Thursday 31 March 2011

Batam II Day 1: Baby J's 1st Overseas Trip

During our previous trip to Batam, we were given free room stays at Harris during the off-peak period to be used by the end of April. Hence, together with our friends K & J, we decided to make a trip back to Batam again. This time I decided to bring baby along for 3 main reasons: 1) We've been there before so we know what to expect, 2) I wanted to see how baby adapts to being away from home so we can prepare for our trip to Shenzhen & Hongkong in May, and 3) To enjoy our 1st vacation together as a family.

However, the night before our departure, baby J developed a fever unexpectedly. I can't believe the horrendous timing! She has never gotten a non-injection fever before and the first time she got it, it is one night before our big trip. You seriously can't be luckier than that.

As I was so looking forward to spending time with her and she was feeling better in the morning after two doses of paracetamol, we decided to still bring her along after all.

Mother-daughter matching dresses

I have finally found an occasion for us to wear the matching dresses I bought for us when we went to Phuket last year. After our breakfast at McDonald's at Harborfront Centre, baby started to become more irritable as her temperature started to rise again. Thankfully she managed to get some sleep on the ferry (we went with Batam Fast) and took well to it.

On the ferry ride to Batam

She looked real unhappy in the bottom right picture cos she was terrified of the motor and waves that it caused. Other than that, it was relatively ok. For me not so much. I got tons of mosquito bites on my feet and arms while Baby J was protected from it due to the amount of anti-mozzie solution I applied on every part of her body. Don't know why the hubby didn't get any which was really unfair. I have this theory that people with B+ blood have nicer tasting blood which attracts mozzies to us. Seriously, when I get bitten, I really get bitten! I left the ferry with at least 12 mosquito bites all over my body.. *sigh*

We took a shuttle bus to Harris and baby kept crying as she was starting to get feverish again. I got flustered and accidentally bumped her head on the ceiling of the small mini-bus as we were disembarking from it, which made her cry even more. This was turning out to be a horrible start to our vacation.

The Harris drinks bar with exhorbitant can drinks

To make matters worst, we had to pay a freaking S$5 for a can of Coke Zero from the Harris Bar as I was thirsty and it was the nearest to us at that moment. Definitely killed my mood. Baby was also extremely cranky, hot and demanded to be carried everywhere (refusing to be put down for even a second). It was extremely frustrating and I started to question my decision to bring her.

After getting baby to take another dose of paracetamol (and lots of wiping her body with cold water), she felt better so we headed down to the Harris Cafe to redeem the 2 free main courses that K & J won at the lucky draw of our last trip.

Our free dinner from the Harris Cafe

The hubby and I ate salmon while K & J ate lamb. It was really nice! However, as it wasn't enough to fill our tummies and we were craving for seafood, we decided to continue our dinner at the nearest seafood place. According to the hotel staff, the nearest restaurant is Delimar Restaurant, about 5 minutes away. We paid S$6 (you can choose to pay in Singapore Dollars or Rupiah) to take a cab there. FYI, you often have to negotiate with cab drivers in Batam and agree on a price before you set off.

Seafood at Delimar Restaurant at the Waterfront

The meal was rather expensive and left much to be desired. The large crab was tiny! Seafood lovers J and the hubby were extremely disappointed. And the meal of only five dishes plus drinks costs S$51. Definitely not value for money. Hopefully the seafood at Golden Prawn (which is very famous in Batam) would not disappoint us.

We went back to our hotel rooms and played many rounds of Settlers of Catan while baby slept very soundly (amazingly, my baby prefers to sleep with noise and will wake if the room is too quiet). After an exhausting day battling the fever with her, she finally awoke at 1am feeling refreshed and happy. So much so she was able to play with her daddy:


As you can see, as much as she is trying very hard to crawl to daddy, her efforts haven't been entirely successful. We blame the fat butt *laughs*

I can finally heave a sigh of relief that the worst was over and pray that tomorrow would be better!


Continue to >> Batam II Day 2: Swimming, Shopping & Seafood

P.SFor the rest of my Batam posts and other travel itineraries, please visit my travel page! =)
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