What a nice gesture to encrypt your recommendations to cut out all non-Chinese folks
I wonder what am I missing... It must be good.
Ok ok..my bad..
I forgot you... Angmo.
白龙 referring to the name of the Mee Pansit stall @ PENUIN Market.
The stall owner help me cook;
pig's kidney,liver,blood,heart...which ever; I get from butchers next door.
肉骨茶 = Bak Kut Teh= pork rib soup
腊肠 = chinese Sausage
叉烧饭 = rice with red barbecue pork
Bro nono after reading through your guides I have some questions, Noob here planning to go 2D1N or 3D2N to Batam and book overnight
1) I remember reading somewhere that Bluebird is the best taxi svc as they are supposed to be professional. Do you recommend a newbie take them or try to bargain with those other taxis?
2) Since you say the taxi ride is only 5 mins, ever tried walking from the ferry terminal to Formosa?
3) I've been trying to reconcile what you said here and what you said here, seems that the nearest to Formosa Hotel are MM, Indah2 and Happy Massage 8 and maybe Memory which do you think is best?
4) Assuming you can only chose 1 house if I say I want to go to the house with the a) prettiest girls and b) best service girls, which houses would you reccomend?
__________________ Apparently "Once you go black, you can't go back" also applies to guys
白龙 referring to the name of the Mee Pansit stall @ PENUIN Market.
The stall owner help me cook;
pig's kidney,liver,blood,heart...which ever; I get from butchers next door.
肉骨茶 = Bak Kut Teh= pork rib soup
腊肠 = chinese Sausage
叉烧饭 = rice with red barbecue pork
Thank you! (and thanks to my friend who sent me a PM to explain the above).
I understood you were talking about good food, and I was wondering what delicacies you were talking about...
I achieved some understanding of Singlish, but I still have a long way to run before understanding any Hokkien/Cantonese/Mandarine (Google Translator is my friend)
pig's kidney,liver,blood,heart? You're not on diet, I assume...
Hi bros, anyone can advise on No Name Pub located at the basement of Harmoni Hotel? What is the drinks pricing like? It is a worth place to visit? Thanks I'm advance.
1) Try the magic "Search This Thread" button at the right top of the SB window. You might be surprised to count how many reports (of mine and not only of mine) do talk about it.
2) Update: I was used to consider it my best place for hunting, but on my last stay I was so disappointed. it seems it went down. Less people, less girls.
Do you recommend a newbie take them or try to bargain with those other taxis?
A newbie SHOULD NOT attempt to bargain without knowing what is the appropriate price, or worse pretending to be a veteran. It's like a small fish dancing in front of the jaws of the shark trying to negotiate a common meal.
Take a BB taxi, or simply tell straight the first driver who offers you his service that you are going to pay 50k (hard bargainers will try 40k) BEFORE entering the car. In case he refuses (unlikely), you can try with a different one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leekwantew
2) Since you say the taxi ride is only 5 mins, ever tried walking from the ferry terminal to Formosa?
The taxi takes 10 mins. On foot, it's maybe 30 mins.
Very easy if you know the way, an adventure for a newbie.
Be sure you have Google Maps with the local map preloaded for offline usage, or you will get lost 100% probability. (I am not sure how confident and safe a newbie could feel, first time in Batam, with a smartphone in hands and "Hello I am tourist I am getting lost" read by everyone on his face).
Considering the hot weather, I think it's worth to pay 5 SGD (50k) for a taxi, if you have luggage, or 2 SGD (20k) or less for an ojek right out the toll barrier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leekwantew
4) Assuming you can only chose 1 house if I say I want to go to the house with the a) prettiest girls and b) best service girls, which houses would you reccomend?
Remember: 1) YMMV 2) One man's meat is another man's poison.
Bro nono after reading through your guides I have some questions, Noob here planning to go 2D1N or 3D2N to Batam and book overnight
1) I remember reading somewhere that Bluebird is the best taxi svc as they are supposed to be professional. Do you recommend a newbie take them or try to bargain with those other taxis?
>>> If short distance, try to walk if you can. Cos, even blue bird have minimum charge of 25k rp. If alone, can try Moto taxi called ojet.
2) Since you say the taxi ride is only 5 mins, ever tried walking from the ferry terminal to Formosa?
>>> I walk from HarbourBay to Formosa regularly, usually after movie at HBB. Walking at leisurely place take about 25 mins.
3) I've been trying to reconcile what you said here and what you said here, seems that the nearest to Formosa Hotel are MM, Indah2 and Happy Massage 8 and maybe Memory which do you think is best?
>>> No-no had not taken any girls from the above joints for quite a while. For me, I've only gotten winners from Happy 8 & Indah-Indah (once only).
4) Assuming you can only chose 1 house if I say I want to go to the house with the a) prettiest girls and b) best service girls, which houses would you reccomend?
>>> I've no reply here cos by giving my preference, I might mislead you to the wrong joint as we may have different preference, like I have different preference vs no-no. Every house have a mixture of good and bad girls. Some might tell you that Good Bird is a safe choice to book girls from. But, of the 2 girls that I've thrown out of my room before in 8 years, 1 was booked from Gold Bird. I think those who have cheonged with me will say that I'm quite easygoing type, especially with girls. So, ya make me throw them out of my room, just imagine how bad it is.
Paisey, I'm just very free now, sipping coffee at ToastBox, so taken some time to reply you.
As newbie, don't be afraid to make mistake, as long as end of the day, you know what went wrong.
Not exactly photomodels, say just average (one is a rather big too) but the affection and happiness they share with me each time really is priceless.
Hehehe...your standard of "just average" is already considerably good-looking from my viewpoint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
By the way, this is not the first time I get a blowjob on a taxi, but the other times were in Colombia, where the environment is really totally different.
There are also other places for such quicky beside taxi,hehehe....eg,the cinema?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
1) First important thing: be INFORMED.
Don't go to a taxi (ok, this is not exactly a taxi, but the same concept applies) and try to "bargain", because you read here that bargaining is important, without knowing WHAT IS THE CORRECT AMOUNT TO PAY. A newbie who tries to bargain a price but does not know what is the amount to pay is a small fish heading direct to jaws of the shark. The newbie MUST know what is the price and say straight "I pay this. Ok?".
Agreed.
For me I always ask the price before boarding 1st but yet I do not ask w/o knowing how much to pay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
2) Never ask "how much?" This shows you are not informed => carrot candidate.
Like the above mentioned,i ask 1st. And the 1st sentence that came out from my mouth will always be "How much?" But I am informed of the price to pay beforehand.
Their 1st initial quote will always be higher,like 60k to 70k,some time even 80k. I thank them and walk away. But if their price is 50k? I ask for 30k whereby I will usually end up paying 40k. It is still high but when I pay 40k,i make the taxi run one more point run.
Example,if I pay 30k I will go from Harbour Bay ferry terminal to hotel direct but if I were to pay 40k,i go to Kaha 1st,then to hotel or money changer 1st then to hotel.
30k taxi fare may be tough,but 40k is easy during daytime. Took me just less than 10 secs and simply opening my mouth to ask anyway. If they dont agree,just walk away (unless i am lazy).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
3) Personally, I think that is even not good to bargain too much. Drivers sustain a family with their work. If I spend 500k on drinks in a pub, I should not be stingy giving 10k more to an ojek or taxi.
Said this, overpaying is "stupid" (in the Cipolla's definition) and wrong. It should be avoided at all cost.
Even when 10k to 20k rupiah extra may mean nothing much to nearly all tourists coming from Singapore ,I am used to not spoiling them. As I have mention before, give them a foot, they will ask for a yard in future. That's their culture.
After surveying at least a hundred taxi drivers over my last 3 years in Batam,i learned that their average income is between S$2000 to S$4000 per month (about S$2k was for beginners who just started). That is a considerably high income in Indonesia,otherwise why would the Indonesian choose this vocation? And the later overwhelming of taxis all over the island.
Just my own personal point of view and from my survey result.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
When I take a taxi from Harbour Bay, I just tell him (to be sure) "lima puluh" (50k) and I never had a single problem or argument. Sometimes I don't even tell him that. I pay 50k when I arrive (standard fare including tip), after getting off the taxi (when you are out, especially in front of your hotel, the driver has no more power on you to get more money).
Hehehe...they have to clean up the taxi after you spill you beans at the back seat during the bbbj,hehehe...a tip is well-deserved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
Never try to pay when you are still inside. The driver may be encouraged to ask more money claiming you did not understand.
I learned that from you. Open the car door,step out of the taxi before making payment (taxi drivers i do not know).
Golden advise indeed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
Taxi is more problematic when you want to go back to hotel from a disco with a girl (in most cases, she would not be happy to take an ojek,,,)
Hehehe...if the walk is more than 10 mins,most Indonesian be it guys or girls would be relatively quite reluctant to do. I often keep in mind that most girls with me were much often, in their high heels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
BEWARE of a gangster who works as "taxi driver" at Newton. Thug face, on a black car with small blue lights. I had a strong argument with him and I even had to shout at him loudly in front of everyone.
To go from Newton to Formosa he wanted me to pay 70k.
No way. The appropriate price should be 30k for such a short ride, but at night the standard fare is 50k. I told him 50k and he even became aggressive to me demanding "70k lah". I sent him to hell and I found another car for 50k.
The above ,is a clear example of getting a feet and asking for a yard. This guy must have in the past gotten a 70k (maybe more) from bule,hence when he sees you, your forehead already engraved 70k from his viewpoint.
After dark, taxi drivers were lesser, less competition ,therefore the price is a little higher (harder to bargain too). For safety and convenient reasons, i do not mind paying 50k,but I still try to make it to 40k,just not as persistent as during the daytime.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
My advice is just: don't be intimidated. If you know what is the price, pay that price and nothing more. The shark looks for small fishes. If the fish is not so passive, the shark will stop the attack and will chase another one.
Raising my 2 hands to agree with you on the above-said.
If price is not right,i bargain downward and if it is still not right...I simply walk away with a smile.
This is frankly too much, even for me (supposedly broad minded). No way I could eat that.
I spend holidays there to relax, not to pretend I am Indiana Jones..
21-03-2017, 12:12 PM
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