This is the first time I booked a hotel online myself - Formosa hotel which is conveniently located in between lucky plaza and centrepoint. It is only 3 star but I must say that I am confortable with my stay there. The receptionist was very friendly and sweet - I thought she was the girl who received the call when I reconfirmed my booking. The housekeeping service was very fast and they were very accomodating to my request. Though it was stated on the webpage that the superior room is $63 - I was told that I only need to pay $53 with breakfast included. What a bargain!
We had steamboat in Vienna cafe in the hotel. Super cheap =$19 for 2 persons with more than 15 variety of food! Prawns, fish, sotong, chicken, beef, 3 types of mushroom, crabsticks, fish cake, wanton, beancurd skin, fish paste, 3 types of vegetables etc. I love the fried egg tofu and the yam - yummy. We chose the herbal soup base but you can choose tom yam or seafood. I would really recommend the herbal soup - I finished bowls of soup after we had cooked the food! Coffee and tea were complimentary. However, I saw from the menu Irish coffeee which I heard of quite often but not tried so I ordered one. The coffee is mixed with whiskey and some cream on top - the whiskey was so strong that I choked but it was nice!
I tried out the traditional lulur in the hotel for the first time - it is basically massage + body scrub. It cost us RP180,000 (around $27) for the 3 hour session. I felt so fresh after that - all the dead cells removed from the skin and definitely lighter!We wanted to wait for the free shuttle bus from the hotel to the mall but then changed our mind and walked to Robinson which is next to Panaroma hotel ( I stayed in this hotel two years ago) and I would highly recommend this place if you want to get Tshirts and shoes! My son's jersey set (shirt and shorts) cost only between RP25000 to RP 30000 (around S$3.80 to S$4.50) and I got 8 sets from 8 different football teams. There is also a night market just next to Robinson but I was quite wary about moving into the narrow aisle.
We went to the foodcourt A1 behind Lucky plaza for dinner. The seafood is quite cheap - around $7 for a plate of scallop, $6 for a plate of prawns and $5 for the crab. However the prawns are a bit small though all are fresh.Tried the foot massage in the massage centre opposite Formosa for only RP50,000 (around $7.50). We went back to the hotel and since it was still early - I had a hair cut at Orchid hair salon which is located in the hotel itself. It only cost me RP50,000 (around $7.50) for a hair cut + wash + head massage. The ladies were super friendly.
Had another session of massage on the 2nd day in the massage centre opposite the hotel for only RP80,000 for a 2 hour session. This is only around S$12 and I remembered when I came with the tour guide, they charge us S$25 for a 1.5hour session - they have really made a lot of commission!
We took a cab (RP35,000) back to Harbour Bay to get the boarding pass for the trip back to Singapore and we had an hour before the ferry depart. We decided to eat at the seafood restaurant near the ferry terminal. We ordered a plate of steamed fish, hotplate veal and belachan kangkong. The bill was RP300,000 ($45). The most expensive meal I had in Batam so far but the view overlooking the sea was nice. The fish was good but not the meat! We could see some local children playing in the water and some speedboats passing by.
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