August 6, 2010-Singapore-Indonesia
I woke up to my 8:00 AM alarm sounding off. I quickly showered and packed a few items before going out for breakfast. It’s still early so many businesses aren’t open yet. I walked around the Geylang Street to find someplace to eat. I noticed some internet cafes that you really have to look closely to find in the area. I didn’t check them out since I wanted to eat and get ready for my check out at 11:00 AM.
I finally found a Chinese mini food court near Lorong 23. I ordered the soya chicken with rice plate. It taste like shoyu chicken and the portions are small but what do you expect for S$3. I ate the meal quickly as this dish wasn’t spicy like the one from last night.
I walked back to my hotel snapping some pictures of the massage dens while they’re still closed. I packed up my remaining stuff and did some computer work but I forgot to charge my computer so it’ll be only on half a charge when I get to Batam.
I checked out of the hotel and got back my S$50 deposit for the safety deposit box. They called a taxi for me and it came within a couple of minutes.
I took the taxi to Harbor Front Ferry Terminal taking the faster CBD toll way. The charge for the taxi was S$10 + S$2.50 for CBD toll. I didn’t give a tip this time as it doesn’t seem to be expected. The taxi ride took 20 minutes from my hotel.
I walked straight up to the third floor of the Singapore Cruise Center to purchase my RT ferry ticket. It costs S$40 for RT for the ferry ride to Batam. I took the Penguin Ferry going to Batam Center as I’m familiar with it. Harbor Bay would have been closer to Nagoya but I’ll try it some other time.
I had to wait until 12:20 PM to check in my bags since it opens one hour before the departure of your ferry. I decided to walk around and look for something to eat. I explored further down the mall this time and found a Burger King on the second floor. I ordered the whopper jr value meal with a free sundae. The price was S$5 for the meal.
After eating the meal I quickly exchanged $100 US for more Singapore dollars and got a rate of S$1.33 per dollar using cash this time. I then hurried to the baggage check in and was surprised I didn’t get charged for overweight. My luggage was 20.6 KG. I then proceeded to the pre-immigration line nearby.
I had my passport stamped and then cleared security check. My belt rang the buzzer so they had to use the hand held metal detector before letting me through.
I then went to the holding area and waited for the boarding call for the ferry. Around 1:00 PM the call came for boarding and I was one of the last ones aboard. This ferry was the larger one with an upper deck so I was able to find a seat with no problem. The ferry looked about 70% full but I was prepared for a fuller capacity since it’s a Friday.
The ferry took a little longer this time due to having to wait to clear the harbor area before going full throttle on the straight to Batam. The one hour 10 minute ride had some bumps as the water was a little choppy.
When the ferry arrived in Batam Center everybody was out in no time and I was the last one to exit since I had to bring my suitcase with me. I followed the passengers in front of me to the processing center. I knew exactly where to go this time.
I went to the “bank” first to pay my $25 US for a 30 day VOA. It was $10 US last year for one week but they discontinued that. I then went to the next window to get my visa card. Next I went to the end of the line for people with other than Indonesian passport. It didn’t take that long to get to the immigration agent. This time I had a female and I passed through without the interrogation I had the last time.
I exited the immigration area in the main mall. I went up to the second floor to make my reservations for my return ferry ride with Penguin. They collected S$7 for their terminal fee. I exchanged some US$ for Indonesian Rupiahs. Wow, the exchanged rate really dropped since last year. Last year I got almost 10,000 Rp for 1$ US but now it dropped to 8,700 Rp per dollar. That’s a big difference since the last time so it’ll cost me more this time.
I then went outside the mall and went straight to the taxi coupon desk. The fare this time is 50,000 Rp this time compared to 45,000 Rp last year. The taxi ride took a little longer due to heavy traffic through Nagoya. It took about 20 minutes to arrive at Panorama Regency. I paid the driver the 50,000 Rp and the bell boy picked up my bags for me.
I checked into the hotel but was told the room will be ready in 15 minutes so they gave me a welcome drink at the bar in the lobby area. I quickly drank the fruit punch and then my room was ready. I went up first and then the bell boy brought up my bags. I didn’t have any 10,000 Rp notes so I had to give him a 20,000 Rp note for tip.
I unpacked and tried to charge up my computer which is less than 50% power remaining but the plug doesn’t fit into the 3 prong outlet of the hotel. That sucks. My adapter doesn’t have the right connection for the wall socket so I’ll have to check around the mall for a usable adapter or else I won’t be able to charge up my net book and then I’ll be without my computer until I can get it charged up again. This happened to me the last time but it was fully charged before I went to Batam but this time it isn’t the case.
It’s starting to get dark and I need to get to the mall before it’s late so I can pick up an adapter if I can find one there. I also need to get a new sim card for my cell phone.
By the time I was ready to go out the sun is beginning to set so I skipped Nagoya Hill for now and just proceeded toward Lucy’s Oarhouse. Along the way I bought an Indonesian sim card. I remember paying 15,000 Rp last year with the help of one of Lucy’s waitress but this time I did it alone and ended up paying 55,000 Rp this time. I guess locals & tourists pay different prices. This seems to be the same all over the world.
After getting my expensive sim card I walked the half block to reach the door of Lucy’s Oarhouse. I met the manager again and we had a little conversation as the bar was slow when I first got there. I ordered a nasi goreng for dinner. I had my usual Bintang beer. I had another round of beer as some customers started straggling in.
After taking a group picture of the bar’s staff I paid my bill and walked upstairs to the PP Banana Agogo. It’s not much of an agogo club. When I walked in one of the girls went on stage and danced. She was playing me and acting wild so I knew what was coming next.
She ended up proposing a ST upstairs in a room. She gave a bj and started using her hands when I was getting close to release my cream. After the deed I gave her the 250,000 Rp bar fine and 50,000 Rp for tip. The price of the lady drink is 30,000 Rp here. We went back downstairs as she was still teasing me. She’s not that young or pretty but she had a talent in oral skills.
I left the club and then walked down the side streets trying to decide which bar to enter. I finally walked past Ice Pub and then that girl from the trip I had last year saw me and led me into the bar. I think I messed up by walking past there. I’ll probably be stuck with her for the rest of my 3 day trip to Batam.
I had a drink in Ice Pub and bought her 2 drinks and a couple of drinks for her friends in the bar. The drink prices were higher since they had alcohol drinks at about 40,000 Rp each. Finally she made a deal with me for me to go back to my hotel and then she’ll meet me in my room after work at 2:00 AM.
She arranged an ojek for my and negotiated a fare of 10,000 Rp for the short ride back to my hotel. It was the first time that I rode on an ojek which is just a motorbike where you sit right behind the driver. I rode this type of transportation in Phuket before. It only took a couple of minutes to reach the hotel by ojek.
I relaxed in my room and took care of some trip reports and other computer items but I stayed away from the wireless connection for now and did everything on a Microsoft works.
The girl finally arrived around 1:30 AM and rang my doorbell. I was half asleep by then so it took me a little while to answer the door. She then took a shower and got down to business. Since I had the bj earlier at PP Banana I couldn’t finish so we went to sleep. I had set the alarm for 8:00 AM so that I’ll have enough time to make it for breakfast.

August 7, 2010-Indonesia
Day 4- The alarm clock rang at 8:00 AM and then my other head was ready for action. We continued from where we left off the night before. I was able to finish this time. We washed off and got dressed to leave. She was going her separate way and I headed for the breakfast buffet downstairs by the lobby. I had to give her the 320,000 Rp that she requested. She also indicated that I needed to give her a birthday present of a watch. I’ll have to set some more money on the side for that investment.
I went down to the Spices Café for the breakfast at 9:30 AM giving me about 30 minutes to eat before they close up the buffet. The buffet was rather simple and not as extravagant as the one at Novotel in Taipei. After I got my food I noticed that there was an egg station but it’s too late already and the cook wasn’t there. I’ll have to remember to get my eggs tomorrow morning. As usual for a Muslim country there is no pork products such as bacon, ham, and sausage. They did however have bacon and sausage substitutes make from either chicken or beef. It just ain’t the same as the real thing. I also eat fruits and toast to complete the meal. I was a little disappointed as I thought since it’s a 4 star hotel at a high price I thought the buffet would have more selection. Also there’s a smoking section and I can still smell smoke in the non-smoking section where I sat.
After eating breakfast I walked toward the NED area and stopped at a hardware store along the way to purchase an adaptor for the 3 way prong of the outlets here in Indonesia. I’m not sure if my 2 prong plugs will fit into this adaptor since their slots are angled while mine are straight. It only cost 8,000 Rp so it’s worth a gamble.
I then walked to Nagoya Hill shopping center and along the way there a bunch of taxis, ojeks, and buses slowed down asking me if I need a ride. It’s only about 5 blocks to Nagoya Hill so I declined because they’ll probably overcharge me for the short ride.
I walked around the mall and checked out the movie starting time on the top floor. The movie Salt starts at 1:00 PM so I have time to continue looking around and have lunch. I ate my lunch at BFC (Best Fried Chicken) on the ground level. I had the 23,000 Rp chicken sandwich meal with fries and a coke. I must say that these local franchises have strange condiments. They didn’t have the traditional ketchup and the substitute that they had was hot and sweet so I didn’t use that and had to eat the fries plain.
I killed some more time until it got close to the starting time of the movie. I bought the movie ticket for 20,000 Rp so it was much cheaper than back at home. They have reserved seating just like in Thailand.
After the movie I continued looking for a barber shop to get a haircut. I didn’t see any at Nagoya Hill so I walked back to my hotel scanning the businesses along the way for a barber shop. I didn’t see any as I ran into the Sports Massage.
At the Sports Massage I got the one hour foot massage for 60,000 Rp. As usual they used male masseurs. It must be the tradition in the Muslim customs for males to massage males. It’s also the same for the room maids as they were all males at least on my floor.
The foot massage was really hurting me. I felt a lot of pain during the foot massage. I wonder if it means something when it hurts in certain areas of my foot. Maybe a female wouldn’t massage as hard. I was relieved when the foot massage was finished.
I walked out the door and asked about a hair cut and was directed to a nearby shop. Inside there was a couple of ladies waiting while one was having a perm. There’s only one barber inside and it looked like it’ll take a very long time so I left.
It seems that everywhere you walk everybody’s offering their services to drive you to where you want to go or to ask if you like a booking. I cannot take up any booking offers since I’m stuck with the same old pro from last year. She already told me that I better not look for any booking girls or else…..
It’s starting to get close to sundown so I’ll be go out again and I already got a call from the girl telling me to stop by her bar by 10:00 PM. Oh well.
By the time I left the hotel the sun was starting to set as it was dusk already. I walked down the road to McDonald’s which has a sign that I can see from my hotel after I cross the street. I ordered the fillet-o-fish sandwich with fries and coke. After eating the refreshing meal I walked around looking for my first bar to enter. There are a few new bars along one side of the street. I decided to check out Chili Bar.
Chili Bar was empty of customers when I walked in so I had the few girls that were in the bar to myself. I had their attention for about 30 minutes as they were asking a lot of questions about me. There were the usual chit chat like where you’re from or what’s your name and etc.
The décor of the bar was a little interesting as they had currency of all over the world that were donated by their customers. It’s kept under the glass covered counter top on the bar. You can look at the various bills that’s under your drink. The girls were about average in looking. I stayed there for a couple of beers until a couple of customers came in.
After leaving Chili Bar I walked around and then headed back to the bar near Chili Bar called Cats. It’s one of the newer bars but the design of the inside of the bar was average for the bars in the NED area. There were a few more girls in there and they gathered around me in the beginning since I was the only customer at the time.
I bought a couple of drinks for myself and a round for a few of the girls. The lady drink price runs at 45,000-55,000 Rp while the customer drinks average around 25,000-30,000 Rp. I ended up playing with the girls on a rotation basis and I won the first 3 games. I finally lost the last game as I knocked in the 8 ball at the end but also scratched with the cue ball at the same time. I almost won that game but made a costly mistake.
Before I left Cats Bar a steady stream of customers came in and made the joint lively. I took credit since I was the first one in there and I entertained the girls early on.
It’s 10:00 PM now so I had to check in at Ice Pub. As soon as I walked in the old pro was there waiting for me. I bought her a couple of drinks and I had my usual drink there to sober up for the after hours activity later on.
I left the bar around midnight on an ojek for 10,000 Rp to my hotel a couple of blocks away. I didn’t want to walk the short distance because I was half drunk already.
I took a shower after going into my hotel room. I charged my cell phone and my camera’s battery in the mean time waiting for my cewek to show up. I finally figured out how to use my adapter that I brought from home. I had forgotten to lift the middle prong that was folded down to make it a 3 way contact to fit into the electrical outlet of the hotel room. Now I can finally charge up my laptop and then hopefully finally get to go on-line with the hotel’s wireless connection. I was off line for the last 3 days because I couldn’t figure out the charging business at the time.
My cewek finally shows up at 2:00 AM and she tells me her plans for the beach tomorrow with her co workers. She wants me to join them but I suspect that maybe I’ll be the one to bankroll the party. She wanted a 5:00 AM wake up call so she could go back to her home and cook food for the beach/birthday party for a co worker. We had to get some sleep even though it’ll be only for a few hours.

 

 

 

August 8, 2010-Indonesia
The wake up call came at 5:00 AM sharp. We decided to have a quick one before she leaves. Before leaving I was going to give her the usual 300,000 Rp tip but she said she needed money for the food and such so I just gave her a $50 US bill which is about 4,400 Rp. Before she went out the door she told me that they’ll be picking me up at the hotel between 8:00 and 9:00 AM.
During the wait for the pick up I took a shower and packed up my things for the beach. I then went downstairs to have breakfast. The breakfast was similar as yesterday but it was busy down there at 8:00 AM. I still miss my bacon and ham for breakfast.
It’s now 9:15 AM and they haven’t shown up yet. I’m waiting in my room for the phone call that they are here to pick me up. I hope they are not a no show and I end up wasting my time in my hotel room.
Around 11:00 AM the room maid (male) came by to clean my room so I decided to wait downstairs in the lobby with my beach bag. After an hour and still no word from my cewek I went back up to my room to relax and continue waiting for them to show up.
I dozed off for a couple of hours since I was tired from not getting enough sleep and waking up early this morning. I realized that they are not going to show up as it’s 5:00 PM now. I decided that I’m going out to get a haircut, exchange enough money to last me until tomorrow, and check out the Center Point shopping center area.
I walked straight down the street past Lucy’s Oarhouse and continued walking down the main road for about 3 or 4 blocks before reaching Center Point shopping center. There were many money changers along the way on the opposite side of the street. I got a hair cut at Center Point for 9000 Rp. I walked around the area and found that Formosa Hotel is next door to Center Point and also next to Lucky Plaza. I also located Dynasty 99 nearby and also Queen 8933 right across from Dynasty 99. This area is only one block from Nagoya Hill right across the street.
I noticed that it was getting late so I decided to exchange dollars for IDR (Rp). There was a row of money changers and I found one that gave me a better rate than the 8700 Rp that the rest were offering. I settled for the 8800 Rp rate at this money changer. I then walked back to the NED area to KFC for dinner.
At the KFC next to Harmoni Hotel I ordered the kombo mega deal which consisted of one piece ayam (chicken), nasi (rice), soup, and pudding for 35,000 Rp. I also ordered a brownie sundae for 6,000 Rp.
After eating my meal I checked out Our Bar and had a drink there. I ended up playing pool with one of the girls and I won 2 games and lost 2 games. Since I lost my first game I bought the girl a drink for her time playing pool with me. I left to make sure that I’ll have enough time to make it to Lucy’s before I have to head back to my hotel room to meet up with my cewek.
I went into Lucy’s and ordered a Bintang as usual. I stayed there until my curfew time. I said my good byes and headed back to my hotel. This time it was only about 8:30 PM and some businesses were still open on the one block stretch to Panorama Regency hotel. I decided to walk instead of taking an ojek for the short ride.
When I got back to my room I had to wait until 10:00 PM before my old pro cewek showed up. She had a friend with her that also worked at Ice Pub. Everybody was bored so we decided to go out to a Karaoke lounge (KTV).
We got a taxi to take us to Ankres Café & Karaoke for 20,000 Rp. The 3 of us went into a VIP room and ordered a pitcher of Tiger beer. The other girl ordered a cocktail. We selected our songs. The girls sang Indonesian songs while I sang (or at least tried to) 2 couple of English songs. The girls ordered a gross looking dish of some kind of small shellfish that I wasn’t about to try. I found out that in Singapore this thing is called “choot choot”. I wonder if that’s what made my old pro cewek sick.
After about 90 minutes we decided to head back. The bill came out to a whopping 240,000 Rp. I didn’t think it was going to cost that much. I only had 300,000 Rp with me and some small bills. When we arrived at Panorama Regency my old pro told me to give the taxi driver 50,000 Rp so that he can take the other girl home. Oh shucks, I thought maybe I was going to have a three some.
My cewek and I went up to my room and she immediately started vomiting in the bathroom sink. I did some computer work while she finished up with her heaving. We finally went to sleep around 2:30 PM. I had to wake up at 6:30 AM to prepare for my ferry ride to Singapore tomorrow.