Hello again everyone, welcome to another article in Facts of Indonesia.com. In the previous article, we were talking about the things you can find in the area of Bintan Island, Riau. As you may see, it has a lot of interesting areas you can visit, especially the natural ones. This time, still in the area of Riau, we will go to a familiar island called Batam.
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Batam is known as a place for transit, especially for the trade between Indonesia and Singapore. The town is also known as a place for hunting electronics, like phone, laptops, and others. You can even get them in a way affordable price than the market, which is quite interesting. However, aside from looking for electronics, you can actually enjoy some of the best attractions there. In order to have an extraordinary experience, you will need these tips to stay in Batam island for a week.
1 – About Riau and Batam
Because the location of Batam is really close to Riau, we’re gonna explain some in tips to stay in Batam island for a week about the Riau island. The first one, and the most important one is about Batam and Riau in general. So, we’re gonna introduce you to it, to add the basic information in the first place.
Batam is actually a city located in Riau Islands. Of all cities on the island, it’s the biggest one. The area of Batam consists of three main islands located nearby, each named Batam, Rempang, and also Galang island. Batam is located strategically inside the International Shipping Lines, and directly facing Singapore and Malaysia.
2 – Going to Riau with Boat or Bus
In Riau, there are two main gates for entering the province. One way for business and trading and the other one is specialized for tourists. If you want to take a boat, you can go basically from everywhere around the city like Medan, Jakarta, and all areas on Sumatra island in general. There’s also a lot of travel agents that can accommodate it.
It’s pretty easy to order a ticket when you want to depart from somewhere around the country. You can also book the ticket online or by phone even. However, the International Ports like in Malaysia and Singapore also have the specialized fast boat for tourists. Even though they usually have more passengers, but their speed is decent enough to take you to Riau in no time.
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3 – Going to Riau with Plane
Now it’s time to go to Riau island from your place. The first option is by using a plane. It can be the most simple way possible than the other options. From the country, you can take the domestic flight from the city of Jakarta and Medan. But, other than the domestic flights, you can also take the International ways.
If you’re departing from other countries, you can transit to Malaysia or Singapore. In Malaysia, there’s the Pelangi Airlines that can take you to Riau, while in Singapore, you can take the Silik Air Airlines. The closest airport to Riau is the one located in Pekanbaru called Sultan Syarif Kasim II.
4 – The transportation in Riau
The transportation is, of course, an important thing. Even you need to prepare the budget for it because it will not be cheap when it comes to choosing suitable transportation for you. But don’t worry, Riau island has some choices of transportation for you. Let us introduce you to all of them.
There are some transportations you could pick. Basic things like Taxi, and City Bus, up to the uncommon ones like Oplet, and TransMetro.
5 – The language spoken in Riau
Riau is located near the border between Indonesia and the neighbor country, Singapore. That’s why, in general, the people who live in Riau are capable to speak in Indonesian and Malayan language. Some people who live by the sea are the ones that usually talk using Malayan. There’s also the traditional languages as well.
People who live inside the ethical areas like Kampar and Kuantan Singi talk by using their own traditional language, while people in Selatpanjang would talk by using the Chinese language.
6 – Use the sunscreen
The next one, which is also general info in tips to stay in Batam island for a week is always to use sunscreen to avoid sunburns. It’s pretty obvious why you need to have it while having your stay in Batam. Indonesia, in general, is a tropical country. It can be a lot hotter in the areas located near the sea or lowlands, like Batam.
People in Indonesia are accustomed to the hot tropical temperature, also people who live in South East Asia in general. But people who are from other areas outside, they will need this item badly.
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7 – Use sandals often
Even though the Batam area is really hot in usual. But the attractions can be found in the area are always related to water. Most of them are beaches, waterfalls, and also lakes. Because the terrain is far from soft and also watery, it’s advised to wear the anti-skid sandals wherever you go.
You can go to those attractions safely, and no need to worry about getting wet. There are some sellers that can sell you one near the ports and markets in Batam.
8 – Nagoya in Batam
You know, there’s an area in Batam called Nagoya. Even though the name is really Japanese, Nagoya in Batam is, in fact, a business and entertainment area of the island. It’s one of the crowdest areas in Batam. If you want to have fun, come to Nagoya. All entertainment can be found here, even the ones you can experience in big cities like Surabaya or Jakarta.
They have malls, restaurants, theme park and even the movie theater, which is way affordable than any other theaters you usually go to.
9 – Visiting Batam Center
As mentioned before, Nagoya strands as a place for business and entertainment, even though the government originally planned Batam Center to be the one. Knowing that Nagoya area is more developed for business, the government wanted Batam Center to be central for administrative, that’s why you can see some government offices built.
But, Batam Center also has the place for entertainment and shopping center, like the giant Mega Mall. You can also witness some attractions there, like the Grand Mosque and Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya.
10 – Visiting Sekupang
Another one in the tips to stay in Batam island for a week is about an area named Sekupang. As mentioned before, Batam has several main districts, and Sekupang is one of them. Sekupang has the newly built modern port called Sekupang Port, where the ships either from locals or foreigns are coming in.
Sekupang is also the house for golf. Even the biggest golf fields exist in Batam. Sekupang has three of them, each named Batam Hills, Southlinks, and also Indah Puri,
11 – Visiting Punggur Bay
And the last center district in Batam is Punggur Bay. This is the main port for the speedboats that will go to Tanjung Pinang location, a bit far from Bintan island. There’s also a way to go to Punggur Bay to Batam Center. But the cost can be a difference. But, in general, the cost to go to Batam Center from Punggur Bay is about Rp60.000.-
There’s also a local bus nearby when you can go to the other center districts.
12 – Language spoken in Batam
In general, people in Batam usually talk by using Malayan language, even though they understand the Indonesian language or Bahasa clearly. The reason behind this is because the tourist is mostly dominated by Malaysian. So, there will be no trouble in communication between the locals and Malaysian people.
However, some people are also capable to talk with Chinese language.
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13 – How to go to Batam
Just like the way to go to Riau, ways to go to Batam are also the same. Only the transit locations are different. If you want to go by plane, it’s really easy because you don’t need to transit anywhere else. The International Airport in Batam is reachable by all domestic airlines, including the ones in Jakarta, Surabaya, Palembang, Yogyakarta, and others.
Using a boat is also okay, Batam has five main ports starting from Batam Center to Punggur Bay.
14 – Doing culinary trip
One thing that you shouldn’t miss when visiting a new place or location in Indonesia is doing a culinary trip. Batam has a lot of restaurants that mainly sell seafood. It’s understandable, the location of them by the sea is another strength they got to obtain the affordable yet fresh ingredients.
They also sell Chinese Foods, and also the traditional Riau noodle called Tarempa Noodle.
15 – Buying Souvenirs in Batam
And the last one on the tips to stay in Batam island for a week is about buying souvenirs. Because there are some notable malls in Batam, like Nagoya Hill, which is basically the center for everything in Batam, you can get the souvenirs pretty easy. If you want to buy authentic stuff of Riau, you can get the cakes from Layers shop. They sell the hand-made cakes of Riau.
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