My Trip to Riau
Batam & Bintan
Back to 2018, more precisely in June 2018 during semester breaks. My family and I decided to go on vacation to Riau for the first time. There was no special reason why we chose Riau for our vacation at that time, it was only just because my father has been to Batam for several times due to his work, so he’s the person behind our trip. You might be thinking what Riau looks like, what can we do in Riau or what kind of tourist attractions in Riau, because I think we all agree that Batam or Riau is rarely chosen to be a tourist destination in Indonesia. But surprisingly, this “neighbor” city of Singapore has a lot of tourist attractions that you should know, one of which is Pulau Bintan that I will be discussed later on. So, let’s check it out!
The Icon of
"Welcome to Batam"
What comes to your mind after seeing the picture? Looks like the famous icon of “Hollywood” sign? Yup! We surprisingly have another version of it in Indonesia, which is the icon of Kota Batam. The sign of “Welcome to Batam” can be seen on a hill called “Bukit Clara” which was overlooking to the Batam Centre Point International Ferry Terminal.
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The icon of “Welcome to Batam” is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Batam. You can freely take a selfie or photo with the sign of “Welcome to Batam” as the background, because surely the icon of “Welcome to Batam” is very suitable to be a photo spot. So, if you are kind of person who likes taking photos in a unique spot, you certainly shouldn’t miss this one!
Jembatan Barelang
​Well, if the previous one was similar to a Hollywood icon, this one definitely reminds us of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This tourist spot is no less interesting than the icon of “Welcome to Batam”. Because basically the Barelang Bridge is a bridge that is also used as a highway, no wonder that this tourist attraction is very crowded which is also supported by the many passing vehicles. This bridge is located about 20 km from the center of Batam. Another unique fact of this bridge is, the name is taken from the abbreviations (BAtam, REmpang and gaLANG) which connects the islands namely Pulau Batam, Pulau Tonton, Pulau Nipah, Pulau Rempang, Pulang Galang and Pulau Galang Baru in the Batam area. You can visit this tourist attraction, both in the morning or evening, so you can capture clearly the moment of sunrise and sunset from there. Wow, what a nice view!
Sea Food Golden Fish Restaurant Barelang
Calling out all the seafood lovers! next tourist attractions is a seafood restaurant located in the Barelang area called “Sea Food Golden Fish Restaurant Barelang”. My family and I visited this restaurant after visiting Jembatan Barelang.
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Basically, the “unique” point of this restaurant is because it was located between the shore and the middle of the sea (depending on the spot you choose). Coincidentally, my family chose the "saung apung" table spot which was located in the middle of the sea (as can be seen in the photo) so that we can feel the atmosphere better. Although is kinda challenging for me personally since we eat on “above” the sea, so we often feel small waves right under our table, but you don’t have to worry because it’s safe. This restaurant concept is very suitable for you who likes to get relax while enjoying the breeze. I also recommend to go here in daylight, because the view in the night would not be as good as in daylight (barely seen and maybe a bit creepy hehe) – and of course it would be another great if you come at sunset! So, are you interested to come here?
Nagoya Hill
On the previous discussions, I’ve only mentioned the “outdoor” version, what about the “indoor” tourist attractions in Batam, like a shopping center? Do they have it? Of course, they have it!
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The next tourist attraction is a shopping center called “Nagoya Hill”. For those of you who addicted to shop, you will definitely feel less satisfied if you didn’t visit a shopping center in the city of place you are visiting. In Batam itself, Nagoya Hill is the perfect choices.
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Nagoya Hill is known as a shopping center that is sold everything in a low price, due to its position in a strategic area of international trade. Nagoya Hill is very suitable to be visited with family (like I used to before) because the concept carries the theme of "one shops travel shopping" so it is very suitable for souvenirs shopping. Another fun fact of Nagoya Hill was that, it is not only visited by Indonesians but also foreign tourist from Singapore and Malaysia. Go save your money to shop at Nagoya Hill!
​So, before moving on to the next tourist attractions. I just want to mention that the next tourist attractions that I will discuss is now focusing on Pulau Bintan or Bintan Island that also located in Riau (so we no longer discussed about Batam). And now, let’s continued the blog!
My family and I were advised by our freelance driver to visit Bintan Island which is not far from Batam. According to him, we’ll really waste an opportunity if we didn’t visit Pulau Bintan because the view there is very beautiful and it is one of the private islands in Indonesia. Therefore, my family and I agreed to visit Pulau Bintan. We only need a ferry as accommodation to get there. The trip from Batam to Pulau Bintan takes about 1-1.5 hours. And here are the two destinations that I went to in Pulau Bintan!
LAGOI BEACH
​Lagoi Beach was the first destination that we visited in Bintan. Three things that comes in my mind when I first saw this beach -- clean, beautiful and private -- was even very private. I even remember that it was only my family who visited the beach at that day. Sometimes I wonder why this Lagoi Beach is very private because I think it should be more appreciate as much as the beauty of this beach. Even though it looks like a beach in general but I think this Lagoi Beach has its own “vibes” that makes it special. In addition, not far from this beach, there are a few restaurants or café that you can visit after visiting the beach. I really hope there will be more visitors of Lagoi Beach in the future.
TREASURE BAY BINTAN
Next, is the most interesting tourist attractions of this blog -- the one and only, Treasure Bay Bintan!
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Just like the name, Treasure Bay Bintan was definitely a “treasure” and paradise in a form of swimming pool. The concept of this swimming pool looks like a beach and it’s kinda giving me a vibe of Bali actually. In case you’ve never heard about it before, but the Treasure Bay Bintan is the largest swimming pool in South Asia due its 6.8 hectares areas, amazing right?
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The price range is between Rp. 184.000 – Rp. 1.050.000 depends on what kind of bundle you choose and it also can be change at any time. But trust me, the view and the atmosphere of this swimming pool will pay off the ticket price. So, interested to try a new concept of this kinda beachy swimming pool?
So, that’s all regarding the tourist attractions that I’ve ever visited in Riau, more precisely in Batam and Pulau Bintan. Do you have any favorite based on the list above?
I don’t know what kind of holiday bucket list that you’ve already planned, but I just want to say that you should add Riau to your list, especially for Indonesians. I think it’s a right time for us to explore more about Indonesia because we surely have a lot of tourist attractions in here and we should appreciate the wonderful of our country. Thank you so much for reading my today’s blog and see you in my another travel blog!