no gold coast, no japan. only batam.
got up at 550am on a sunday morning!!!
boarded a ferry and off we went!
glad that I brought my sunglasses along, to protect my eyes from the glare.
another shot with my family, dad obviously wasn't told that we were snapping away!
first stop: polo ralph lauren outlet
we were so blessed that there was power outage in the shop, no lights, no fans, no power.
we spent a mere 5 mins in the shop and decided to come out for some fresh air
2nd shop: their newly opened chocolate outlet
don't get deceived by their outlet, they were barely a shop size.
When we were told of the outlet, we had the impression that it's gonna be big! haha
3rd stop: at their biggest temple.
Okay, this is really BIG.
the space houses a school too.
next on, we headed to their dry market.
Erm, okay, it's actually more like a slightly bigger provision shop.
we were told to try their honeycomb cakes before entering the stop.
small bite size pieces for everyone.
2nd recommended item to try was their coffee.
Well, I'm a hardcore fan of 3in1 nescafe, nope, even starbucks can't win me over!!!
MEOW. spotted this cat before leaving the stall.
Bus 59, our bus for the day.
a tad small and old. okay, small and cozy perhaps?
HOT MARKET?
Before proceeding for lunch, we dropped by their bakery, famous for their homemade kueh lapis.
There were many different flavours,
original, with prunes, chocolate, cheese.
$25 for a big piece!
Here's how the baking process goes...
They put it in and take it out.. and it goes on and on for the layers...
Next up, performances by the villages.
It started off with their cultural dance and then the freaking part came about.
This isn't the freaky part yet.
but still, strong teeth he's got!
OPPS.
just realised that I only took videos of the next 3 acts.
swallowing fire stones?
eating glass?
jumping over a fire hoop?
Reminds me of Madagascar.
Finally, lunch!
The same restaurant that I came 3 years back.
a huge event space,
I think it can house at least 150 tables? no joke!
Oh. now i know why it's called golden prawn.
Their deep fried prawns were the best dish of all!
Serenity.
Have you seen a coconut this big??
It's bigger than my brother's head!
Coke & Sprite inspired. haha!
Okay, this is something new.
I've not been here before.
Apparently, it exhibits all 33 different house designs in batam.
All in miniature size.
This, is where the flying fox happens.
Woooo.. Across the river
another stop at the Batik shop...
the only shop that i managed to get some stuff
the tour guide claimed it's all 'original', that was what she kept emphasizing.
believing her, I bought a fred perry and CK shirt for my boy. :)
another recommended dish by the tour guide Sutina,
This Ayam Penyet costs just $2.20 but the serving was so small, it could barely fill my stomach...
finally, boarded the ferry again to get back to our lovely island.
ending off this post with the yummy kueh lapis! :D