I guess our perspective is different here. You are a senior physical guide who help others out of good gesture in HCM and a very senior posters of the HCM thread and this forum. I am new to Batam and am learning as i went along with the thread.Nonetheless if i were to become guide in Batam,i'd take your method to ask newbies to intro themselves to me too....lol...then again i am currently too newbie and too noob to do physical guide for people around in Batam. The most i could do is answer questions here to the best of my limited knowledge when it comes to travelling in Batam.
There is one thing in the HCM thread,the part where you gather donations & garner help from all over the places to help the local needy with food and daily necessities,you have my utmost respect on this one. I sincerely salute you for your effort and heart to do the good work.
The map is well-mapped with the near exact location of each joint. Now i need to ask you for a favor & permission...may i use your map on my upcoming guide in future? I may need to modify in accordance over time tho.
Hope you don't mind.
Exactly the same reason why my guide is there,where instead of answering the question,they are being pointed to the guide. Then again,my guide is only designed for newbies or 1st timer Batam visitors at the moment. In future,all the FAQ will be garner into a single post ,and all questions answered before will be direct to the link...currently there is a temporary
one here ,just that it hasn't really reach it's peak of being called informative yet. They will read if they are interested,but if they aren't...i guess it's their lost...hehehe...
I still believe,newbie or 1st time traveller needs the basic. And if i can gather enough basics for easier reading,it helps newbie to increase their confidence level when they travel. I am newbie today,my question is always..."what if i don't bring enough money","what if some situation crops up?","how much should i bring there and how much extra to bring in case of emergency?" , "what can i expect if i run into a situation (kena chop,over-stay,cash stolen,kena send back to Singapore from Batam Custom) and how to handle it" etc etc...after these basics then will be,"will i get a good fuck or a nice girl with no issues" type of questions.
Typing this now reminds me of the news i read in Wan Bao papers yestersay,where a family of 10 heading to Batam for the 1st time,where 3 of them kena send back to Singapore becos they were "talking" in the Indo Batam Custom while waiting for their passport to get chop.
Btw,i 101% agree with your saying on missing out IMPORTANT POINTS when one choose not to read the Thread postings. The exact same reason i have to keep reading and reading all over again the same thread here. The physical feel of reading the same post before i go to Batam and after i go to batam is totally different. And that is when i found out i missed out not just "something" & a lot....lol
Thumbs up to u,bro!!
Maybe i got your description wrong,but i think he got the almost correct point on Gold Bird...it cannot be behind Batam Star/LaiLai,it's actually more like opposite Batam Star,next to the building.When he put it on top of Batam Star,it becomes "behind" Batam Star which is not correct. Perhaps i should go Gold Bird to look see one more time,or maybe bro qwerty2009 can go Gold Bird to personally see it himself.
As for Kaha,it is not all the time cheaper than online booking according to this thread & other forums. The only thing i find missing is Indah Indah...lol...i know it's opposite Hotel Balai but i don't know how to pin point it with the map...lol.
And New Permata Indah,i heard it's closed from my recent trip on 4th June but have not verified it. Cos the girl i book from Happy Massage 8 says she is from Permata Indah and that they have shifted from the old location to the current ex. Flamingoa area...guess i will have to wait till my next trip to verify this or if any bros here can help verify if they are there.