Batam Island, Indonesia #Travel 4

Left Hong Kong, our trip continue to visit a friend In Batam Island. Batam is part of Riau island, a province of Sumatra and it's close to Singapore and Malaysia. My friend was asking me to go to Singapore by boat and will take only 45 minutes, but it's not my favorite thing to do to go on boats especially with Adam's condition.

The reason for us to go to Batam besides visiting my old friend, was to check out the area as we may move there in the future if we like Batam. It wasn't what I Imagined, living cost there is so expensive, the beach isn't that nice and it's dark sand. Here is the latest link for living cost in Batam, https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Batam

In the end, we didn't like Batam at all. The living cost almost the same like USA and the economy is really down over there. Lots of abandon buildings, half finish constructions. They just left it there and a lot of businesses are going under. Also, I thought Batam is a little too boring for long term living.

Balerang Bridge, Batam. Indonesia.
Source.

We stayed at Holiday Inn and most guests are from Malaysia and Singapore for weekend getaway, It was a busy weekend since it was Christmas and New Years. We loved the hotel. Adam was swimming all day long, restaurant after restaurant and drove around the cities.

Adam was swimming at Holiday Inn swimming pool.

Holiday Inn from our porch hotel room.

It was an awesome experience to be able to eat at "Lesehan Restaurant" in Batam, Is a Sundanese style restaurant which we had to sit on the floor with a low big table. Everything looked authentic Sundanese old style from the cottage to the server, they are wearing traditional Sundanese outfit also the Kentongan (a wooden 'gourd') a wooden stick that we hit to signal the server.

The creativity brings the restaurant to the next level, they impressed me with a sink that made from "Bakul Nasi" or a bamboo rice container.

View to Holiday Inn.

Balerang Bridge from the side.

With my friends at Balerang Bridge.

Bella, a new friendly spoiled buddy (my friend's dog)