After spending a day in Batam my opinion is I didn’t see enough of the place to give it much of a review. Arriving after dark and heading to the airport at midday the next day, was not a big window of opportunity.
•Batam feel:
Batam is part of the Riau islands, all connected by bridges. With transport one could have a good time exploring. From what I saw of Batam itself, there is a rough and tumble downtown area, scattered development all over, often with a ‘movie set’ type appearance, then nothing but barren ground for half a kilo.
•Renting a motorbike:
Talking with a taxi driver I learned that motorbike rental is not so common is Batam. People working downtown use taxis and cars seem to outnumber bikes.
•Accommodation:
Plenty of decent hotels for $20-$40. These can be booked at the ferry port, to save time if you like. No need to book online as the cheaper ones are not found online.
•Places to eat:
Asking several people where was the best area for restaurants I got the same answer…there isn’t one, but most hotels have a restaurant. The 2 good eating experiences I had were at Windsor Food Court at night and the food court at BCS shopping mall.
•Culture:
Culturally Batam is a bit of a ‘grey-man’. The Balinese culture is right there as soon as you step off the plane, I think in the Riau islands one would have to get to the quieter places to gets a better picture.
•Personal safety:
Most people I met in Batam spoke some English and were polite. Some travel sites warn about personal safety. I think the way this goes is if you are a solo traveler, you are more open to being taken advantage of, just as anyhere. Batam has so many family groups from Singapore and other places that I’d have to say its reasonably safe.
•Local transport:
Taxis don’t have meters, so its a case of bargaining before you get in. Do not step into the car a you are bargaining, otherwise the driver will say “Where you want to go, okay okay boss no problem.” You’ll then be off and he’ll hit you up for high price later. Getting to Jodoh for example, which is one of the areas with hotels from the airport is 15-20 minutes. Airport to ferry terminal and Batam Center is about 10-15 minutes and costs 40,000rp at the airport taxi desk. You can bargain for cheaper out on the main road if you feel the urge.
•Immigration:
Entering through the ferry port I was not asked a single question, or asked for money, which was nice.
•Money:
Batam takes Indonesian rupiah of Singapore dollars. ATM machines and Indonesian banks such as BCA, BII etc. are common.
•Climate:
Similar to Singapore. More rain than Bali.
Batam can be an okay place to visit for a couple of days for people in Singapore, but I’m not especially drawn to go back.
