our life in Singapore: a relaxing weekend for Málå and Sylvia!

John and I have a Villa on the island of Batam ... just 35 minutes by ferry from Singapore. We go over there as often as we possibly can. Most times we catch the 6.30pm ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on a Friday evening.

Last weekend two of my friends (Málå and Sylvia) needed a couple of days of peace, relaxation, rest and some 'girlie time' too .... and they chose to stay at our Villa. I went over with them on Saturday morning catching the 10.00am ferry.

we met at the ferry terminal at 9.00am to purchase our tickets and wait for boarding time:

then the usual rush begins as to who can get to the ferry first - and it is usually the people that are going over to gamble on the "Entertainment Ship" that sits in the International Waters that are desperate to be the ones to get on the ferry first. These people (approx 150 passengers per ferry) go from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsapura Ferry Terminal where another ferry waits to take them to the ship floating out there in "no mans land".

Thanks to the land based casino, all are offering free cruises, you just need to check-in $300.00 in exchange for chips and the ferry ticket will be fully refunded. There are many Junkets onboard who are happy to offer them rolling ( exchange cash chips for Non-cash chips) to earn 0.6-.0.8% commission. To these people it is a great for a day out for a free cruise, food and beverages onboard.

The ferries depart almost every hour!

we managed to board without any problem and to Sylvia's surprise I took them thru the "crew only" sign to reach the top of the ferry so we could experience some FRESH AIR ...... but it didn't take long before Málå had a wee nap!

35 minutes later we were docking at Nongsapura Ferry Terminal.

You can read one of my blog postings HERE about taking the ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsapura Ferry Terminal at Batam, Indonesia.

Once we arrived at Nongsa Village I grabbed our Golf Buggy to take the girls to the villa.

and Her Serene Highness was waiting to greet them as they arrived!

Both Málå and Sylvia were very happy with the accommodation, so after drink and a quick freshen up we were on our way to explore the village area and a walk out along the jetty ....