BATAM DAY 1 VLOG
Batam, Indonesia
Day 1 - 8 June 2018 (Fri):
Took a morning ferry from HarbourFront Centre in the morning.
We reached our destination at about 10.30am Batam time, and the transport took us to our hotel - Nagoya Hill Hotel, before we headed to the nearby Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. We had bak kut teh, steamed fish, buttered prawns, and oyster kailan for lunch.
Headed back to the hotel briefly, while mum and I made arrangements with the hotel concierge for a transport to tour Batam according to the travel itinerary I had planned prior to the trip. (initially made a night reservation at the InulVista Karaoke near the hotel/shopping mall, but called it off in the end.. the surprise party was actually supposed to be here, where we would blast bday songs on the karaoke system, and yours truly will sing the song HEH, this karaoke spot was recommended by the friendly counter staff, Miss Ani, who surprisingly could converse fluently in Mandarin, making our conversation for reservation of transport and etc very smooth and enjoyable at the end after some struggle when we started making our inquiry in English, and there was some breakdown in communication due to language barrier. But all was fine.)
The tour transport we boarded took us to these tourist spots:
* Tua Pek Kong Temple - Vihara Budhi Bhakti Temple
Totally enjoyed the serenity of this temple, the bright and contrasting colours, the wall murals of chinese myths and stories, and the various statues at the backyard garden.
* Batam Layer Cake Factory
Bought layer cake souvenirs here, and got a sneak peak of how the layer cakes (kueh lapis) are made in the factory. Mum (and #mylaobuisagoodcook) was excited to start baking when she is back! Hehe.
* Miniature House of Indonesia at Golden City Batam
We almost didn't stop by here, because it was said that this place is an open area and hot place that requires walking. But the tourist and traveler in me will never say no. So when the tour chauffeur pointed out that we were passing by this spot, I hopped off. Thank you mum for assisting me in filming the journey, and especially this point, because all was rushed, and it began drizzling a little when we toured the miniature house. The tiny houses really do signify the different races and ethnicity in Indonesia!
* Maha Vihara Maitreya Temple
almost didn't stop by this spot because some were tired, I am glad we came because
this is the biggest of such Buddhist temple in Asia.
Also honoured to witness students rehearsing for an upcoming event for some 12th anniversary? Wow.
* Wey Wey Seafood
* Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall
Brief night shopping... because relatives had things to buy from the mall... Then followed by birthday surprise for grandmother, (check out a short video I uploaded earlier of my mum giving grandma a red packet for grandma's 78th birthday - wishing her good health and fortune). I intended to include in this vlog the surprise leading up to the celebration but oh well, because i was asked not to post these videos. Sigh, it was such a fun video, I thought my mum and I built up the anticipation really well, cuz before grandma opened the door - I was telling grandma how scared I was because the door bell was ringing and someone was knocking the door in the middle of the night, and my mum said that since grandma is the lao da/head of the fam in the room, she should open to scare off the 'dirty things' outside HAHAHA.
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music credits:
YouTube Audio Library: Smoking Sticks
YouTube Audio Library: Girl
Kuan Yin - Crystal Music to Calm your Mind