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The Glossary
Pulau Batam Travel Guide
Once a dense forest, Pulau Batam is now an industrial jungle of mushrooming electronics factories, shipbuilding industries and oil service centers. This island-city is Indonesia's version of the Chinese SEZ (Special Economic Zones) and the country's "Guinea pig" in testing new economic ideas and policies. Nevertheless, while Pulau Batam's "coat-and-tie" atmosphere might give the impression that expats go here for "business, as usual," Batam is actually a place for "business with pleasure."
Numerous golf courses, casinos, upscale hotels and water parks cater to the business class, but backpackers, adventurers and economy-hunters need not whimper as the island also has a ski park, sports arenas, historical sites, pubs, and a vast array of cheap beachfront resorts that might just provide a good excuse to break the journey.
Although it is just a speck of an island in the Riau Islands Province, Batam is home to a million people whose official language is Indonesian that is closer to the Malaysian tongue than to Bahasa. Chinese culture, and in turn, Chinese cuisine, figure prominently in the island given its growing Chinese population and its closeness to Singapore, whose manufacturing companies have fallen for Batam's cheap labor and tax-free incentives.
Batam's Hang Nadim Airport has the longest runway in Indonesia, and it is where tourists can get cheap air tickets to Jakarta and other Indonesian attractions. Houseboats and motorized ferries are also lined up on the island's harbor, providing good service to destinations such as Bintan, Sumatra, and Singapore, which is only an hour away.
The Barelang bridges are a major landmark in Batam. These bridges are cyclists' favorite routes as they are connected to the city's many attractions such as the stilt coastal resorts of Rempang Island; the holiday beach resorts of Nongsa and Melur, and the former Vietnamese refugee camps of Galang and Barelang Islands. West of the island is Waterfront City, where families and adventurers enjoy various extreme water sports, and also pond fishing, kart racing, and football. There is also a cable ski park and a flying fox for added adrenaline rush.
The grand mosque of Mesjid Raya and the Buddhist temple, Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya, are good places for hibernation. Much of Batam's accommodation facilities are in Nagoya while plenty of delicious food items, from seafood to authentic Chinese and Balinese dishes, are in the outdoor food courts of Windsor, Nagoya, and A1 Pujasera.
Pulau Batam Landmarks:
- Airports (1)
- Amusement Park (1)
- Mosques (1)
- Temples (1)
User blogs:
An Aerial fiesta in Clark Pampanga
Its a party in the sky as multi colored hot air balloons piloted ny different pilots from various partso of the world participated in this annual gathering. As early as 5am, the 2,500 hectare aviation complex at Clar Economic Zone in Pampanga was already crammedi with excitement. Clusters of hot air balloon participants busily prepare their own balloons for liftoff as they need to take advantage of ... Read full Blog post
Loving Laos
Laos seems like a long shot to become Southeast Asia’s next big thing. The food doesn’t win any prizes, the roads are severely potholed by frequent flooding and locals regard the prospect of increased tourism with a sunny indifference that exceeds even Mediterranean proportions. Laos is the least developed and most enigmatic of the three former French Indochinese states ... Read full Blog post
Bohol and Cebu.. sweeter the second time
As soon as I found out that my twin brother Dennis is coming for a vacation, I was very excited and so happy that after 15 years of being away from him, I’d be spending time with one of the most important person of my life. The one I grew up with… and not only that, I get to meet the love of his life, Steph. Eventhough Cebu and Bohol will bring me back memories of the good times and bad ... Read full Blog post
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