Mamiloloq's Life...: Budget Destination, 02nd November 2013

It's the Deepavali PH! What can we do but be out and away from Singapore!

Even after the Genting-KL trip in March, driving trip to Kota Tinggi in August and those night trips to JB, we still badly need a trip out of this stressful country called Singapore. We wanted to run away from reality and just have fun and enjoy ourselves. Away from work, family, kids. Not thinking about anything except to shop and relax. We, humans need time away from all those once awhile right?

We started planning & booking all within 3 weeks from the actual date! Pre-booked my accommodation through Booking.com at a very good price indeed! SGD45.00 for one night! (When i checked on the day itself, one night costs as much as SGD138.00! Phew!! Lucky!) Got my cousin, Suriani, to book our ferry tickets to and fro too! All that's left for us to do was save some amount of money for the trip and wait till the day comes! Imagine my excited-ness when Hubster gave me the amount needed for the whole trip days before! I didn't have to fork out a single cent! A surprise treat!! Woohooo!!

We nearly cancelled the trip as there were hiccups along the way. But Alhamdullillah, all plans went smoothly. We left home at 0645hrs and arrived Marang Road carpark by 0710am. Bumped into Suriani, and headed to the check-in counter. Thanks to her again that we were able to jump queue and get return boarding passes too. Ahhh...The perks of having your cousin working with BatamFast. The long queue to clear immigration was pretty smooth this time round. We didn't have to wait long.

While waiting for the ferry to depart, camwhored. What else right??

We arrived Batam Centre Ferry Terminal at 0900hrs, Indo time. After buying our cigarettes, we decided to walk2 see2 at the Megamall. Heee....! Not aware that they only open at 1000hrs. We headed straight to Nagoya via taxi instead. Do take note, the taxi drivers will quote you the price for a certain destination. So choose wisely. Standard price will be IDR60,000, about SGD6.70, from the ferry terminal to Nagoya.

First stop when we arrived in Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Hungry as hell since we didn't have time to eat breakfast! Luckily by the time we arrived, the mall has just opened!

Awwwww...!! I missed you lah...!

The chili sauce that we loved so so much!

Alhamdullillah. Our cravings for A&W satisfied. We walked around the mall, window-shopping till 11am before we proceeded to check-in into our hotel. We got lost somehow and wasted IDR40,000, SGD4.50. Booking.com indicates 3 mins walking time to Nagoya Hill. We were sure it was near. We asked someone on the street and he said, "The hotel is far. You can't walk there. Come, take taxi." Kinda sceptical, but we proceeded since we weren't sure where the hell the hotel is!

IDR398,000 per night, SGD45.00.

The beautiful scenery from our window! NOT!

Unpacked and chilled before we got ready for the much awaited thing to do. Shopping!! Oh! Before that, we had lunch first. Energy for the shopping session!

Hubster ordered Rice with fried chicken for himself, mine was Bakso Paru. Didn't get the chance to snap a pic cause we were famished. Again.

Hubster fell in LOVE with this drink. I still stick to my Teh Sosro. Heh! From 1200hrs to 1700hrs, shop till my leg hurts! Got to grab my must-haves there. The perfumes! 3 bottles at IDR100,000, SGD11.00, all to myself since Hubster didn't want any. Got myself a piece of matching tee with Hubster too. Hmmm...that was all i bought. Pathetic right? Usually i'll go crazy with the bags, wallets and accessories there. Not this time. No idea why. Hubster bought flipflops, pants and wallet. Window-shopped more than usual this time round. Then, we decided to drop by Isabella Massage House. They've moved to a bigger premises. No wonder their package price has doubled!! With such price range, it's about the same price as you do it here in Singapore! Their place was empty compared to Eska Spa and Everyday Massage! We decided to massage at the Hotel's spa instead. Cheaper. Bought our dinner from TenderChicken and back to the hotel. Went to the spa and booked ourselves the 1900hrs massage session.

Had a nap while waiting for the massage therapists. Full body massage in the comfort of your own hotel room! Traditional massage, 60 mins, IDR80,000, SGD9.00, per person. Additional IDR60,000, SGD6.70, for the massage in your hotel room. Total : IDR220,000, SGD25.00! Even the spa package was cheap! IDR250,000, SGD28.00 per person! Couple room additional IDR65,000, SGD7.30.

Kinda pity my massage therapist. She was heavily pregnant and she still had to work! The massage strength was very good though! Awesome-ness! After the therapists left, we ate our dinner, watched some TV and off to bed. Guess it was ONLY 1000hrs, Indo time!

Woke up at 0700hrs on Sunday, and headed down to the hotel's lobby for breakfast. Food was not THAT awesome. I only took porridge and cereal. Hubster ate fried rice, fried noodles, porridge and toast. For him the food was so-so. Discussed on our next holiday trip and guess what. He proposed another trip to Batam next year, with the kids! Hooray!!

Final picture at the hotel room, us, in the matching tee we bought. Checked-out at 1100hrs and taxi-ed to Megamall Batam Centre. J-Co doughnuts is a must-buy when you're there. 2 dozen at IDR108,000, SGD12.00! Cheap or what!! Then to Matahari Store to grab the kids' toys. 4 cars in a box at IDR59,999, SGD6.70. Buy 2 free 1. Total spent for the kids, IDR119,998, SGD13.00. 12 cars in all!!

Our tummy got hungry again at 1200hrs and we decided to skip A&W and try the Nasi Ayam Penyet instead. Hubster ordered Ayam Bakar and mine, Ayam Penyet. The sambal was so delish!! Hubster seldoms finish his sambal as he prevents eating spicy stuff when we're out. But not this time round, he actually finished ALL of it! It was super spicy but extremely delish!