KARAOKE AND MASSAGE PLACES
The vast majority of the available girls are located at the massage parlors which may have the word karaoke as part of its name.
Most karaoke joints in Riau are fronts for prostitution. Some even have “fish tanks” in the room. There is ongoing pressure from reform groups to shut these establishments down. Opposing this, is the money from the business. As an example, a typical establishment charges Rp250,000 for a “booking”, of which the girl keeps half. Most girls can save about Rp 1 million per month.
Disadvantages are: girls always sitting and their sitting in a group. One cannot easily gauge a sitting girl’s height, body shape, coordination, and both front and side views. Also, one cannot communicate with a girl sitting in a group to gauge her reaction to oneself. On the other hand, one can pick a girl and she will not refuse to go.
Massage Parlors Explained: The massage parlors, not to be confused with real massage places, can be grouped into two types. The ones with the word karaoke or pub in their names have an area where one can hang out, drink a beer, play pool, sing karaoke, and eye the girls. The other type did not have such an area. The massage parlors seemed to open from about 11 am to 5 pm, no girls on display from 5 pm to 7 pm, and normal business from 7 pm to 11 pm or later. Exceptions to these hours included Dynasty 99’s opening at 1 pm and Hawaii’s and Horison’s opening at 2 pm. On Saturdays, one needs to visit the massage parlors in the early afternoon for a larger selection. Other posters have warned of this weekend scarcity due to weekenders from Singapore. A massage parlor that has over 50 girls will have less than ten girls available on Saturday night. My favorite massage parlor for hanging out in the evening was Rio Rita.
Crown’s: The clients that go here are mostly Malays. Most of their girls like Dangdut (Malay music) and they will usually request that you bring them to the Legend Discotheque for the night-out. Most of the girls here are not as dainty as those from the other clubs, but occasionally you may get a really friendly one that treats you like a boyfriend if you’re lucky enough. Price of girls at Rp250,000.
Memory: One of the older clubs around town. Sometimes you can find a couple of nice ones here. Mommies are quite friendly, but don’t be fooled by their friendliness. They are only friendly because of your dough. No booking and no dough, they wouldn’t even give a hiss about you. Girl charges at Rp270,000.
Sensasi: Has a very small, but nice interior. Sometimes, they have really nice looking girls. Last known price for booking of girls was Rp280,000.
Rio & Rita: Usually has a lot of young Indonesian girls. Prices are 300,000 per booking.
Maxim
Dynasty 99: (opposite the Mati Hari food centre.)
Horizon Karaoke Bar: A clean rather up-scale place with a very friendly English-speaking Mamasan. Bets time to go is during the week. There will be about 30 girls present. They range in age from about 18 to 24.
The price is about 280,000 rupiah all night ($38US) or 150,000 rp short time ($21US). This is pretty much the standard price around town.
MASSAGE PARLORS
Queen 8933: Lots and lots of girls there in a fish tank style. 100 girls on display. Cost is Rp100k short time or Rp270k for a booking. Cold beers are only Rp10,000 per can.
Report: A friend tells us he negotiated a price of 150,000 rp for short time. He we went up stairs and the place was clean and reasonably private. The massage cubicles were open at the top so you could hear some of the noise on the floor, especially if someone was particularly vocal. After she scrubbed him down in a shower, he received a good massage, an excellent, but short, BBBJ, and enthusiastic full service. He tipped her 40,000 ($5.50US) and they both went smiling back down to the fishbowl area.
Nagoya Plaza Hotel: If you want a true Indonesian Traditional Massage, 1st Floor, 60,000 rupiah/hr. Nothing special unless you get easily turned on by old ladies.
Ginza Massage: Located at the Harmoni Hotel (ex New Holiday Hotel)
A good clean facility which has a Sauna, a cool pool, Jacuzzi pool, TV room and clean massage rooms. Cost 66,000 rupiah/45 mins. massage.
Foot reflexology for additional 44,000 and you may use the facilities all day FOC. Hanky-Panky girls and dick massage available.
Alishan: Located above the Hotel Formosa.
CLUBS, PUBS AND TAVERNS
What is a club and does it work? Pubs have a smaller number of girls, about five to fifteen. Ice Pub, Sugar Pub, Jungle Pub, Horseshoe Pub, and Honey Pot Pub. The girls are older and experienced in dealing with customers and shooting pool. Other players have warned to be careful with one’s money and possessions with such girls. Pubs seemed to open from 6 pm to 2 am. On one Thursday night, Ice Pub and Sugar Pub were closing at 1 am. Advantages of pubs were pool tables, slot machines, and friendly customers. Other pubs, or should we say taverns to make a distinction, such as the Red Cock and Lucy’s Oarhouse, did not have any girls other than the employees when I visited. All the pubs were excellent places to meet Westerners and some non-Westerners and chitchat.
BOVO: One of the biggest clubs in town. As this club is operated by a Singaporean, you can expect the standard to be at least slightly above the other clubs in Batam. They have about a hundred girls during good seasons.
It has been said that this club has the highest number of pretty girls on average as compared to the other clubs. Some can even speak and understand English, though usually in a broken-sense. Sometimes they have a few Indonesian-Chinese girls. This place is one of the favorites for Japanese to Batam. There are two prices for booking of girls. The fairer looking ones charge Rp360,000 per day and the others charge Rp280,000. Two of their mommies, a Chinese and a Malay, speaks pretty fluent English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Bahasa Indonesia.
Mutiara
Grand Oscar
Rainbow
Femina
Lucy’s Oar house Draft beer for under a Dollar a glass. Free Pool table. Check your email. Rp40,000 per hour. Chili Con Carne Rp10,000 (small) / Rp20,000 (meal size) Fantastic Roast Beef Sandwiches.
Sugar Pub: Crowded with freelancers after 8:00 P.M. A few can speak English.
Ice Pub: Crowded with freelancers after 8:00 P.M. A few can speak English.
Berlian: Located across from Crowne that has a continual supply of new girls. A 300lb Chinese guy named Goh runs the place.
Horizon (behind Sindo Happy pujasera). Horison’s Mamasan is very friendly and professional. Horison is a great place to hang out and have a few drinks. Bookings are about 280K.
Persona Entertainment: (near the Kolekta hotel). Like the Horison, Persona is new and very clean. The short time rooms upstairs are the best in town (Rp120k). The girls are pretty and young from what we are told.
The Golden Star: Now being remodeled, to open soon as “Astronaught”.
BATAM TIME
Batam Time is 1 hr ahead of Singapore, so when you leave Singapore at, say 10:15am, you arrive on Batam at 10:15am.
DISCOS
Disco Report: Discotheques open about 10 pm and one discotheque employee suggested, a good time to visit was 11 pm. Entrance fees from 20,000 rupiah which included one beer. Planet (located about three blocks from McDonald’s and across from Hotel 2000) One should bring night vision goggles and earplugs, because the discotheques were too dark to get a good look at a girl’s face and the music was blaring. The Sphinx discotheque was my favorite Nagoya X-player place on Monday and Tuesday nights. It was over-crowded on Thursday night. During the early weekday nights, girls constantly passed by, smiling at me, eyeballing me, nudging me, patting me, and talking to me. They initiated contact. The girls who lingered longer cost me a beer (15,000 rupiah or US $1.50), a Red Bull energy drink (20,000 rupiah or US $2), and/or a package of cigarettes (10,000 rupiah or US $1). Some drawbacks were: a few girls were hard to get rid of, a suspected transvestite who came on to me, a possible homosexual who one-finger caressed my forearm, and a drug dealer who one-finger caressed my forearm and pulled up his tee shirt to show small plastic packets tucked under his waist band.
The Planet Disco: Located in Jodoh, opened in early ’99. Like all Indonesian discos, incredibly dark, smoky and LOUD!
Ozone Disco: Located on the PN hill above the Swimming Pool, is now open. Seating capacity of 3000 makes it the largest in Sumatra .. 10 times bigger than the old Ozon in Tanjung Balai town, which has closed. Two floors will open later, as a hotel and restaurant. The owner, Dedi Handoko, says total investment runs to Rp8 milliar.
The Skyline Disco: Located in the basement of the Bumi Nusantara hotel, Located next to Studio 21.
Sphinx: Sphinx (at Hotel Seruni) has the most single girls, Ozon (located about a kilometer passed the Royal Eastern Hotel) has a lot of girls and the best trance music,
COMING HOME TIPS
Checking Out: Give yourself 50 mins. at least to clear your hotel bill and grab a taxi over. The ride takes only 10 mins, and you have to check in 10-15 mins before time. Remember, Batam time is 1 hr ahead of Singapore time.
Touts: As you get out of the taxi, beware of touts who will ask you for your ticket and immigration card, which they will hand over to the counter for you, they will also grab the boarding pass and immigration card from the counter and hand it back for you for a tip. I was accosted once like that, but the trick to do is to take it back from them, pretend to search your pockets and at the same time walk towards the Police officer at the entrance, they will stop following at about 10 feet away!!
Contraband: Don’t bring back any VCDs and such, all luggage is X-rayed at the WTC, they will confiscate the lot, but before you reach home, they will already have 2 officers there searching for your hoard. The going rate is $500 per copy found.
SECURITY TIPS
Beware of discos, if you are in to those type of things, Ecstasy (sp) or Ubat as they call it are rampant and most of the girls are into it, though not in a big way. The worst thing that could happen to you is to go to a disco, enjoy, buy your girl some “ubat” and she pops half into your drink. Wouldn’t like the Customs & Immigration at WTC taking a look at your urine!!
Some more safety tips: All the troubles you see on TV about Indonesia are happening MILES from Batam. Batam is the richest and most prosperous place in Indonesia. Everyone has a job, there is no social unrest. Petty crime exists and it pays to take normal precautions: don’t show your money off, don’t get into arguments with locals, don’t leave money or valuables lying around in your hotel room.
Don’t carry cameras, don’t use back streets, stay away from street corners where youngsters are squatting.
NIGHTLIFE
Ginza Massage Parlor
At the Harmoni Hotel (formerly New Holiday Hotel)
Clean facility includes a sauna, pool, Jacuzzi,TV room, and massage rooms. You may use the facilities all day free of charge. Costs:
45-min. massage: 66,000 Rp ($7.00 US)
Foot reflexology massage: 44,000 Rp ($4.67 US)
FS: Prices Vary
Queen 8933
Usually 100 women available, in a “fish tank” setting. Costs:
Short-time: 100,000 Rp ($10.60 US)
Private Booking: 270,000 Rp ($28.65 US)
Massage parlors
Not to be confused with real massage places, can be grouped into two types. The ones with the word karaoke or pub in their names have an area where one can hang out, drink a beer, play pool, sing karaoke, and eye the girls. The other type did not have such an area. The massage parlors seemed to open from about 11 am to 5 pm, no girls on display from 5 pm to 7 pm, and normal business from 7 pm to 11 pm or later. Exceptions to these hours included Dynasty 99’s opening at 1 pm and Hawaii’s and Horison’s opening at 2 pm. On Saturdays, one needs to visit the massage parlors in the early afternoon for a larger selection. Other posters have warned of this weekend scarcity due to weekenders from Singapore. A massage parlor that has over 50 girls will have less than ten girls available on Saturday night. My favorite massage parlor for hanging out in the evening was Rio Rita.
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