Frannywanny

Planning to visit Batam, Indonesia for a quick weekend getaway? Well, here's an easy guide to help you plan your itinerary: 1) Know how to get there. Visitors from Singapore will find it a breeze as all you have to do is to hop onto one of the many fastcraft boats that will take you straight to Batam Centre for just an hour-long ride. Visitors from other countries may opt to fly in and land in Batam International Airport or to fly to Singapore and have a side trip to Batam. 2) Choose a hotel. We enjoyed our stay at Novotel Batam Hote l and do highly recommend this to you as well. There are also a number of resorts present in the island. 3) Where to eat?!  The most important question, if you ask me. Well, I do agree that a visit to Batam won't be complete without having the following: - SEAFOOD! Try Harbour Bay Seafood Restauran t or Wey Wey which was also recommended to us by the hotel's front desk officer. - Authentic Indonesian dishes: There are plenty...

Kids nowadays sure have no idea how much fun and simple life back then was. Yes, we may not have iPads or the latest gadgets and toys for us meant... TOYS . Barbie dolls, plastic houses, a full doctor/teacher/fireman/police set, jackstones, boxes of jigsaw puzzles, board games and battery-operated cars/helicopter/trucks/pet and more! It may not make a sound or give you magical points, nor could a robotic voice tell you a story or sing you a lullaby but toys back then allowed us to hone our imaginations. I remember spending our summer break playing house, teacher-teacher or fulfilling my childhood dream as a supermarket cashier with my plastic cash register that goes "ting!" every time I open the cash drawer. In contrast to today's age of gourmet eating, the 90s was the fast food era. Oh how we spent those years munching on fries, chomping down burgers, slurping cones of ice cream and cups of milkshake. I tell you, it was bliss and while most of us have to pay for it tod...

For our last night in Batam, Paul and I wanted to try the local fare. There were a lot of choices so after walking around Nagoya Hill Mall, we decided to dine at Warung Cobain . There was some bit of a discussion how to pronounce the second word. Paul said it should be ko-ba-in  while I read it as co-bayne  similar to Nirvana's singer Kurt Cobain. Anyway, the restaurant was packed so we had to make do with the tiny table for two by the kitchen. Where was a slightly foul smell coming from I-don't-know-where but we just ignored it and ordered away. First on our list was the ever famous Ayam Goreng (Rp. 11,818) or more popularly known as the Ayam Penyet. This is Indonesia's signature dish which is basically a smashed fried chicken. This is also widely available in all Indonesian hawker stalls, food courts and restaurants here in Singapore. How this dish is prepared is still a mystery to us but we love the juicy chicken meat and Paul enjoyed munching on the crunchy ski...

What to do in Batam? --  This is what I've been typing in Google two days prior to our trip to Batam. I used to be so ready -- preparing itineraries months before a trip. However, I wasn't able to do so for our weekend getaway for two reasons: a) work was t-o-x-i-c b) the trip was basically a spur of the moment, "let's get out of Singapore" kind of thing. I was telling my sister Pan about it and she just told me to be a bit more spontaneous for once in my life. Well, I tried...I really did till 2 days before the trip I woke up panicking that we might be wasting time with no idea where to go and what to do. Then finally, I caved and starting researching like mad. Of course, I had to create a list of restaurants to try bearing in mind that we only have 2 full days in Batam = 4 full meals (not counting breakfast as we planned to sleep longer everyday). After researching through countless of blogs and even TripAdvisor, I happily went to Batam with a short list...

If there's one thing that both Paul and I are quite nit-picky about whenever we travel, it would definitely be our choice of accommodation. Yes, we can definitely save on the plane ticket or would rather pack light to avoid paying extra for checked-in luggages and saying no to ordering meals on board but when it comes to choosing what would be our home away from home , then rarely do we put on our Mr. and Mrs. Scrooge McDuck hats for this. Why? The reason is simple. Yes, it's true we would go shopping or exploring the city for most parts of the day. If you really think about it, we spend no more than 10 hours per day in the hotel. However, we just love the idea of being able to retire back to our room after a fun yet physically tiring day outside. Nothing beats being able to comfortably shower and to peacefully sleep without having to deal with bugs, mites, weird noises and terrible service. That's basically why Paul and I give so much regard to our travel accommodation...

....and I'm back! Did you all missed me? :)  Just kidding, I know I was just away for the weekend. To celebrate this year's Valentine's Day, which was also to make up for our non-existent one last year, Paul and I decided to go on a quick weekend getaway to Batam in Indonesia . Prior to living in Singapore, I have to admit that I never have heard of Batam and have always associated Indonesia with either Bali or Jakarta. Thanks to a number of ferry services operating between Singapore and Indonesia, we were able to get to Batam in less than an hour via Wavemaster Ferry . How silly of me to think that we will be taking a small boat going to Batam similar to one that goes down the Singapore River. Of course, Paul pointed this macho-looking ferry boat which is also known as a fastcraft . Take a look inside, the seats are surprisingly very comfy. Unfortunately, our ride going to Batam was incredibly bumpy making me seasick. I was way much better during the ride bac...