HAVING LUNCH BEFORE LEAVING BATAM

18th MAY 2024 ~ The last spot we went to in Batam was The Grand Batam Mall. This should be the latest attraction in Batam and the mall was bigger than Nagoya Hill.

The main reason we were here was to get lunch before going back, and someone still wanted to get something from Miniso which could only be found in an Indonesian outlet.

We went to this restaurant called The Ayam Kosek, which was actually recommended by the staff at the information counter of the mall. I had rice with grilled duck this time, eating like an Indonesian.

We didn't have enough time to explore the grand mall but Puan Suhaila managed to grab a piece of layer cake to bring home. That should conclude our 2D1N trip Batam Island this and I tremendously enjoyed myself. Thank you Mr. Ridwan Wahid, a friend of TESL UPM Class of 1993, for asking me to join and his family for the short excursion abroad. Hopefully we could explore other Indonesian islands which could be accessed from Johor Bahru some other time in the future.

FEEDING THE DUCKS AT HOKOWHITU LAGOON

After the Caccia Birch House, we then walked to a lagoon which was actually just opposite called Hokowhitu Lagoon. I bet there would be more people and other activities in the evening, or during weekends or public holidays but that morning, I saw more ducks than human beings around.

Having said that, one of the recreational activities done by the residents here, or perhaps the visitor, could be duck-feeding. This was the first time in my life I fed the animals with pieces of fresh bread and the experience was of mixed feelings of joy and the fear of the ducks pecking on my feet. However, the ducks and a few small birds were disciplined enough not to harm the kind soul providing easy food for them.

the pied piper of Hamelin busy at work

The duck-feeding was not only done on land but I went to feed more ducks on the water. There were actually distinct species of ducks living in this area, and there were also black swans with their ducklings floating on the lagoon. This was like an easy charity work and I must say I had had a lot of fun here and this could be therapeutic in a way.

Massey University campus was also located there so that should count as my official academic visit to the first university in New Zealand.

Here are the videos of the duck-feeding sessions. Please focus on the ducks rather than the actor. Thank you.