OYO HOTEL ON BATAM ISLAND

We stayed at OYO NEW STAR HOTEL in Batam from 24th-26th JANUARY 2020. There are other two OYO hotels on the island.

The room was quite small but then we were there only during night time to sleep. The room was clean and that was the most important thing. At the same time, it was going through renovation work. A lift was being installed which should a good thing. Going up and down the stairs would be troublesome especially when one was having a huge and heavy luggage. The hotel was also near to other convenient stores and McDonald's so that should already be good news.

MY BATAM GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE - FRIED DUCK FOR LUNCH

26th JANUARY 2020 ~ The only time I would eat duck meat was when I traveled to Indonesia. Back home, duck was kind of rare and you could not get it easily like chicken.

It tasted just like chicken but the meat was slightly tougher and the texture coarser.

The name of the restaurant we went to was Bebek Goreng H. Slamet (Asli) [translated: fried duck restaurant original]. I wonder if there was another restaurant trying to use the same name. By the way, the eating place was clean and should be popular. We had lunch quite late that afternoon but there were still some people eating when we arrived. The place to go if you want to try duck for once.

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THE MUST-GO BALERANG BRIDGE IN BATAM

26th JANUARY 2020 ~ Another main attraction in Batam is the Balerang Bridge. When I first came here 9 years ago, my friends and I just stopped on the bridge and took photos there. Things had tremendously changed now as the place had been developed as a major stopover for visitors, both locals and foreigners.

Balerang Bridge is one of the six bridges that connects Batam to other smaller islands around. All these bridges have different designs and the distance from Balerang to the last bridge is about 50km. When I am in Batam next time, I will make it a point to go and see all the interconnecting bridges.

Under the bridge, the place had been turned into a recreational park where people could be seen picnicking or just enjoying the scenery.

You could also fish there if you are an avid angler.

There were many people the day we went there. Other than observing the bridge, there were also many stalls selling many kinds of food and drinks you could try. Definitely a must-go place when you are visiting Batam.

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OBSERVING BATAM FROM THE TOWER OF THE MOSQUE

26th JANUARY 2020 ~ At Sultan Mahmud Riayat Syah Mosque in Batam, people could go up to the building tower with a small sum of money (I could not remember the exact price). There was a viewing deck up there, similar to what you could find in other touristy towers like the KL Tower or Tokyo Sky Tree. I think that was a brilliant idea as this could generate some income for the mosque.

At one spot of the viewing deck, you could even the skyscrapers on Singapore Island.

Make sure you go up the tower when you visit this mosque when you are in Batam.

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VISITING SULTAN MAHMUD RIAYAT SYAH MOSQUE IN BATAM

26th JANUARY 2020 ~ The latest addition of places to see when in Batam is the brand new Sultan Mahmud Riayat Syah Mosque. We were told by our guide that this mosque is the biggest in the Sumatera area.

The mosque looked very majestic and could be seen from afar. There were busloads of people visiting the holy building when we arrived.

The construction of the mosque started in 2017 and was opened for its first Friday prayer on 12th September 2019. The building could accommodate a congregation of about 24 000 people. The whole project bore the cost of IDR 260 852 456.

At the back part of the mosque, there were eight gigantic umbrellas that could be the canopy to 8100 people sitting under them in the open area.

If you are wondering who Sultan Mahmud Riayat Syah was, he was the eighth and the last in line of the Melaka sultanate and the Sultan of Johor-Riau-Lingga from 1761-1812. He led the fight against the Dutch in Tanjung Pinang during his reign.

I was truly impressed with the new and modern mosque. I really hope the authority will carry out good maintenance work from time to time.

[MY BATAM TRIP MAIN PAGE]