Say Caleb: bathtub

I've been wanting a getaway for such a long time. In fact I haven't been overseas ever since I enlisted into army. (Yes that includes even going to Malaysia). So here I am with the best buddies I could ever ask for in my NS life and we're off to Batam, land of the sleaze.

I'm somewhat of a selfie addict or maybe a "we-fie" addict so prepare to see lots of our handsome photos throughout this post. So here we are boarding the ferry in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Hyperactive us decided to head up to the smoking deck and catch the welcoming Batam air. Having been to Batam for 3 times, I was pretty skeptical of the tour because Batam is really small and they have centralised tours that bring you to the same places.

It was pretty lucky we had a good tour guide who cracked the lamest jokes that totally kept us chuckling throughout the day. It was even funnier when we compared her jokes to our self-proclaimed lame jokes king and he was totally beaten hands down.

So like any other Batam tour, we were brought to Golden Prawn for our seafood lunch. Considerably delicious but it's really insane how every taxi driver automatically blurts Golden Prawn when we ask for a good dinner place. There must be some hidden gem somewhere but unfortunately we didn't manage to find out this trip.

Tried the Go-Kart for the first time and surprisingly it was really fun. I used to avoid any sports activities here because Batam being really close to Singapore has a tendency to overcharge for any adrenaline rush activities. That includes activities like water sports and paintball shooting.

My advice: Don't ever go for the paintball because it's super overpriced and you can get cheaper sessions in Singapore. Unless of course you have money to blow.

Did I mention I dropped my phone on the concrete track while trying to capture Zhiyong in the previous photo? It was so embarrassing because the Go-Kart has no reverse gear and I had to wave desperately at the linesman to get him to pick my phone up. It was fun nevertheless because Zhiyong was forever slower than anyone else.

After several other uninteresting tourists traps, we managed to check in to our hotel slightly earlier. Pacific Palace Hotel was really grand both on the outside and the inside.

Pacific Palace Hotel is also shaped in the form of a ship which makes it really interesting and also the main reason why I chose this hotel. The lobby is actually located at the "back" of the ship. The front of the ship is actually right at the other end.

The rooms are kept spectacularly clean and are pretty big. Ignore Asaph's glaring ass right there and just admire the beauty of the room.

The only thing that is lacking here is the bathtub. Nevertheless they have 2 very exquisite Jacuzzi to make up for that. Notice the door mat hanging on the handle of the glass door? We'll get to that soon.

The really cool thing about Pacific Place Hotel is that you have a balcony that is overlooking the swimming pool. Pretty awesome isn't it?

Enjoyed the facilities for a while before we headed out for dinner. Like any other Batam trip, A&W is a must. We had that for dinner and it was really disappointing. However we knew that after dinner, that's when our trip really started.

We headed back to our hotel and went straight to the back end of it. I guess that's probably the reason why Batam is famous for sex tourist and all the sleazy stuff you can think of. Pacific Palace Hotel has it's own disco called the Pacific Discotheque. It was literally empty when we went in at about 10pm.

After some probing we managed to find out it only gets busy after 1am. Therefore we decided to explore the other levels. Level 2 & 3 were somewhat KTVs but level 3 had a special vibe to it. There were seemingly more plus plus services being offered there. To top it off the lighting there was really bad and all you could see were several shadows of Indonesians playing arcade at the side.

I can't remember what the other floors had but on the top floor lies Octopuss which is a men's executive health and spa parlour. It was so creepy that the moment we went out of the lift several hosts came to welcome us. We went back into the lift so quickly that Calvin being the last time come out didn't even catch a glimpse of the place.

So for you people deciding to go to Pacific Place Hotel, the back end of the hotel is where all the sleaze occurs and the front end is where all the proper businesses happens. We wanted to go back to the club at 1am so we decided to catch a nap in our hotel rooms first and viola, we were woken up by a call to go down for breakfast.

Breakfast was not that bad but it could have improved loads. Had a quick breakfast at 630am and went back to nap again till checkout.

Best checkout story ever - Remember the doormat in the middle of the post. Our dear Calvin took the doormat to wrap his wet clothes despite repeated warnings from Raphael. What a quickfix. So when we checked out, the receptionist was puzzled to find the doormat missing from his room which resulted in the most embarrassing moment of his life as he walked sheepishly towards the front desk double confirming that he has to in fact return the doormat.

In fact he was so embarrassed, he just passed it to Zhiyong to return it for him. I guess we need a round of applause and this can go up to the top ten stories of what to tell your friends not to do when you go overseas with them.

That's about all for my Batam 2D1N getaway! Looking forward to another trip to Korea this year with Petrine!

Hello guys, I just had my staycation at Venue Hotel and it was the best staycation I've had. I wouldn't have expected such great satisfaction from a boutique hotel like this. I generally do not have great impressions about hotels that were built as shophouses initially but this one changed me totally.

I took the premiere room which was really unique cause they have a bathtub right smack in front of your bed. Being a great fan of bathtubs I wouldn't let this chance slip out of my hands right? Where else can you find a hotel room in Singapore with a bathtub for only $150? Oh right, a night's stay in their premiere room only cost $150. Probably the most well spent $150 for a hotel room ever.

The first thing that impressed me was the lobby. Just look at the exquisite design of their lobby, looks nothing like a budget hotel at all. I didn't really believe the pictures I saw from their official website and agoda.com but the entire design just overwhelms me. To top it off, the front desk staff were really nice and always had a smile on their faces.

Here's a picture of the awesome bathtub I mentioned! I guess this hotel is meant for couples and not friends because there's isn't much privacy especially when you have to bathe in the bathtub right in front of the bed. But fret not, there's also a standing shower in the toilet.

One thing that puzzled me was the translucent sticker on the toilet's glass doors. It was in such a weird shape and it doesn't provide any privacy at all. I'd rather they put it completely or remove it. I was shitting on the toilet and I realised that you can actually look through the door pretty easily cause it isn't completely covered. I would rather they remove the sticker and let me watch tv while I shit.

This is how the toilet looks like from the outside.

Toilet amenities are pretty decent and I was actually scared they didn't provide toothbrushes. I'm glad they did and I love their design so much. In fact I like anything that's black and white and simple.

Not only is the hotel room awesome, the location is awesome as well. It's situated in Joo Chiat Road, somewhere I've never actually been to in my life. Had a great time exploring the neighborhood and uncovering the secret food places. Highly recommended for a staycation right in the heart of Singapore for poor chaps like me who can't afford to go overseas!

Did I mention that Old Airport Road is just a few stops away? We stopped over for some brunch as well and the Lor Mee was just plain awesomeness.