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Old 20-07-2016, 08:42 PM
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Re: Batam Info / Interest / Help Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
In fact many massage places including hotel spa can beat Vienna even if Vienna offered 20% discount. Vienna Spa is definitely one of the most expensive spa in this Nagoya/Baloi area unless they give more than the usual discount as compared to those familiar spa or massage places that you have been.
I hope to change that,hehehe...and constantly trying to work on such.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
As the final price that I have gotten was Rp 270k for 2 hrs massage + body Scrub. I compared it with Mariana Spa for the same duration and treatment which cost Rp 280k, nett.



Besides Vienna Spa, Theraz Spa at iHotel Baloi is also an expensive spa costing at least Rp 380k depending on discount for the particular month, sometimes 40%, 25% or 15% and also based on Mon to Thu only.
Interesting,very interesting to know that...so they do have some certain discount for a certain part of the weekday...everyone of them appears to competing against each other for some market share. Very interesting indeed. I learned something bro,thank you.

Once i know how things work,i am able to do things more confidently.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
You will even have better bargain if you call the therapist directly. Most therapist, if they can click with you, will want to give their contact to you. In a way potong jalan the spa/massage shop. If they are good & hardworking, I don't mind paying them directly, sometimes at a discount.
I did that before too,but all such deals will usually have to wait till the therapist finishes her work hours for the day. So it wont be according to my timing. Hence I reserve all these therapists or massage girls for my 24 hour massage plan,hehehe...well,there are afterall no 24 hours or very late night massage,so these girls can come in handy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
I did my re-org the night before I went to bed and know exactly what I have counted. I make it a habit to do re-org at the end of each night including packing and arranging my stuff. If someone is with me, I will do my counting in the bathroom and lock it in the safe w/o view from other.
Good,thats what I did too. And have often remind bros who joined me in my group trips to do the same too. Many a time,after our meal when we were to go dutch,they try to pay me on-the-spot after the bill came,and I will tell them to pay me only after we reach hotel. Imagine 3 or 4 bros trying to pay me and with me having to sort out my cash in the open public. It just make calculation more difficult and attract unnecessary attention from all over the place.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
True as you don't know who is watching. That is including children but they pose no threat. At one instant, when I finished changing my money at the rows of moneychanger facing Nagoya Plaza Hotel, I left the money changer with my money in my pocket and buttoned on. While walking, I always pay attention to those people around me, those that are also staring at me and motorcycle coming close to me. My concentration is on the bigger picture and neglecting a child who had chased after me for a gift for some money. I felt so guilty after that for not offering her something but not so willing to walk back where the child was as the same number of people staring at me were still there. So, I moved on.
Same here,i am always vigilant when it comes to money changing. One of the reason why I picked Formosa Hotel is becos the money changer that offers me good price is just a min walk away. As long as I touch down to hotel car park premises, I would already be feeling safe tho not 100%,hehehe...

Anyway,for a child (and anyone) asking for money,i will usually ignore unless they are handicap. Like i say before,i don't mind paying 10k or sometime 20k for a newspaper that cost 5k sold to me by a kid (or anyone) even tho I do not understand the language at all to read them but I wont give a dime to beggar who has all 4s and healthily walking around. I believe those who can work and has worked should not go hungry. And I don't want to encourage parents thinking it is alright to allow their kids to beg in the street,especially in dangerous places like road junction. Thats just my own perspective.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
I believe so and I trust most management would want to do that. As it is more of a theory on speculation or conjecture and no concrete evidence of catching her in the act, I will refrain from presenting a suspicion to projecting an image of so-called truth to the management. If I presented it, the concept of the management will focus it to the end result - theft by so & so therapist which is a criminal offence. What will be the consequences. All of us will know the consequences and so does the therapist. Do you think she will admit? ....very unlikely....as there is no concrete evident ....and if (suppose) she dared to do the deed, she is prepared not to admit it and who knows may turn the barrel around accusing you of framing her because to save herself, dignity, family reputation, honor and etc. So, how does it ends? Words against words.
While your words do make sense. I would still make that report, not becos of the losing of that S$100 but more of letting them know such 'incident' happens. I am definitely not going to play that "word against word" game with them. Just like I have an incident some time ago where I lost my open Horizon ferry ticket when I leave it inside my passport while the custom officer chop my passport for my clearance and i only find out it went missing after collecting my scanned luggage, I emailed the (whatever) relevant department (http://www.bpbatam.go.id/eng/aboutBida/location.jsp) w/o any expectation of anything to be done and told them about my incident. I didn't have the officer's name to let them refer to and they replied telling me in some broken english like they will look into the matter and later did not follow up with any future correspondence (maybe they do,I didn't check my spam mail box,hehehe...). 2 trips later, followed by my other later Batam trips till today...i don't see that same officer anymore. (Tho I am no good at remembering a name ,but I do remember his face as he is a younger male officer which I saw him again when I leave for Sillypore the same day) Likely he may have been transferred out from Harbour Bay Ferry terminal or something. Maybe he got a demerit point?

All in all, my main objective was just to keep them informed which I indicate in my email and not wanting anyone punished and/or my money (or ferry tickets) back. Majority of the fault still lies with me being careless for leaving an open ferry ticket inside my passport, knowing their corruptible ways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
There are many possibilities that can twist and turn, more so in a foreign land, especially the high stack of seriousness in this episode.

For this S$50x2, I am prepared to let it go. As I have mentioned, not to blame anyone but myself for letting my guard down in a place where it is unlikely to happen but it did.
My main objective as mentioned wasn't to blow the matter up and I had in my mind that I am a tourist in a foreign country,i am only there to have a good time. I only have one such encounter and that is enough for me to keep reminding myself that I need to be vigilant in all things I do in Batam.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaboon View Post
I notice a lot of posts in this thread were being redirect back to the old thread by u wor....
I have to, becos most of the information I collected were bookmarked/saved there in the old thread and I constantly have to cross-reference back and forth between the old and new thread. Its now at 6.98 million views,hehehe...another about 40000 views from your last post.


Batam is not a very big place, especially when it comes to the cheonging part, the market also very small. The book of transparency can easily be open up for most to know if they read. Simply simplify it and most who have some basic intelligence will have no problem understanding the 'ground' there.
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信言不美,美言不信。
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天之道,利而不害。
圣人之道,为而不争。


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