Pulau Batam Things to Do

At the time of writing (Dec 2011), Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall in downtown Nagoya is the hottest hangout place in Batam to the point that if you lose sight on anyone in the island you may just come here and wait for him/her to show up. And even without tailgating anybody you will end up here anyway since there is no much alternatives for killing some time if you are in Batam and are not locking yourself up into some kind of resort in the middle of nowhere.

This website provides a good description of the Nagoya Hill Mall for a general introduction. As a matter of fact the whole area surrounding the mall is being developed as a prime retail center with modern buildings and shop spaces which at time of writing yet have to be filled up. A couple of blocks off, the downtown area with local shops and eateries, a good place to wander during the day hours for some people watching and local-goods shopping. It is likely you will do as we did, wandering downtown area and then head to the Nagoya Hill Mall in search of air-con relief from the steamy heat of the day.

It not all about sun, sand and sea in Batam. There're lots to do on land too. Get the helmet, put yourself in the driving seat, and off you go.

If you do not have a driving licence, fret not! This drive will not require it. Though it's not as fast as normal driving, it still thrills as you feel the full wind on your body and there's nothing between you and the natural surroundings.

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Land of a thousand island and a vast array of cultures. Part of the Indonesian culture was on show a short walk from the Golden Prawn Restaurant.

We were treated to show stopping stunts - from peeling coconut with bare teeth, to having a meal of glass and hot coal. Something that would generate a shriek from parents saying, "Please do not try this at home!!!"

After showing us all their stunts, the performers went around to collect a small fee from us. I'd say that this is worth watching.

My colleagues and I talked about having a game or two, but at the end, what we did was just shooting bottles. I guess they wanted to try out the paint-ball guns, but not on bare flesh.

Shooting bottles was not too bad; totally cathartic!

The last time that I've done any target shooting was during my army days. So naturally, I was excited. We were given about 20 shots in all and the most I'd brought down was 7 bottles.

I thought that it would be boring because it was really all about miniature houses and what's more, it was in the middle of the day and the sun was blazing!

The entire park was devoid of people and it seemed that my friends and I were the only giant people in existence in this miniature setting. The was great as we could take our time to visit the different houses and try to squeeze ourselves into them!

It was a 30 minutes ride from the resort to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. First thing I'd wanted to ask was, "Why is it called Nagoya Hill when we'ew not in Japan?" No idea.

But we were there to eat, shop and take no prisoners, not to ask questions!

We took a look at a couple of shops and all in, I bought just one round neck-t for S$12.

Food-wise, there is really alot to choose from - KFC, A&W and even J.Co

The busyness of life sometimes stop you from taking time to smell the roses. It's the same for observing sunset. For all of God's creation, we missed all these lovely scenery until we are forced into having holidays.

All you gotta do is to sit back, take in the view. If you wanna take a picture, simply click and you get the most lovely sunset ever.

Ideally, a good body massage would suffice though I'd really wanted to give my body as much pampering time that I could give.

So I continued my sojourn with a 1-hour foot massage. The cost is totaly reasonable - S$17. The messeurs did not try to break my leg or anything; the foot massage was indeed soothing.

There was one minus point though. The entire world can see that you're having a foot massage as it was glass doors all round.