Holiday Inn Batam

Waterfront City at Batam

by victorwkf

Waterfront City at Batam Island. Very beautiful resort with many activities such as swimming, bungee jumping, para-sailing, go kart etc etc.

B A T A M

by imstress

"Holiday Inn Batam"

Batam is just a 45 mins ferry ride from Singapore.

We stayed at Holiday Inn and pratically did not step out of the hotel since the hotel sent a mini van to fetch and sent us to and from the ferry terminal.

There used to be underground casino in the hotel. Now the day trip on board Leisure World Cruise is getting more popular as you just need to pay for the cruise ticket and they throw in buffet lunch for you.

Batam

by trisanna

Batam is an island in the Indonesian Riau archipelago. One of many. In 1989, the island became a free trade zone and went from being sleepy to very busy. People from all over Indonesia, mostly Sumatra came in looking for work. The government has developed this area and trying to market the other 7 islands nearby. Large suspension bridges were erected in the hope of attracting foriegn investment. When i was there, the bridge was used more as a tourist attraction, with many locals sitting on the side of the road having snacks and drinks.

There are some attractions: the drive down to the seven islands can be quite nice. There is a lot of greenery here and lots of fruit farms. There is an interesting old Vietnamese refugee camp. Groups of Vietnamese families were brought here to escape the end of the Vietnam war. Supposedly the last residents of this camp left in the mid 1990's. Today, you can tour the housing and hospital areas. Nothing has been fixed up and it has all things have fallen apart over time. It's an interesting attraction, but very eery. On these grounds, there is a Catholic church, which is still used.

Most people, who visit Batam either enter at Batam Center near the capital Nagoya or Watefront city, which is a resort run by holiday inn.

Batam has a very seedy side. Until recently there were illegal casinos. These were closed right before the election. We heard that they will open again, but this time be legal with money going to the state.

If you want to come to Batam I would recommend a day trip from Singapore or use it as a base to explore other islands of the Riau archipelago.

If you do not have an ASEAN passport you will have to get a visa on arrival or at the embassy before you depart.