I was in Batam for 2 days. On the second day of our itinerary, we visited the Batam Layer Cake factory, the Cheng Ho Mosque and this Miniature House before proceeding for our seafood lunch at Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant. All these attractions are located within the Golden City of Bengkong. a suburban town from Nagoya. Nagoya is the Orchard Road of Batam while Bengkong is probably the Toa Payoh of Batam. The tour guide told us that if you ride a motorcycle with more than one pillion rider in Nagoya, you will be caught and summoned by the Batam Police but in Bengkong, the enforcement is more lax here than in Nagoya. The motorcyclist can can have more than 5 pillion riders with him on a motorcycle and no one would bother to take a second look at him. This miniature house is just located opposite the Golden View Hotel and beside the Golden Go Kart. The various miniature houses are replicas of the traditional Indonesian houses that are found in various parts of Indonesia. Admission is free. The guide gave us 20 mins to explore the attraction. He warned that there are mosquitoes and suggested those not visiting the attraction can stay in an air-conditioned shop nearby or ride the gold kart in the circuit nearby. The weather was hot and I rather visit the miniature house than to suffer sunburn riding the gold kart. There are not many miniature houses. One website indicated that there are 30 of them in 2015 but it seem the number is dwindling. Nevertheless, the replicas are impressive and demonstrated the unique traditional architectural genius of the Indonesian people. The locations where the actual cultural houses were found. The place is a bit of a run down but for something without admission fee, this is not a bad attraction to visit. The drains surrounding this attraction were filled with smelly debris and stagnant water. Many are terribly choked and probably formed breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In order to attract more people to visit the Golden City, efforts must be made to clear up all these choked drains. They are unsightly and are environmental hazards. We understand the ambition of the owner to make this Golden City in Bengkong a one stop tourist center with seafood restaurant, hotels, shops and entertainment outlets all focused in one area for the convenience of the tourists. But the threats of Zikar virus and dengue may dissuade visitors if the surrounding environment is not properly maintained.

Small garden area with miniature models of traditional Indonesian houses. Good for a quick look around. No admission charges.