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3 Days 2 Nights Trip at Harris Resort Batam

This short trip to Batam was made on 10th Sept 2010 (during the long weekend of Hari Raya Puasa), together with the same gang of friends that went to Malaysia (See “A Day in Kuala Lumpur 2” and “A Day in Malacca“). Our package at Harris Resort Batam is as below. It’s slightly more expensive than usual due to the holiday peak period.

It Is Good Deal @ Harris Funky Room (Old Wing Room)
Adult twin sharing: $127.00 per person
Child without bed: $36.00
Infant: $18.00

Package price includes:
– 2 way ferry tickets
– 2 way land transfers
– 2 nights stay with daily breakfasts
– FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children.
– FREE one time 30mins bicycle ride for two per room per stay.
– FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay
– FREE access to sauna, cold plunge pool at H Spa & fitness.
– FREE access to Wi-Fi internet within hotel premises.
– FREE one time two-way shuttle services to Nagoya Hill for all paxs.
*Depart hotel 1100hrs & 1400hrs (Batam Time)
*Depart Nagoya Hill timing 1430hrs & 1730hrs (Batam Time)
*FCFS basis, guests MUST register at bell counter soonest or at least 02hrs before departing time.

Package excludes:
– Singapore terminal tax $20.00 per person pay at Harbourfront Centre
– Batam terminal tax $7.00 per person pay at Waterfront City Batam Terminal

The ferry ride was rather fast and we reached Waterfront City Batam Terminal in less than an hour but getting through the immigration took some time due to the bulk of travelers. Above shows a shop selling variety of products, just as you walk out of the immigration. We bought tons of food, snacks, beer, etc here!

Land transfer from Harris Resort Batam. It was only a few minutes drive from the ferry terminal.

We were given twin rooms despite requesting for double bed rooms during our reservation. I think those who took the first ferry out from Singapore manage to get the limited double bed rooms as there were lots of travelers checking in. We checked-in to our rooms and then took a walk around Harris Resort Batam (mostly pool area). Then, we went to the restaurant to have a small bite as we missed lunch and it almost nearing dinner time (4pm).

The pizza looks great but we didn’t eat it as the portion is rather big and we were going to have dinner pretty soon. Our dinner will be using the “FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children” which is included in the package. The free dinner was …. 🙁

Harris Resort Batam – Old Wing (we are staying here).

Harris Resort Batam – This is the new wing and it will cost a tad more than the old wing. We had a sneak peek at one of the rooms (during housekeeping) on the ground floor and it seems smaller than the old wing rooms.

We went to the bowling centre to play the “FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay” in our package. You have to rent the bowling shoes but it doesn’t comes with any socks!

Nice swimming pool at Harris Resort Batam.

If you are early, you can grab one of these sheltered seats. How nice it would be to relax here (with beers)!

Lobby area of Harris Resort Batam. The lifts that we used daily! Hehe…

Beach area near Harris Resort Batam.

Small yacht berthing at nearby dock near Harris Resort Batam.

We took the free one-time return shuttle services from Harris Resort to Nagoya Hill for shopping. We had made the reservation for the shuttle service one day earlier.

We wanted to try the original Ayam Penyet Ria but it was closed. By the way, there is a Ayam Penyet Ria in Lucky Plaza (Singapore)!

Food street at Nagoya Hill. Lots of food for you to choose!

77 Es Teler – We tried one of the desserts which is very much like Ice Kacang. There is also a Es Teler in Singapore too! It’s at Far East Plaza Singapore.

Our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam, we wasn’t able to get the double bed room so we improvised on our own. Haha!

The rest of the area in our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam.

Bathroom at Harris Resort Batam. It’s clean but the hot water is pretty inconsistent, sometimes it’s hot and most of the time it’s cold! Wahaha!

The sun is setting soon. Taken at a seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal.

Dinner at a kelong-style seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal. I can’t seem to remember the name…

Fried chicken and Sambal Kang Kong.

Chilli crabs.

Hot Plate Tofu.

Black pepper crabs.

Daily breakfast at Harris Resort Batam was rather lacking but not entirely not consumable.

A pet monkey at a restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam.

The restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam, where we had our lunch, before leaving for our ferry back to Singapore. We had actually requested for early ferry departure in the morning but it was already full so have to settle for the afternoon one.

Fried Chicken Rice Special.

One of the ferry at Waterfront City Batam Terminal where we were waiting to board our ferry back to Singapore. The trip went by without a lot of photo taking as there wasn’t really much to shoot! Also, we didn’t venture far away from Harris Resort Batam to engage in other activities as we were traveling with children. It’s really a “getaway”! Haha!

Here I am at Marina South Pier (滨海南码头) to take a ferry to Kusu Island (Singapore). There are also other regular ferries service heading for Saint John’s Island as well. It’s my first time going to Kusu Island!

Also I am not going to elaborate more about Kusu Island, as Wikipedia already contains huge information on it. In brief, Kusu Island is also known as “Turtle Island” and located on the island is a popular Chinese temple – Da Bo Gong or Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity).

You won’t see any big resort hotels like Barcelo in Tunis or Britannia Grand Hotel, Scarborough— overnight stay is not permitted here. It is probably to preserve the pristine beaches, lagoons and peaceful shrines. It is easy to visit for the day though, and very popular with people coming for a nice afternoon picnic!

Bought the return ferry tickets to Kusu Island at S$14 and was quickly hurried to board the ferry as it was about to depart. Took this when I was already comfortably seated in the ferry.

The interior of the ferry. During Kusu Pilgrimage Season (18 October 2009 to 16 November 2009), ferry services to St john’s island are suspended. The annual Kusu Pilgrimage Season traditionally falls on the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and more than 100,000 devotees and visitors visited the tiny Kusu Island. Yup, I visited on the last day of the pilgrimage season so as to avoid the crowds.

After a 15mins ferry ride, I reached Kusu Island. Signboard above detailing about the history of Kusu Island.

Walking along the walkway and towards the popular Da Bo Gong temple (on the right).

Before you reach the Chinese temple, there is a wishing well where you can try to throw coins and hit any of the 3 bells in the lotus. If you manage to hit any of the bells, I believe it means that your wishes are heard and will come true! 🙂

The pavilion where the wishing well is located. Looks like most visitors try their hands at the wishing well!

Heading towards the Da Bo Gong or Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity) temple.

In the Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity) temple, you can find many tortoises that are reared by the attendants. Some visitors use coins to strike the back of the tortoise, I suppose it’s for luck, wealth or prosperity, which I promptly followed as well. 🙂

The main building which houses several deities, of which, the two main deities are the Da Bo Gong (Tua Pek Kong) and Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy). Offerings are sold at S$2 each.

After my prayers and offerings, I went to the food centre to grab some drink to quench my thrist. Although it wasn’t sunny but the weather was still pretty humid. Washrooms are nearby here too!

The food stalls at the food centre seems to be like a temporary setup, which occurs only during the Kusu Pilgrimage Season. There was only 3 stalls available during this time, maybe because it’s already the last day of the pilgrimage. Anyway, the nostalgic setup prompted me to try the food.

This was what I had – Pokka Green Tea S$1.50 and Oyster Omelet S$4.

Walking around the coastal line of Kusu Island, it seems to be a nice place to have a picnic. I also noticed that there were a few barbecue pits around but your barbecue will have to take place way before 1700hours as that’s the last ferry back. Overnight stay is not permitted on the island.

Pristine beaches and tranquil settings, away from the bustling city life. The swimming lagoon seems to be a nice place to enjoy the sun and sand.

Tortoise Sanctuary, where there are enormous amount of tortoises. 🙂

City skyline from Kusu Island. I can see the Singapore Flyer as well the upcoming Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. The skies is turning black and seems like it’s going to rain pretty soon.

Didn’t want to get stuck on Kusu Island because of the upcoming rain, so quickly hurried back to the ferry terminal to catch my ride back to Marina South Pier. Last ferry is 1700 hours and 0vernight stay is strictly not permitted on the island.

Showing the interior of the ferry as this is a different model from the one I took when I came. You can go and enjoy the cooling sea breeze on the open upper deck. But it’s not a good choice for me as it’s going to rain soon!

After alighting the ferry, at another berth, I noticed this Chinese style cruise boat and believe that you can also take this and cruise around the Singapore waters. For more information, you might have to check out Singapore Island Cruise. Anyway, leaving you with the directions to Marina South Pier. Those who are driving, there are parking facilities nearby too!

Directions to Marina South Pier

Photos on this blog post are taken on Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera.