropping in any other ferry terminal in Batam, is like i want to go Geylang but i take a taxi to Woodland). I have only traveled via Batam Center twice in my last 6 odd years visiting Batam (if i didnt remember wrong). The rest of the time, Harbour Bay ferry terminal is my preferred choice,hehehe....my comfort choice (like the Horizon advertisement says,hehehe...). Especially so in Horizon's Business class over the last 9 months, which cost S$12 extra on top of the ferry ticket price.

Regular Horizonfast open ferry Ticket : S$48 (direct from their counter)

Orange Horizonfast open ferry Ticket in SG online market : S$40
(can use to travel any day)

Orange Horizonfast open ferry Ticket in Batam travel agent : 375000 rupiah
(can use to travel any day)

#################################

Coupon for the same Ferry ticket selling online : S$6 on average (lowest S$2)

Coupon change to a Horizon open ticket : S$28

Total price for Horizon ferry open ticket : S$28 + S$6 (add S$10 for weekends)

Grand Total :

either its S$34 on average on weekday or S$44 on weekend.

Or it can be as low as S$30 on weekday or S$40 on weekend.

(Mine is S$28 nett + S$12 for Business class last month)

Coupons can also be FOC if one choose to eat in some XXX sea food restaurant around Harbour front tho. This part, i shant add into list above. Another option is Horizon Ferry E-ticket, usually cost between S$28 to S$38 for a 2 way trip.

Which is why i said, Singaporean, non-Singaporean and Sillyporean's reply would be very different on the same question,hehehe...so do not be surprise in your next Batam trip, if you happen to eat in some Singapore cafe/restaurant around Harbour Front and after you pay up, they drop you some stacks of Horizon coupon. And you only end up paying S$28 (2-way) for your trip from Singapore to Harbour Bay,hehehe... or who knows, i chance upon you in Harbour Front Horizon Ferry counter queuing and try to "smoke" you with my cheapo Horizon ferry ticket/coupons at S$28 to S$31?

With all the above circumstances all added together, the ferry ticket today from Singapore to Harbour Bay ferry terminal would become cheaper than from Singapore to Batam Center.

Originally Posted by ndnd

Mafia Taxi have pay "Antrian Fee"

In order to have the right to Q for taking passangers in that area, they need to pay a big sum to the property's owner. For Harbourbay, 4 years ago is about 5juta. Now have a company handling, should be higher.
Thats the reason why they have the right for not allowing online taxi to share their rice bowl there.

Yep, i dont know what type of fee that is called,hehehe...hence i named it "tax" in a general term which didnt quite go directly into the government's wallet.

Again, you spoke of something i didnt know. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Black Page

Indeed. Calling them "mafia" is unfair, I believe.

Which is why in Harbour Bay, in order to differentiate between those who pay the "whatever Antrian fee" (or i simply call it "tax"), they probably came out with this EZY taxi logo whereby they were given a gantry access card that allows them not to have to pay the toll charges at the gantry of Harbour Bay ferry terminal whenever they leave or come to Harbour Bay. Its a good thing...hehehe...but too bad, there's just too little of those stickers to go around for all the taxis in Harbour Bay.

Need to speak honestly,so far none of the taxi with the EZY Taxi has not over-quote me on taxi fare. Those i encountered quoting me 50k rupiah were the ones with NO EZY taxi logo on their vehicle shown on the photo (mafia taxi i suppose dont have the EZY taxi logo too). And it is always good to confirm the fare before getting up any taxi (be it with EZY logo or without) in Batam.

See? Nobody can tell if taxi without the EZY taxi logo pay "tax" (or Antrian fee) or not,hehehe...and they look almost like any regular GoCar/Grab taxis, right? Which is partly the reason why they were often mistaken.

[fde83]

Originally Posted by yaz86

now have a fetish for horror movies to watch with cewek

As halloween is coming expect more horror movies coming soon. Whats the meaning Makmum?

[Diavel]

Originally Posted by supreme_madness

From what I know, Majesty Spa doesn’t offer any extras. Unless you can somehow convince the masseur to give it to you. I’ve switched from Secret Soa to Majesty Spa due to the good service. But all in all, the boss of Majesty Spa is a really nice chap. He will answer your WhatsApp or email quite promptly and he’s quite accommodating.

I believe so too cause been to Majesty before though few years back and it was clean. Doesnt have that plus plus vibe too. But then, chance upon a site(name: polisitidur) listing Spa/MP with plus plus and Majesty was listed there while googling. Article dated May 2019.

Maybe they do offer now?

[Diavel]

Originally Posted by farie

Hi bros,
Just wanna share my virgin solo trip to batam.....

Your FR makes me reminisce on my trips few years back. Same style with you, not really into picking up girls but really into massages.
Still remembered, tried Octopuss, freaking bad service. Massage like shit, cant autoroam, give black face like I fking owe her $, worst, stop the HJ the moment lil bro shoot..fking bitch.
Tried Venus too, chosen girl cancelled by them cause got another customer wants her, like wtf..lan lan chose another, massage was so so, cant autoroam and HJ was so so too.
Tried Delta too, service was okay just that hard selling part as per mentioned by some bros here, cant autoroam too and HJ was great. Overall I prefer Delta definitely.
The common thing they share is 'cant autoroam'..maybe just my luck..

Feels like giving Batam a try again after so long, any kind bros knows the latest pricing of Delta? And if can recommend those MP that allows autoroam would be great too.

Cheers everyone!

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by nono1973

In the case of Batam, due to their dis-organisation, not many can tell apart mafia taxis over online taxis. Which is why i read news in Indonesia that mafia taxi driver/tout often mistaken private car drivers as online taxi. They end up getting into some trouble.

(news of this Indo guy going to airport to pick up his family from airport but due to mistakenly taken as online taxi, has gotten his car flip over)

https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/wat...g-online-taxi/

So, this goes to say that even the taxi touts couldnt 100% tells if a vehicle is an online taxi or not,hehehe...

Thanks for the clarification. All along i am aware Grab driver can only drop off but not pick up pax at HB terminal. Tats why i was wondering whether they would take the challenge or risks to pick up pax. But not really worth it. His life and car at stake.

Originally Posted by nono1973

Before the entry of Grab/Uber/Gocar, i use :

1st few years : I hire a full day taxi, that covers me for 2D1N at 250k/300k rupiah.

Next few years : i use hotel taxi shuttle, which is often FREE

Today, i continue to use hotel taxis but i wouldnt mind paying 30k rupiah at Harbour Bay to go to anywhere within Nagoya area. From Ferry Terminal to Hotel, if i can only make one choice between :

1. Online Taxi (Bluebird and Silver Cab included)

2. Conventional taxi

3. Hotel Taxi

I pick number 3, hotel taxi anytime,hehehe...

I and my friends had very bad experience with those fuckers taxi drivers. Bad experience over at Tg Pinang and the old Batam Ampar. Like hooligans! Cheaters and crooks. I know they are trying to earn a living. But the way they doing business they are only scaring away tamus. But those encounters were many years back. Early last year encountered another experience with the taxi. It was raining and certain part of the road were flooded. But vehicles can still move slowly. I paid 30K for the trip to Penuin. Half way CB told me need to take separate route to avoid the flood. Told me to top up 20K. I mean i cant possibly say no and it was still raining. Tats why i never trust those taxi drivers at all. To each its own. Now tat they have grab and i will just bok them when going back to HB.

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Q-LIST IS CLOSED. DO NOT UPZ ME

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by Black Page

Personally, I never took a taxi within Nagoya Hill area in my life, and I take a taxi from Harbour Bay parking to Formosa because of my luggage, fully aware that I am paying more than outside.
It's the price to pay for the additional comfort. Fair enough.

U are fortunate. Nowadays HB and even Sekupang have booth for taxis. Quite well organised. Comfortable, indeed. Had u try going Btm, lets say 20 years back, i bet u would agree with fellow samsters those supirs are indeed mafia. Cheongster who had cheong Btm or Tg Pinang would know what i mean.

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Q-LIST IS CLOSED. DO NOT UPZ ME

[Kaboon]

Originally Posted by nono1973

The exact same indo girl in Batam serving different clients, their attitude can be very different. Learned that during the 1st year of my Batam trip. Thats the one big inconsistency that i have been facing in Batam all the time,hehehe...and still looking for a solution to it till today. Guess most would knew, i do not speak indo bahasa.

Same girl serving different customers can have very different attitude in btm (almost all the time) & if u are bringing prc/thai/viet girls expectation there, then btm wld unlikely be for u. Man's meat/poison theory apply & speaking on experience. Normally, i do not encourage my own frens to share their btm girl's contact info openly in public unless it's a truly bad experience (money got stolen,scams,ovrnite girl play truant etc).

Those who does that were possibly okt or sm one related in similar trade.

Another pointer, direct link of SBF's url is banned by Indonesia's isp, just like in Sg. U can share info of a very nice FL girl who work this trade or a special girl in a mp in Sg openly, in no time she'll hv to close shop/move on. Same for btm.

Any parts of the world will also hv good & bad girls. To begin btm, they can read starting from page 1 of this thread. A simple 2d1n trip for me with ovrnite girl generally cost abt 38+30+100, ferry+hotel+girl, way cheaper than many other countries. That's solely my bill before bargaining & i often have an enjoyable good time in btm.

My POV

[ndnd]

Originally Posted by Diavel

I believe so too cause been to Majesty before though few years back and it was clean. Doesnt have that plus plus vibe too. But then, chance upon a site(name: polisitidur)

many years back when i knows the meaning of "polisi tidur" in bahasa Indonesia, my expression was

police sleep = Speed bump

[ndnd]

Originally Posted by nitecrawllerr

I and my friends had very bad experience with those fuckers taxi drivers. Bad experience over at Tg Pinang and the old Batam Ampar. Like hooligans! Cheaters and crooks.

Old Batu Ampar Jetty is more messy then market

25years ago, my friend who is a hooligans in SG kena rob by Taxi of Tg Pinang

Old batu ampar jetty always encounter the taxi keep pulling our bags, try to drag us to his taxi.

Tg balai jetty, didnt encounter real bad situation.

Tg batu, we almost have a fight with few taxi drivers.
As usual, out from ferry, taxi drivers many calling us, got one keep pulling my friend's backpack, my friend replied politely to him, we are waiting for bang salam. The driver then start scolding us, heat argument between us with few taxi drivers. But just before the fight start, our driver arrived and manage to settle it off.

[nitecrawllerr]

Originally Posted by ndnd

Old Batu Ampar Jetty is more messy then market

25years ago, my friend who is a hooligans in SG kena rob by Taxi of Tg Pinang

Old batu ampar jetty always encounter the taxi keep pulling our bags, try to drag us to his taxi.

Tg balai jetty, didnt encounter real bad situation.

Tg batu, we almost have a fight with few taxi drivers.
As usual, out from ferry, taxi drivers many calling us, got one keep pulling my friend's backpack, my friend replied politely to him, we are waiting for bang salam. The driver then start scolding us, heat argument between us with few taxi drivers. But just before the fight start, our driver arrived and manage to settle it off.

Yes Andy. We gone thru those era of hooligans thugs gangsterism over at Indon. But funny though. Despite all the inconvenience, we still continue cheonging tere. For me was cos the good ex rates n cost of living then was dead cheap..esp after Suharto downfall.

Worst experience with those fucktard supir was at Tg Pinang. Immediately after clearance of passport we wld head to the gate. Tats where all the thugs n hooligans eyeing for prey i.e. tamus. Pulling our bags even after we told them we dont want taxi services. At batu ampar sama juga. But at Batu and Balai no problem at all. At Batu we normally stay at Wisata. The wisma manager knew us very well such tat he will personally fetch us at the laburhan.

[BFOMF5]

FYI
New food outlet at HBay

[ffml]

Anyone knows the xhcnage rate at batam today?