A Day in Batam, Indonesia

We decided on a day trip to Batam, Indonesia. We arrived at the ferry terminal and waited to board the high speed ferry. The ride over was quite fun because the water was beautiful and we were going quite fast. In the harbor we saw a tall ship, quite impressive, and the Keppel Bay Bridge. We passed many freighters heading out to see as well. After about an hour, we arrived in Batam. Immigration went quickly and we boarded our tour bus. Now if you know me, then you know I don't usually go on tours, but this one day we needed to see as much as we could. It was actually a great idea because at the end of the day we weren't nearly as tired as we usually are from traveling.

We went first to a layer cake and cookie factory where they provided Sumatra coffee and Tarik tea as well as Kueh Lapis which is a fifteen layer cake. The first layer is baked, then another layer is spread on top and baked, then another layer... until 15 layers are baked. It was very yummy with different favors of mocha, pandan, chocolate and original. From there we went to a cracker factory where they gave us samples... They sure do like fishy tasting crackers! We managed to find some banana flavored ones that Mike liked so we purchased some to eat later. They also had some strange looking fruit that Mike sampled... One was called snake-skin fruit and he said it was sweet, then sour. I was not that adventurous at this point in the day. From there we went to a Ralph Lauren Polo store since there is a factory on the island and the clothes were very inexpensive.
We then were taken to a Buddist temple to see the smiling buddha. he is the one with the fat belly and if you rub his belly a certain way, three times then you have long life and wealth... I think i will just rub Mike's belly, thank you very much! The tour guide said that is why wealthy men from the US have fat bellies, hahaha! There were actually thee different temples here and they were quite ornate.
Next we went to lunch at the largest restaurant in Indonesia which can serve 3000 people. It was called The Giant Prawn (a prawn looks just like a shrimp to me) and it was served family style. This is by far the most adventurous that I have ever been. I even tried the "sea snails" which are steamed in their conch shells... They call this "Gong Gong" and it was very interesting to eat.
From there we went to a garden that had miniature houses like the traditional houses from the Indonesia islands. Did you know that Indonesia consists of 17,509 islands but only 7258 are inhabited. Wow, I don't know how they can keep up with all of this! We also saw a "magic" show that consisted of two men dancing with horse figures wrapped around them while some other men beat a drum. Then the show really began... One guy brought out burning coals and one of the guys ate them... Yes really ate them and then breathed out the smoke. The other guy was given a glass container which he promptly broke and ate right in front of us! Mike even gave him a piece of glass to eat. They say that the spirits enter their body when they dance and it makes them able to do this... Whatever! It was entertaining!
Then we took a tour around the city and went to a Batik store then we went to have a massage. I even talked Mike into a massage. So for  25000 rupiah, which is about $25 US dollars we had a massage for 90 minutes. It was quite nice and restful.
We were then taken to a large mall and were allowed to shop. It definitely was not like the nice malls in Singapore but the prices were much better. After a fun day we headed back to the ferry terminal and headed back to Singapore. It was quite an adventure... If you go just know this is not a third world country but it is mighty close. Don't drink the water and bring hand sanitizer and tissue and wet wipes. They do not know what cleanliness means. And for you Texas folks... The toilet is a hole in the ground with a bucket of water and a scoop... Which you use to flush with... It ain't Buccee's that is for sure!