Okay. Here's my short travelogue on the B scene. If you're one of the 'old birds', you may amuse yourself or you may correct some of my errors. If you're a 'greenie', it may be a guide to your adventures in Batam. And if you're a 'greenie' but wish to go on an accompanied 'hot-babes' tour, just email me at r_hotdate@hotmail.com. I'll include you for my next trip.

The Isle for Long Weekends
Batam is only approximately 45 minutes away by ferry from the island of Singapore. Its commercial value is probably way above all the other Indonesian islands, which makes it a tiny little bustling destination for both businessmen and tourist. Although the island was earmarked to be developed into a industrialized hub, it too faces the turmoil of the economic downturn from 1997 and 1998, where many developing projects were halted since. Nevertheless, Batam is still a good place for shoppers and philanderers, especially to Singaporeans and Malaysians who can take great advantage of the exchange rate and its close proximity.

Getting There
Going to Batam from Singapore is as easy as taking a taxi from one point to another. The ferry terminal to Batam is at the World Trade Centre, where you can purchase your tickets right off the counters. You need to check-in half and hour before the ferry departure time. All ticketing and check-in systems are computerized, so you cannot appeal for the ticketing agent to relax the timing. Generally, tickets are valid for a period of six months. Return tickets cost less than one-way tickets, so it is better to book your tickets two-ways instead of one, unless you intend to stay in Batam for more than six months.

There are four ferry operators that goes to Batam. Their rates and schedules varies. Of course, the type of ferries also varies and this is invariably reflected by the price of the tickets. You can choose to go to one of the two ferry terminals at Batam - Sekupang or Batu Ampar. There are more frequent schedules to and from Sekupang than at Batu Ampar and their timing varies from operator to operator. So check with your booking agent/counter for the ferry departure schedules before you purchase your tickets.

Dino Shipping
Also known as Batam Fast ferries. Each return ticket costs S$28. This is the most expensive of the four operators, but it is also the fastest and has the newest fleet.

Auto Batam
Owned by Sembawang Corporation, this is one of the most popular ferries for travelers to Batam. Return tickets cost S$24 each. They have slightly more departure frequencies than Dino Shipping.

Widi
As the name implies, this fleet belongs to an Indonesian operator. It has the cheapest rate, but their fleet of ferries is not as new as the other operators. Return tickets cost S$20 each. They frequently cancel their departures, so it is better to confirm the next departure time before checking in. Especially, if you are taking the last ferry back from Batam, it is wise to call up the ferry operator at least one hour before the previous ferry leaves. Even so, you have to keep your fingers crossed or you may land up staying another night in Batam. This ferry is very popular amongst the Indonesians. Hence, quite often you get to take the same ferry with some pretty Indonesian girls (Especially Indonesian Chinese). And if you are bold enough, you can chat-up with one during your ferry trip. Most of them are very friendly.

Falcon Shipping
This fleet operates between Singapore and Waterfront City. So, unless you intend to stay at the Waterfront City, it is better to take the other ferries as the road trip from Waterfront City to Nagoya (The main town in Batam) is about half and hour away.
All ticket prices mentioned above are inclusive of seaport tax. There are no special charges for heavier baggages, but is advisable to make use of the porters when you reach the terminal at Batam and tip them for their services.

Accommodations
There are plenty of accommodations available in Batam. You can stay at the beach resorts or hotels around town. The rates are very competitive and they can range anywhere from Rp135,000 per night to as much as Rp675,000 per person per night. Scout around for one that suits your budget. If you are a big spender, you can go for the beach resorts. They charge by per person, so if you intend to book a girl for the night, you will have to pay for the price of a double. But if meeting friends, families and relatives may cause you certain embarrassments, then stay away from the resorts. Check into a hotel in and around town and you can save on transport too. The upper rung hotels like the Melia Panorama are quite comparable to five/four-star hotels and they are a lot cheaper than the beach resorts. Of course, nothing beats walking along the beach with your part-time girlfriend watching the sun sets.
A word of caution - make your reservations at least a day in advance if you are going on a weekend, and at least three to four days in advance on a Singapore public holiday. Visitors are known to have to sleep in the hotel lobbies during certain public holidays.

Getting Around
There are plenty of taxis and ojak (Motorbike taxis) to take you to any place in Batam. Normally, you do not ask about the price of the trip, so it is up to you to decide how much you want to pay. However, if you are unsure, just ask the driver for a price and try to bargain to a price that you think is reasonable. Generally, a normal trip around town in a taxi that plies along the roads charges Rp10,000 per trip. You may get a taxi that is so broken down that the door can hardly be opened and the vehicle rusted to its nails (I have personally taken one of these). For such circumstances, you may pay the driver less than Rp10,000 (I paid only Rp7,000 and he just says "Terima kasih" and shove the notes into his shirt pocket).

Taxis from the ferry terminals are more expensive, and so are those from the hotels. Generally, they charge Rp20,000 or S$5 per trip from Batu Ampar to Nagoya and Rp50,000 or S$10 per trip from Sekupang to Nagoya.
If you are adventurous enough, you can try the ojak. They are the most convenient forms of transport in Batam especially if you are in a hurry. Zips around the traffic in no time and they can make a lot of short cuts through town. You see, the problem with travelling in a car in Batam is the way the roads are being directed. Many are one way streets and sometimes it takes you longer to travel by car than on foot. Ojak charges Rp5,000 per trip. I used to travel by ojak when I was there very frequently. It can really save you a lot of money on transportation.

The Adventure Begins...
Okay, so much for the formality issues. Let's get to the fun part. This, of course, refers to the 'males only' favorite pursuits. If you are not from the 'bangers' corporation, you may want to skip the rest of the write-ups.

First, when you arrive at the ferry terminal at Sekupang or Batu Ampar, you will need to go through the customs. Sometimes the queue can be quite long especially during a public holiday. Take heart, however, as the customs here work pretty swiftly, unlike the other customs in other parts of Indonesia. In my opinion, I think they work even faster than the Malaysian customs at the causeway.
As you move out of the customs to the small arrival lobby, you can either get a taxi through the taxi counter, or you can get one outside the arrival hall, where you will be swarmed by hordes of taxi drivers to use their service. Either way, the charges are the same. If you intend to use the taxi drivers outside the arrival hall, do agree on a price before boarding. When you are travelling in the taxi, the driver will entice you to use them for the rest of your stay. You may do so, but sometimes you pay more than what it is worth at the end of the trip. I prefer to use the taxis from the hotels, especially if you are staying at the better class hotel. The vehicles are bigger and cleaner and the drivers more trustworthy.

Check in at your hotel and get a taxi to bring you around the clubs in Batam. Most clubs open at 12noon Batam time. Some opens earlier at 11am. If you are new to the place, ask the driver to recommend you some clubs or massage parlors. Of course, they will try to bring you to those that pay them higher commission, regardless of the type of girls they have there. Always remember that you are not obligated to take any girls from any clubs if you do not see anything that you like. Get the driver to take you to another club to select your pick. Sometimes the mommy or pappy will try very hard to hold you and coax you to take one of her girls. Well, you will have to learn to resist them, in a polite way. Here are some of my recommendations (Like fishes in the markets, the girls are seasonal, that is, in certain months they have a lot of nice ones, and certain months almost none), and prices are subject to fluctuate according to supply and demand as well as the exchange rate. For example, the first time when I went to Bovo (See my recommendations below), their prices for the girls were Rp300,000, Rp400,000 and Rp500,000 depending on the grades of the girls. However, the last time that I was there they have changed their pricing structure. Nevertheless, you can ask the mommy for the prices before you book the girls.

BOVO is one of the biggest clubs in town. As this club is operated by a Singaporean, you can expect the standard to be at least slightly above the other clubs in Batam. They have about a hundred girls during good seasons. In my opinion, this club has the highest number of pretty girls on average as compared to the other clubs. Some can even speak and understand English, though usually in a broken-sense. Sometimes they have a few Indonesian-Chinese girls. This place is one of the favourites for Japanese to Batam, who spend heavily on company's accounts that literally spoil the market. There are two prices for booking of girls. The fairer looking ones charge Rp360,000 per day and the others charge Rp280,000. Two of their mommies, a Chinese and a Malay, speaks pretty fluent English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Bahasa Indonesia.

RIO & RITA usually has a lot of young Indonesian girls. The mommy is one of the nastiest that I've known. Girl charges at Rp300,000.
SENSASI has a very small, but nice interior. Sometimes, they have really nice looking girls. Last known price for booking of girls was Rp280,000.

MEMORY is one of the older clubs around town. Sometimes you can find a couple of nice ones here. Mommies are quite friendly, but don't be fooled by their friendliness. They are only friendly because of your dough. No booking and no dough, they wouldn't even give a hiss about you. Girl charges at Rp270,000.

CROWN's clients are mostly Malays. Most of their girls like Dangdut (Malay music) and they will usually request that you bring them to the Legend Discotheque for the night-out. Most of the girls here are not as dainty as those from the other clubs, but occasionally you may get a really friendly one that treats you like a boyfriend if you're lucky enough. Price of girls at Rp250,000.

There are many more clubs in Batam like Maxim, Mutiara, Grand Oscar, Rainbow, Golden, Femina, Dynasty, etc, etc. I am not going to go through all those here, so you may want to venture into some of these clubs yourself. It will be a good experience to go round these clubs to soak in the "atmosphere". Who knows, you may be able to find a gem in one of them.

Usually you just book a girl from a club and get out of the place as soon as you pay the mommy, to try and avoid sitting there for too long. Besides, getting a round of drinks can lay you back another Rp50,000 to Rp80,000. However, if you are there to really enjoy yourself, it is nice to sit down in the club with the girl that you picked, for at least half an hour with a round of drinks and let her sing her favourite karaoke pieces. This will invariably boost her liking towards you and allow her to boast in front of her other colleagues, especially if you are a nice looking guy.

Okay. Now that you've got your girl, what do you do next? Well, the rest is up to your personal fancy. There are quite a number of shopping centres that you can roam about with your girl, if you are not afraid of being spotted by anyone. Or you can take a bite at any restaurants or food centres. If you are a desperado and you have limited time, you can head straight back to your hotel room and practice your Art of Lovemaking. As for the driver, tip him a little more if you goes to many places, but not too much. He already earns a commission from the club when you book the girl. The night usually ends up with seafood dinner and karaoke or disco. But, there are many other variations, which I will leave it up to you to explore.

Here is a word of advice. Treat your girl nice (If her attitude is okay). They are doing what they are doing not because they like what they are doing. They simply have got no other choices. Besides, they are normally only paid about Rp100,000 to Rp150,000 for their services. So, if she treats you okay, tip her, but don't tip her too much. Usually Rp50,000 to Rp100,000 is sufficient. If they ask for more, take back your tip.

Well, nothing beats personal experience. So, if you are game, just head on down to the Land of B and enjoy yourself. Besides, you will be helping out many girls who are stricken by the economic woes.

Oh, and a couple of IMPORTANT things:
PLAY IT SAFE - USE A CONDOM. You'll never know it until it hits you and STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

Copyright © October 1999 Real Hotdate

r_hotdate@hotmail.com

Watch out for my next travelogue (If the feedback is good) about how to keep a mistress/girlfriend in Batam. Or maybe I should expand this a little more by including the scenes of the food fare, massages, at the KTV and the discos. Or perhaps on how to pick-up a freelance working girl or gets to know decent girls in Batam. What do you think?