I arrived in Batam an island in Indonesia, it’s governed by the Sumatra province. There isn’t much to do on the island, a lot of resorts for people fleeing Singapore for better deals. To get across from Singapore, I took the ferry, it took around 1 hour. Right when I arrived I felt the big difference between Singapore and Indonesia. But I thought it might be just because this is a little resort town. I planned to stay one night and head to the island of Sumatra, but I missed the only ferry that leaves from Batam to Sumatra early in the morning. I took the local bus to go to the mall because that’s the only thing I could do. It’s funny how the public bus works, the driver had to stop on almost every stop and then a supervisor will come up and sign his schedule. I think it’s only to verify that he arrived on time. The bus cost around 25 cent, and on the way back I took a taxi which costs around $5. Of course once you’re here you have to bargain for everything, and sometimes I felt it’s not worth the bargaining, it’s better to let the local have it especially when you see that they need it more.
