Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by Cougar21

No way can be 10 mins. If u check google maps walking distance even the shortest walking route is abt 20mins/1.7km.

Not too sure about walking from Nagoya Hill Mall to DC Mall. But I just walked from Formosa Hotel to DC Mall few days ago,took roughly about 10mins cutting thru Citywalk mall. Was walking with a friend,so I am slower but if I am alone,walking speed can be faster.

Google map walking distance were base mostly via walking by the bigger main road. Maybe cutting thru the houses may be a little shorter. Hehehe...maybe I walked fast...like most Sillyporean who walk using Raffles Place MRT walking speed (joking here).

Originally Posted by Cougar21

Oops, is I rejected coz not a fan of HJ. haha. She also sian but we just chit chat away. She wanted tips so badly so I just gave her 20k lol. Said I'm her 1st customer even at abt 5pm plus.

Yea,you are likely to be her only customer for the day. So your tipping is important to her on that day but you are "teaching" her to provide good or better service. The massage girls unless "named" by customer for massage service, mainly goes by queue rotation and there are definitely more than 3 massage girls in each massage shop.

The Utama area stretch of massage places were those where getting (or bargaining) 100k hj and 200k fj is easier.

*150k HJ and 250-300k fj still justifiable depending of VAS,hehehe...
**VAS = value-added-service

Speaking base on my own perspective and experience.

[BFOMF5]

On horizon 8 now
This week used out 2 horizon ticket (cost her Rp800k.)
Out of the 4 legs.
3ware on Hrz9.
Btw..Hrz8 don't have power plugs on top of window.

[Leoric]

Originally Posted by nono1973

I don't just write an All Good reviews on the hotel/s I stayed in. Whenever I met with something not right,i wrote them down to warn others too (yes,i have been spoilt in some ways,hehehe...). Thinking about the wasted 700k rupiah already pissed me off. All power sockets should not have their wirings protruding out of the socket itself,and this one is. I am likely to avoid all lower than waist level power socket from now onward...

No need to get pizz because of this,u just imagine yr already considered quite old laptop adaptor didn't break dwn in batam but in Sg. How much would it cost u to buy a new oringinal adaptor? Batam already consider cheap. $70 probably can only buy u a second hand adaptor in sg,let alone first hand brand new original 1.

A blessing in disguise i see.

[Black Page]

Originally Posted by nono1973

So bros who were with me in the past, just be extra careful if you notice any power socket that look very old and "not too right" as what you have seen normally.

Then in Formosa most power plugs would be suspicious and should be avoided
I will cross my fingers and trust the infrastructure.

Originally Posted by nono1973

Well...I thought so too. But it's a very old power socket (from the look of it),so I left that to bad luck. Hotel staffs tells me, "how would we know your power adaptor hasn't already been spoilt before you plugged in?" They did a test on some device like table lamb and it works fine.

I am not sure I understood what happened.
Did you see smoke coming out from the wall plug? Did you hear any shot noise coming from there? Was the wall plug ok after your adaptor got burned and was still working with other equipment connected? The maintenance had to do something to fix it to make it working again? The smoke was only from your adaptor but not from the wall plug?

If your answers are NO, NO, YES, NO, YES, then I am sorry but the only possible explanation is one of the two below:
1) Your adaptor decided to die right that day (as for humans, death can be sudden and unpredictable)
2) The wall plug is ok, but the power line had a sudden power hit or interruption, which made your adapted to die because of the sharp variation of input tension.
In neither of these two cases, Formosa can be called guilty.

[Black Page]

Originally Posted by newyorker88

Thanks for the compliments, been in batam more than 18 years, from dirt roads time to until a major city. Batam had a lot of alot changes.

Those were the better days, when traffic is not that heavy, nicer air n slower pace of life. Not kampong life, but a slower pace of life.

Entertainments were part of life, n Cheonging places are not that many to choose from. Chicken houses like femine or PI, new berlian, karaoke places to book them aren't that many yet. But rates are much lower. Foodcourts are happy places to be for drinking. Cheap food n beer. High class massage places are few.

Today, most cheongsters are spoil for choices.

I can understand well what you say. My first time in Batam was 7 years ago (I just found my first report on another forum about my first visit on July 2010).
Very recent compared to your experience, yet Batam was so different from now, even just 7 years ago!
Prices were much lower (the highest booking fee I saw at that time in joints was 1 million, and the cheapest 300k). Also, every girl was looking at me like if I were Brad Pitt (not so many bule around). Now, you say "most cheongsters are spoil for choices", but actually everything is much more difficult.

[nono1973]

Originally Posted by Leoric

A blessing in disguise i see.

Yep,perhaps its truly a blessing in disguise.

Looking from another angle of view, a senior bro here has PM me regarding this issue that it may also not be the fault of the hotel power socket afterall.

...most of the time this type of short circuit is caused by the equipment drawing high current or short, nothing wrong with the supply.
Get somebody who know abt repair laptop to check ur laptop cooling fan. I use to work in MNC, office power trip alway caused by desk top pc and laptop cooling fan and sometime the mother board over heated due to material manufacturing the pc or laptop.

Actually what this senior bro shared with me is quite true too. I did hear occasional the sound of the fan running at extreme high speed and later back to normal after a couple of mins. Gonna check my laptop fan later.

I am still going to get a surge protector in Batam in my next trip,hehehe...prevention is still safer. But I sure wont be using that power socket to power up my laptop anymore tho. Its my 1st time having this issue,and hopefully its my last...hehehe...when I said I was pissed,i was actually referring at that moment I have to fork out that 700k rupiah,hehehe... true enough,its gonna cost about S$200+ for a brand new original laptop adaptor in Sillypore.

I learned a new word call Ori in Batam...hehehe...

Come to think of it, its gonna burn a bigger hole in my wallet if the break down is in Sillypore.

Originally Posted by Black Page

I am not sure I understood what happened.
Did you see smoke coming out from the wall plug? Did you hear any shot noise coming from there? Was the wall plug ok after your adaptor got burned and was still working with other equipment connected? The maintenance had to do something to fix it to make it working again? The smoke was only from your adaptor but not from the wall plug?

1. No smoke from the power socket.

2. Yes,there was some noise on "that" power socket.

3. Yes,its still working after the tech guys tested it (after smokes comes out from my adaptor).

4. I don't think the maintenance do anything to make the other equipment works again. We only test it out on the lamp ad it still works.

5. Smoke comes out from my adaptor,not the socket (aka plug).

Originally Posted by Black Page

If your answers are NO, NO, YES, NO, YES, then I am sorry but the only possible explanation is one of the two below:
1) Your adaptor decided to die right that day (as for humans, death can be sudden and unpredictable)
2) The wall plug is ok, but the power line had a sudden power hit or interruption, which made your adapted to die because of the sharp variation of input tension.
In neither of these two cases, Formosa can be called guilty.

I think you and the other senior bro who PM-ed share smilar view,it is likely to be my laptop (cooling fan) already having some problem (after reading you guys view and thru closer observation).

For your info,the power socket shown on the pic of my above post ( https://samsforum.com/showpost.php?p=165...postcount=8271 ) really look very old, much older than most other power socket in the other rooms or even inside my same room (I stayed in the same room for at least 3 years by now,hehehe...). They recently moved the table horizontally,hence the power socket can only be seen recently (its hidden away in the past). Previously,it was blocked by the table and not within eye-view.

[Black Page]

Originally Posted by nono1973

Actually what this senior bro shared with me is quite true too. I did hear occasional the sound of the fan running at extreme high speed and later back to normal after a couple of mins. Gonna check my laptop fan later.

It is 100% normal that the cooling fan changes speed! It depends on the temperature sensed in the motherboard, which raises if the CPU load is high for some time, not on the power supply. Neither the fan speed changing may affect the power absorption by the laptop.
And, if you have problems on the fan (for example for dust accumulated over the years), which stops and resume regular spinning, that will impact on the motherboard regular operation, non on the power absorption (unless you are concerned about mW variations, which is not your case).
Simply forget the fan.

[PowerBenz]

Any bro here would like to tag along to batam on 27 oct or link up there??

[enemi]

When going for hj or fj service. Do you pay directly to the girl inside the room or pay afterwards at the counter? Super noob first time. Thanks bros

[nono1973]

Sharing a photo of sunset at Batam Harbour Bay...my way of saying good bye on my last day.

Cloudy weather,yet still have some warm glaring sunshine.

This time,i didnt allow my ferry boarding pass ticket to fly off while taking the shot,hehehe...

[jimfairy]

Originally Posted by DDAMn

Haizzz Femina,New Berlian,Dynasty,Hollywood,Pelita,Jangle all liao...Agree with bro newyorker those where the days when overnight booking we were treated like kings & ceweks dun dare give customers nonsenses booking overnight as cheap & the most high is 500,000 IDR.Really missed those days...

Haha.. i used to book girl from titanic ktv with the sissy papi, usually is once reaches Batu ampa. Staying in seruni.. if no girl from titanic, at night will go spinx for FLs.. the booking fee at that time is 210k, max is 250k.. those were the days... Most atas shopping mall is lucky plaza at that time haha.. anyone can remember the coffeeshop beside lucky plaza whereby they selling chicken rice, bak ku teh, curry puff n the famous Ayam Baka... Juz love the taste of the Ayam Baka!!!!

[BFOMF5]

Wow wow wow
Finally Rp10K/$

[tiuminator]

Originally Posted by BFOMF5

Wow wow wow
Finally Rp10K/$

I fear most when the rates are in my favour.

[Mistrevia]

Originally Posted by BFOMF5

Wow wow wow
Finally Rp10K/$

Just in time for my first solo trip tomorrow. I am so anxious yet nervous to be venturing Batam alone haha. Thou with so much info you guys wrote in this forum i am pretty sure i be fine. First stop gonna be Blue Moon... been a long time since i went to that place. I probably will write an FR once i am back

[BFOMF5]

Originally Posted by Mistrevia

Just in time for my first solo trip tomorrow. I am so anxious yet nervous to be venturing Batam alone haha. Thou with so much info you guys wrote in this forum i am pretty sure i be fine. First stop gonna be Blue Moon... been a long time since i went to that place. I probably will write an FR once i am back

Enjoy bro