All About Your Child

Massage was the main reason why we decided to come back to Batam. The other reason was the delicious Kueh Lapis from Batam Layer Cakes factory. I have tried different Kueh Lapis in the past before, but nothing comes close to Batam Layer Cakes factory’s Kueh Lapis.

Please do not get confused with another company called Layers Batam. They are two different companies. I have recommended Batam Layer Cakes to one friend of mine after I came back from my previous Batam trip and she mistook it for Layers Batam.

My boys Finished EVERY Sample there was on the plate! *faint*

I have not seen Batam Layer Cakes selling anywhere else, except at their factory itself. This time, without any tour guide, we LEAD the taxi driver to Batam Layer Cakes. Yes, even the taxi driver did not know it exists! *giggle*

It is so near to the famous 933 Golden Prawn seafood restaurant, just that the factory is blocked by some trees. In fact, its just about a minute walk from the restaurant to the Batam Layer Cakes factory. Anyway, since we know where was the place, we guided the taxi driver to stop right infront of the factory and wait for us while we order the Kueh Lapis.

After the order was confirmed, I gave the sales staff my apartment address and room number and she agreed to deliver to us tomorrow before we leave Batam.

The taxi driver had agreed to fetch us to the Batam Layer Cakes, wait there for us, then bring us to Nagoya Hill for 100,000 rupiah. So he had no issue waiting for us.

However……. we discovered SOMETHING that amazed all of us, which we did not see in my previous trip there!!!! That ‘something’ was blocked by our BIG tour bus when we went there last year.

Now that there was no one else except us and there was nothing to block the view, we saw the mini-open zoo!!!! No admission fee or whatsoever! We just walked straight there and I apologetically asked the taxi driver to wait a little longer while we explore that mini-open zoo!

He was so cute! With his gigantic smile and simple English he said as he chuckled a little, “ok, go go. I wait. I wait.” Maybe our shouts of excitement when we saw the monkeys amused him. *laugh* We are so easily excitable!

Isn’t it amazing!?! Though it was smelly but there was no complains from my animal-lover-kids and we stood as near (with safety distance) as we can to have the best view of them.

Did I ever mention that I love the smell of zoo? It reminds me of the happy times in my childhood days. Brings back great memories and comfort, because I used to feed animals at a super mini-zoo in a church next to my auntie’s  house, who took care of me till I was 5. *smile*

After a good look at the amazing animals, we hopped back into the taxi and zoomed to Nagoya for more fun.

LUNCH AT MELTING POT:

We needed to have a bite before we go for the movies. Melting Pot looks good on the menu and so we placed our bet on it.

Keatkeat finished the other sausage before I could snapped this picture. *laugh*

Food was ok, but not a place I would go for a second visit again because of the slow service.

THE MOVIES:

We had been going Johor Bahru, Malaysia for movies, simply because its more affordable for us for such entertainment. But the cinema at Batam, or Nagoya Hill for the matter, broke new low for movie ticket price! It costs only SGD$2.74 per ticket!!! *jaws dropped*

We wanted to watch two movies that day: “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Madagascar 3”. But Binbin kept complaining that his eyes were tired and painful after our first movie, so we did not go for Madagascar 3. Thank goodness we had not bought the tickets yet. Then again, Keatkeat and I wanted to watch Madagascar 3 so much…. what a waste! *pout*

RARE SIGHT: Kids get to see how the movie posters are changed in the lightbox.

MORE PLAY:

We wanted to let the boys played in this yesterday, but forgot about the socks, because we wore flip-flops to Batam this year and we did not want to purchase socks from them. So today, we came back prepared with socks!

The kids went straight in after changing out of their flip-flops and into socks.

20,000 rupiah for 1 hour play! So worthed it! But my boys are a little too old for this already, so after 30mins, they started to feel bored and they chose to exit.

MORE MASSAGE:

We chose a different place for massage again. We like to explore new places for the same activity, that is our family’s habit. It was on the top level of Nagoya Hill shopping mall. 90 minutes for 80,000 rupiah.

It was a pity that the room could not accommodate all 4 of us, like what we had yesterday.

So Keatkeat was with Allan in one room, while Binbin and I had a relaxing quiet time together in another. Well, when you are with Keatkeat for a full body massage session, it is impossible not to hear his giggles and hear his body moving around on the mattress. *laugh*

HONEY CAKE:

This year, we decided not to go back to the previous “Honey Cake Seller“, we decided to try the Honey Cake from a small booth in Nagoya Hill, just in front of Sarpino Pizza. I was crossing my fingers that it would taste as good as the previous because it was half the price.

The main reason why I chose not to go back to the previous Honey Cake Seller was the cost of the delicious honey cake. Though it was so yummilicious, I still think that it was too pricey for the size they sell.

We ordered from this small stall and the boss promised to deliver to us before we check out on Wednesday 13th June 2012, that is tomorrow.

DINNER:

MyoMyo! A really cute name for a restaurant, I think. *giggle* I was hoping that the food tastes as pleasant as its restaurant’s name. And to me, it did!

Kids were given a mini box of crayons and a colouring book to keep them occupied while they wait for their food to arrive.

They get to keep the book and the mini crayons too

Definitely a place I would return to, if we EVER go back to Batam again….which we think is quite unlikely. Going back to the same place over and over again for an overseas holiday trip is just not our style.

It was our last night at the apartment and Allan spent it infront of the TV watching Euro 2012, while the boys played their soccer match in their dreams. *giggle*

Last write up on our 2nd Batam Trip in the next post……

2nd Batam Trip during the School Holidays : Day 2 of 3

Yesterday’s post was on the mundane stuff : Ferry and Accomodation. Today let’s get on to the fun we had on the first day there!

We were not interested in Mega Mall nor BCS Mall anymore, since we had been there on our 1st Batam trip. This time our focus is solely on Nygoya Hill!

Nygoya Hill Level 1 ~ Shop Shop Shop

The place is bigger and more exciting compared to the previous two malls! You can find a supermart at level one. Level one is basically shopping and there is even a section that reminds me of Sim Lim Square with all the electronics stuff.

Nygoya Hill Level 2 ~ Eat Eat Eat

Nygoya Hill Highest Level ~ Play Play Play

There is ONE Arcade at Level one…..

My playful ‘BIG BOY’ started picking games to play too! *laugh*

and TWO Arcades at Level two!

After shopping at the Hypermart at level 1, the kids were hungry. We totally could not resists going to A&W!!!

The boys loved Sand Art after they tried it for the very first time at my friend’s Toys Rental office on last Saturday 9th June (will blog about that happy event soon).

Thus when they saw Sand Art was available on the highest level of Nagoya Hill, they were drawn to it like a nail to a magnet!!! *giggle*

FIRST TIME DOING FISH SPA!!!!

Fish spa is available at level one. Not a shop but a promotional space in the middle of the atrium in front of the Hypermart.

I have heard that fish spa is ticklish and all 4 of us are afraid of being tickled, yet, the price is so affordable that we think its a Great Opportunity for us to try. Worse scenario would be we gave up before the 20 minutes ended. *bleh*

OMG!!!
It was hilarious!!!

The first dip:
Binbin LAUGHED SO LOUDLY!
Keatkeat GIGGLED SO LOUDLY!
Allan CHUCKLED NON STOP!
I HAD TO SLAP my face with two hands to keep my mouth shut!!!

After about a minute or two….

Binbin stood up because he could not stand the tickles under his feet anymore but was ok with the nibbling from the tiny fishes on the top of his feet and calf.

Allan was doing REALLY WELL!!!
Calmed down totally and started snapping photos of his feet and us.

Allan’s feet must have been full of dead skin! So much so that majority of the fishes went to his feet and only very few left swimming around Binbin’s feet. (They were in the same tank)

Allan’s hairy legs. *giggle*

Binbin’s ‘fishless’ legs

I learned from Binbin and started to put my feet down onto the tiny pebbles so that the fishes could not get to the sole of my feet. Only then could I truly calm down….

As for my drama king Keatkeat, Hhhhmmm…. it was money down the drain. He refused to put his feet down at all. After much persuasion, he agreed to put his feet down, but he kept moving his feet in the water, and NO FISH could have a PROPER Nibble on his feet. *eyes rolled*

Watch drama king in action here:
So don’t be fooled by the video. Though his feet are in, but they are constantly in action, so none of the fishes were on his feet at all. Only a couple on his calf.
(Allan did not know that he needs to hold his phone horizontally for filming. So the video is compressed. Well, cannot blame him, he was with his very first Samsung phone for 4 days only. )

While the kids were at A&W earlier, Allan spotted a big ‘Massage’ signage just opposite the road diagonally facing the restaurant and went off to check the price while the kids ate.

We agreed that THAT would be our last stop for the day! Thanks to the awesome rates!

This is the first time I had a full body massage ON A BED. It was small and made of wood. When the masseuse was with me on the bed at the same time for certain moments during the massage, I fear that the bed would break!!! ‘Cos it creaked so loudly with every move she made! *laugh*

Full Body Massage 1hour and 15min (but only lasted for 1 hour), total bill for four of us was 280,000. One person cost SGD$9.59 only!!! Soooooooo affordable! It was THIS reason that made us want to come back to Batam for the second time! *Super Duper Grin*

After a great massage, we went back to Nagoya Hill to ‘ta-bao’ (take-away) our dinner. While we were ordering our pizza at the entrance of Sarpino Pizza restaurant, their neighbour, Pizza Hut crews were twisting balloons for my boys!

I felt so uneasy because we did not order from them. Then again, we are in a different country and different culture, so maybe its normal for them to do such things, even to non-customers. *shrugged*

Some reviews on Nagoya Hills said that its a bore, I don’t know why. *shrugged* We totally enjoyed our time there! Same place, different people, different views. You must experience it yourself before you know if you like the place. *wink*

We loved it so much, we went back again the next day and spent the whole day there! Find out what we did in the next post. *wink*

2nd Batam Trip during the School Holidays