[nono1973]

Originally Posted by Ojekbtm

Can post pics of breakfast spread and dining area and surroundings at Biz ?

Sorry,bro..i saw your post too late and didnt able to take the photo as request. Breakfast spread similar to Formosa. Among Biz ,Da Vienna and Formosa...Da Vienna has the best range on Breakfast.

Very sorry.

Originally Posted by Ojekbtm

Just curious, why you did not stay in your usual hotel room this trip ?

Becos i wish to try other hotels and dwell in it to realize its potential in case one day my usual hotel room is no more. Its always good to have alternatives (back up plans) so i wont be bound by one single thing/place/girl. I dont like to be held ransom.

Personal choice.

Originally Posted by Ojekbtm

Is Biz hotel more centrally located ?

Wherever hotels one stays in,it really depends on what one is looking for. Biz hotel is only about 8 mins walk to Formosa Hotel. If i wish to focus on Citywalk shopping and food,i stay in Biz. If i am a New Berry/Gold Bird/NED fan who wish to get a fairly good and cheap hotel,i stay in Hana hotel. If i am a special service massage fan,i stay around Utama Hotel area. If i am a cheap and good food fan,Gideon,BCC and maybe even iHotel Baloi can be a good choice. It really depends on what one is looking for in Batam. Traveling from point A to point B in Batam's Nagoya-Penuin-Jodoh area isnt expensive via ojek/taxi and not time consuming (5 mins distance). Unless you traveled more than 10 "point A to point B" in a day,then booking a taxi for whole day is more value for money.

So it ultimately depends on what is around the area where one stays in. Formosa is still the MOST centralized hotel among Nagoya Hill area. If a 1st time Batam visitor who reads my guide and shares that he stay not-in-Formosa,then in my perspective,he isnt exactly a 1st timer. If he stays around Gideon/iHotel or penuin area,then a bulk of his priority should be more on food and not girl/s.

Originally Posted by Ojekbtm

Question to ponder : IF taxi only get 100k comm, doesn't it make sense to get this unreliable driver to bring you around ALL the joints ?

Taxi dont take just 100k comm,bro. Taxi drivers collect commission from anything under the sun (food,massage,booking joint etc). It depends on the booking joint that offers the commission. This is the same question i ponder 2 years ago. Taxi driver can collect as low as 50k rupiah and as high as 150k rupiah (and higher) from some booking joint. They are definitely not poor people.

Originally Posted by Ojekbtm

Think about it ... What for you save this 100k and start sweating and getting exhausted with all the walking around ? + time factor ... I guess you will be surprised on taxi comm...

Over the 2 years I have answered this question many times. If one dont bargain at all,whether he takes taxi or not,there is NO difference. Then again whether the price will come down or not depends on the joint a person visit as well as his bargaining skill and depending on the part/s of the week/day one goes Batam. The right timing and the right joint gives me a bigger access to the real quantity and quality of the stocks on that particular day and a better price.

And if its going for a massage,it doesnt make sense to me to walk and sweat all the way to the desired massage places,have a good massage (and good time),shower myself clean and then have to walk all the way back to hotel, sweating myself all over again.

Originally Posted by PigletDiDi

if u alone with driver i 100% agree u can save time and energy.

I take ojek or walk when i am alone in Batam,works the same way as taking taxi. But if there are 2 or more friends with me,no point taking ojek as it will eventually cost more than taxi fare.

Originally Posted by PigletDiDi

BUT in group 3~4 he earning more commission, i prefer to let him earn a lesson .Not big group u can carrot more, sometimes there are overboard demanding taxi fare when we taking more time or going too many joints .

I have always said this,big group equates to big fish. Big fish equates better bargaining power almost for anything and everywhere in Batam. A big group of newbies who dont bargain equates to a group of "walking carrots". Around them will definitely be predators (ironically,it can be a danger too). Therefore tourist guide/s in Batam often brings big group of tourists to Batam ready to be...chopped,hehehe...and for my group trips,if i have bigger groups (which nowaday i try not to have),i divide them into 2 or 3 now so that they wont become a single target.

Whether taxi drivers earns commission doesnt really affect me much nowaday,becos most importantly,i get a good price for girls and for taxi. After being in Batam for 2 year plus,i am kind of sure i know what is a normal price,what is an overly marked up price and what is a discounted price. And if taxi driver can still earn a commission from a discount i eventually got,why fuss over that? Its a win-win situation. Of course,there will be loser,which i suppose is the OKT. But did they really lose? I doubt...they just earning lesser and taxi driver may perhaps have a lesser than their normal commission plus i get a discounted bargained price. No one really lose.

Originally Posted by PigletDiDi

No matter how well u nego with the driver eventually u will still lose out .Impossible for u not giving the extra taxi fare and arguing at the roadside.

I manage to resolve this problem by knowing a few taxi drivers ,create a situation to have them compete against one another. Best man wins. They can still monopolize by "acting" in my pressence,i can always change them and i make sure they know that. No need to argue till it spoil one's mood as bargaining should not take more than 3 mins.

In a single day,I visited over 6 different pharmancys,2 different computer IT shops,3 different dried food shops and 2 different provision shops. Thats not counting in booking joints,shopping malls,breakfast,lunch and dinner. W/o a taxi,i wont be able to make it all happen in one day. But to be honest,the taxi driver was a bit black faced,hehehe...i pay 300k/day (not easy huh?).

In one of my much earlier summary,i did not use a single taxi or ojek. I walked from Harbour Bay to Kaha,and then to Formosa Hotel. I walked to some booking joints,booked my girls. Walk to massage shops at Utama area,have a massage and walk back.I tried Ojek-only trip as well as walking only trip a few times to have a better understanding. I soon realize i am not from Krypton (superman's home planet),hehehe...so i simply pick a better way of moving around batam which suits me most.