A brief FR on my trip to Batam last weekend.
Arrived at Harbour Bay on Friday evening and was impressed at the new facilities as well as the lack of high-pressure touting by taxi drivers compared to Sekupang or Batam Centre. The cabbies who wait directly in front of the exit won't settle for less than Rp. 30,000.- for a 10 min. trip to Jodoh/Nagoya.
Had booked Hotel Utama based on a recommendation by Bro DexDJ and was very pleased. Those of you who are familiar with Balai - its comparable to Hotel Maxi in terms of quality, although Utama has the added facility of a Gym/Fitness Centre which I did not get a chance to check out. Front desk staff is mostly Indo Chinese girls and are quite chio, although I didnt have the desire or patience to sian them. When I called earlier in the week they didnt have a standard room over the weekend so I negotiated a deluxe room at 10% discount for Rp. 277,200.- nett per night including breakfast each morning.
Location-wise you need a taxi or ojek to get to most places of interest. Its walking distance only to DC Mall, which is one of the newer malls in Batam. The mall has one or two money changers on the ground level.
Went to Pacific (cab Rp. 20,000.- for trips within Jodoh/Nagoya area is usual rate, although locals probably pay 10-15,000.-) and it was packed with many people milling about outside. Realized that the FLs mostly operate on the periphery - they stand along the 2 bars on either side of the main hall and at the back, although I think I spotted one or two trannies at the back! You definitely have to make your rounds to see who's available. The place is loud, smoky and dark so if you spot someone you like you have to move closer.
It wasnt long before I spotted my target for the night. A chio SYT who was being approached left right and centre by guys but didnt seem to catch (mistake no. 1 - you'll know why later). Mistake no. 2 was that we did not negotiate any rate at this point. Reni is from Jakarta and works at a factory in Batam for peanuts and only works when she 'needs money'. We walked out of there hand-in-hand at about 1:30 am and well... you guessed it - she turned out to be a boring lay. No BJ, showed little emotion while horizontal and stereo sound was on mute. sigh... kicked her out at about 9:00 am as I was expecting my regular girl. Stuffed Rp. 250,000.- in her pocket and some loose notes for a taxi. She went into the bathroom to freshen up and stormed out shortly demanding Rp. 500,000.- !! OK OK I was an idiot but I gave her what she wanted in order to get rid of her. My regular girl was arriving in an hour and I didnt want any trouble.
Anyway, sometimes I take the chance and don't negotiate any rate with a FL because when I have done so in the past I was pleasantly surprised (sometimes they say 'up to you' in the morning but the jackpot is when you score an FOC!). Guess it didnt work this time!
No details about the second night as I was with my regular girl.