Vietnam Village, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia

4helloooooooworld 5:00 PM Nov 5, 2022

Significant place
Interesting place with a friendly guard at the small museum. Though he only spoke Bahasa, he was trying to share some explanations of it. The exhibits were quite limited, but some were quite moving. Given the historical significance of this place, it could be a major attraction around Batam, if renovated properly.

3shernellt 5:00 PM Jun 9, 2018

Interesting place to learn the history of Vietnamese refugees to Indonesia
After reading some reviews about this place, I thought it might be a good place to visit. Depending on where you’re coming from in Batam would determine how long the journey would be. We were staying at Tanjung Piayu, a bit south of Batam Island, so we got there in about 40 minutes by car. You have to cross about five or six bridges to get to this place, as it is situated on the island of Gelang. You must have your own transportation to get here, preferably car or private bus. There is no public transportation to get there and by motorcycle would be too tiring as the journey is very long. Along the way it’s all trees, hills and open water (across the bridges). It’s a straight road to get there so you won’t really get lost. Just follow google maps or ask the locals on the way. We were three adults and two children, so we paid Rp 30,000 to enter. The various places to visit are quite far from each other. You can’t really walk, so you need your vehicle to drive to each one. There are toilets at every location, but no where that sells food, drinks or snacks. You’ll have to prepare and bring your own food.The various places include: 1. Catholic Church 2. Buddhist Temple 3. Protestant Church 4. Boats that transported refugees 5. Section with deer (you can feed them) 6. Museum (lots of info here) 7. Small jail 8. Hospital Along the way on the compound there are lots of monkeys. Be careful if you stop your vehicle to feed them. One disappointing thing is that many of the buildings were in a dilapidated state. Some were being repaired while we were there and others just seemed abandoned. Hopefully in the coming months they’ll be repaired. All in all, it was a good learning experience, especially at the museum with lots of photos, paintings and explanation on how the Vietnamese people came as refugees to the island.