BATAM INFO

Batam is a small but busy island in Indonesia of 45km x 25km and nearly a million people, hundreds of multinational owned factories, towns, shopping centres and gateway to the Riau Islands.

Located only 20km from Singapore and 25km from Johor in Malaysia, Batam is Indonesia's equivalent to China's SEZ's (Special Economic Zones) - a place where the nation's economic planners test new economic policies and ideas. The island is an industrial hub with electronics factories, a large and growing ship repair industry and an even larger oil service sector. Quite a few expats head there for work, and pubs and golf courses have sprung up to serve them.

  (WIKITRAVEL)

Weather

As Batam is located approximately 1 degree north of the equator, it is a tropical environment, with a year round temperature range of 24 deg C to 33 deg C (75 deg F to 92 deg F). The monsoon season is from November through to February, during which time it can rain quite heavily on an almost daily basis. The weather is very humid, so it can take some getting used to if you are from a cooler climate.

Language

The main language spoken on Batam is “Bahasa Indonesian” or Indonesian language. English is also widely spoken, so you should have no problems being understood, as most taxi drivers, hotel staff, restaurant staff, etc, can speak English very well. Several Chinese dialects are also spoken, as there is a number of ethnic Chinese living in Batam.

Currency

The currency used in Batam is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) and is commonly abbreviated to Rp. It comes in notes of Rp1,000, Rp2,000, Rp5,000, Rp10,000, Rp20,000, Rp50,000 and Rp100,000. Singapore dollars (SGD) and United States dollars (USD) are also widely accepted in many of the hotels, shops and restaurants. Money changers, banks and hotels can exchange foreign currency for Rupiah, you usually get the best rate from the money changers. Credit cards are widely accepted in hotels, shops and restaurants in Batam.