Frannywanny

Planning to visit Batam, Indonesia for a quick weekend getaway? Well, here's an easy guide to help you plan your itinerary: 1) Know how to get there. Visitors from Singapore will find it a breeze as all you have to do is to hop onto one of the many fastcraft boats that will take you straight to Batam Centre for just an hour-long ride. Visitors from other countries may opt to fly in and land in Batam International Airport or to fly to Singapore and have a side trip to Batam. 2) Choose a hotel. We enjoyed our stay at Novotel Batam Hote l and do highly recommend this to you as well. There are also a number of resorts present in the island. 3) Where to eat?!  The most important question, if you ask me. Well, I do agree that a visit to Batam won't be complete without having the following: - SEAFOOD! Try Harbour Bay Seafood Restauran t or Wey Wey which was also recommended to us by the hotel's front desk officer. - Authentic Indonesian dishes: There are plenty...

What to do in Batam? --  This is what I've been typing in Google two days prior to our trip to Batam. I used to be so ready -- preparing itineraries months before a trip. However, I wasn't able to do so for our weekend getaway for two reasons: a) work was t-o-x-i-c b) the trip was basically a spur of the moment, "let's get out of Singapore" kind of thing. I was telling my sister Pan about it and she just told me to be a bit more spontaneous for once in my life. Well, I tried...I really did till 2 days before the trip I woke up panicking that we might be wasting time with no idea where to go and what to do. Then finally, I caved and starting researching like mad. Of course, I had to create a list of restaurants to try bearing in mind that we only have 2 full days in Batam = 4 full meals (not counting breakfast as we planned to sleep longer everyday). After researching through countless of blogs and even TripAdvisor, I happily went to Batam with a short list...

....and I'm back! Did you all missed me? :)  Just kidding, I know I was just away for the weekend. To celebrate this year's Valentine's Day, which was also to make up for our non-existent one last year, Paul and I decided to go on a quick weekend getaway to Batam in Indonesia . Prior to living in Singapore, I have to admit that I never have heard of Batam and have always associated Indonesia with either Bali or Jakarta. Thanks to a number of ferry services operating between Singapore and Indonesia, we were able to get to Batam in less than an hour via Wavemaster Ferry . How silly of me to think that we will be taking a small boat going to Batam similar to one that goes down the Singapore River. Of course, Paul pointed this macho-looking ferry boat which is also known as a fastcraft . Take a look inside, the seats are surprisingly very comfy. Unfortunately, our ride going to Batam was incredibly bumpy making me seasick. I was way much better during the ride bac...