The Batam Life - Part 4

Part 4 will be about the famous Barelang bridge in Batam.  Barelang bridge is actually a series of bridges that connect Batam to the small neighbouring islands of Galang and Rempang.  The name "Barelang" is a short form of "Batam", "Galang" and "Rempang".  In total there are 5 bridges (If I remember correctly) with the first one being the grandest and main tourism icon of Batam.

Full view of the bridge, taken from outside a nearby seafood restaurant

First bridge

To reach the famed Vietnamese Refugee Camp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galang_Refugee_Camp) , you'll have to go by this route all the way to the end which can take about an hour or so.

The first bridge boasts the best view of the sea and surrounding islands.  The road leading to the neighbouring islands are decorated with seafood restaurants, dragon fruit, pineapple and vegetable plantations.

Surrounding islands as seen from the bridge

I tried venturing all the way to the Vietnamese village once, but after going about 45 minutes I decided to just turn back since it was much longer than I expected and I didn't want to get back home too late.  So we stopped by a big seafood restaurant near the first bridge for "lunchner" (lunch + dinner).

The restaurant has very good views of the bridge and they serve fresh seafood.  Do keep in mind that I mention "fresh" and not necessarily "delicious".  But tasty for sure.   The restaurant keeps the catch fresh in a kelong like catchment area.  There you can find live fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, cray fish, clams and scallops, many more in fact....

Ground view of the Kelong area

Fish catchment area

Another fish catchment area

Scallop and clams catchment area

From the restaurant you can also get better views of the bridge and the neighbouring islands, especially when you're on the kelong which gives you a feeling of closeness to the nearby water.

I like this angle better which was taken from the restaurant, they have certain areas that give very good view of the bridge such as this

I tried to get another angle with better composition and got this - the dramatic clouds add some mood but somehow steals the attention from the bridge (which is the main star)

And from the kelong, you can take photos of neighbouring islands like this - feels like you're on top of the water

Barelang bridge is a must visit on your itinerary if you ever plan to visit Batam.  It is after all, one of the most iconic attractions in the island.

~ Photos taken with Nikon D5100 + Tokina 12-24mm F4 II ~