Batam Indonesia

Barelang Bridge

Where is it?

Batam is a small but busy island in Indonesia, located 20km from Singapore and 25km from Johor Malaysia. Famed for its nightlife and youthful vibe, also rich in cultural and religious attractions. There are several activities available, such as water & sea sports activities, go-kart racing track, and cable ski park.


Down at the Barelang Islands, connected to Batam by a series of 6 bridges, there are many good beaches, as well as an old Vietnamese refugee camp, that was occupied for 20 years by Vietnamese boat people, and has now been restored as a tourist attraction. On entering the site there are several colonies of Macaque monkies by the road side which are friendly.


  
How to get there?

Batam is quite near to Singapore, about 1 hour by fast craft.

 What to do?

Rent a Car ! (12 hours) You could go where ever you like, anytime you want.

Barelang Bridge

This is also a favorite route for cyclists.

Monkey Standing upright.

Former Vietnamese Refugee Camp, Boat 1

Melur Beach, Batam

The Pagoda in Galang Island

Buddhist Temple

Shopping at Nagoya

Where to stay?

Golden Virgo Hotel located 10 minutes walk from the center of Nagoya, Batam     Island

Where to Eat ?

Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant

Verdict:

Cheap affordable destination and delicious seafood.


Rent a Car?

If you need to rent a car (with driver) during your stay in Batam , contact ANTON @ 0812-701-4074/00162-812-701-4074. This guy is very Friendly


Fact File:

Batam time is UTC / GMT + 7 hours or EST - 11 hours. It is minus one hour difference to Singapore time.


The main language spoken on Batam is “Bahasa Indonesian” .
English is also widely spoken, so you should have no problem talking to taxi drivers, hotel staff, restaurant staff, etc.


Geeting around on Batam can be challenging, interesting, frustrating, educational, frightening, and a lot of FUN . There is no fully developed public transport system.

The main modes of travel are taxis (“official” and “unofficial”), ojeks (motor cycle taxis which you can hire to take you to your destination as a pillion passenger), privately operated mini-buses and a few government operated buses.



Useful website:
http://www.bataminfo.com/aboutbatam.html

If you have any questions , please feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to answer them or leave a comment below

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Dakak Park Beach Resort

Where is it?

Dakak is one of the top beach destination in the Philippines. Located in Dapitan City, in one of the many islands in Mindanao. Popular to both foreigners and locals partly because of its unique cove-shaped and powedery white sand surrounded by the clear blue waters.

Took this shot with my iPhone & was impressed by the results :)

What to do?

Dakak Beach Resort offer scuba diving, snorkeling and water sports like jetski, kayaking, parasailing, waterskiing and many more.

 Where to stay?

We stayed in Standard Villas , a good combination of class, comfort and affordability. the room is spacious and contains basic amenities.

Where to Eat?

The shores of Dakak has tables and chairs for outdoor dining experience with cultural performance of Filipino songs and dances during nighttime.  

Verdict:
The place was awesome! Water sports is higly recommended.


Fact File:

Rooms: Accommodation consists of 156 beautifully appointed rooms built in native style duplex cottages made of bamboo and nipa leaves with capiz shell window panes. There are 48 Standard, 98 Deluxe and 12 Super Deluxe Rooms.

Transportation: By Air: Philippines flies five times a week to Dipolog City from Manila while other connections from the provinces may be made via Cebu's Mactan International Airport.
Flights from Manila take 65 minutes while from Cebu it take a mere 45 minutes.

Useful websites:

http://www.traveltipid.com/local/zamboanga/dakak.html

If you have any questions , please feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to answer them or leave a comment below.  




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