Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall

It is the biggest mall in Batam. Opened in 2007, it consists of 3 floors of rental shops. It has an eye catching facade which make it quite recognizable from a distance.

 

 

 

A hypermarket occupies mainly the ground floor with various other shops selling hand phones, accessories, gadgets and liquor. Moving up to floors, most of the shops are selling clothes, watches and etc. Even Ace Hardware store is located inside the mall.

 

The island is a duty free area, just like Langkawi and Labuan. Hence, the liquors sold here are consider cheap although a quick comparison indicate they are a bit pricier compare to Langkawi. 

 

The food arcade took almost half of the 1st floor. I am amazed with the food selection here. There are familiar fast food outlet such as KFC, Pizza Hut, A & W to Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese food here. There is even a shop selling Bak Kut Teh!

The mall houses the Matahari Department Store which complement what the mall has to offer.

 

It is always worth to check out the modern shop lots outside the mall. I notice there are some interesting massage services, entertainment outlets and restaurants.

Formosa Hotel Batam

 

In my last visit to Batam, Formosa Hotel is my choice due to its location in Nagoya, Batam. From its facade, the building looks old and moderate in term of the size. It is only a four storey building and probably lose out on first impression compare to the other new and modern hotels in the island.

Formosa Hotel is just next to Lucky Plaza (to the right of the hotel), the most popular electronic mall (equivalent to Low Yat Plaza in KL) for its best bargain especially for mobile phone products.

Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall is virtually in the vicinity of the hotel with just about 5 minutes walk away (just walk straight from the hotel's main entrance). However, one need to cross 3 treacherous main roads to get here as the motorists sped along the roads and will not stop at the zebra crossing.

Behind the hotel is the Nagoya Citywalk which can lead to Plaza Avava and all the way to the Harbour Bay jetty if one is willing to walk.

To the left of hotel, about 7 minutes walk away is the sleazy Nagoya Entertainment District (a.k.a NED) which came alive at night.

The hotel started its operation in 1999 and is owned by a Taiwanese. Trails of Taiwanese influence are evident here such as Alishan KTV (Alishan refers to a mountain resort in Taiwan) and the name of the hotel itself reflect the country itself (Taiwan island was previously known as Republic of Formosa) The hotel underwent major upgrade in 2012 with rooms renovated, carpets replaced and wifi facilities installed. I must admit they have a very good wifi here and easily put Malaysian wifi system to shame.

The hotel itself is manned by a few Indonesian Chinese which is useful for Chinese speaking visitors. The other staffs also converse quite well in English.

Lobby area is huge and spacious with modern touch. I would rate the hotel as a 3 star hotel. It is connected to a souvenir shop, Tea Story Cafe and 24 hours Vienna Restaurant from the lobby.

On the 4th floor, there is a fitness center, spa and ktv

 

 

There are a few room types offered here and Deluxe Room (580, 000 Indonesian Rupiah) is the cheapest option. Nevertheless, they are generous with the space. My only complain is the water heater is slow to kick in and the air conditioner is not cold enough to my liking. Also, the room have strong cigarette smell which might take some time to accustomed with.

For those who plan to stay here frequently, one can sign up for its free membership which will entitle the member to enjoy 10% discount on other facilities/restaurant managed by the hotel and room rate of 560, 000 Indonesian Rupiah for a Deluxe Room.

 

 

It has a comprehensive mini bar with biscuit and waffle which is chargeable when consumed. Still it is much better than most 3 stars hotel in Malaysia which I came across.

 

The toiletries is neat and complete. They even has a custom made storage area for the toiletries.

Overall, it is a decent hotel to stay while in Batam. With its strategic location and taxis are always available around the clock in front of the hotel, I would probably come back here to stay again in the future.

Formosa Hotel
No. A8 City Plaza,
Nagoya, Batam,
Indonesia

Ant Expandable Baton

Few months ago I start to arm myself with a baton due to fear of parang/matchete wielding robbers which happen quite frequently nowadays especially in the Klang Valley. I bought the Ant expandable baton from Professor Uniform store and it costs less than RM50.

Its weight about half a kilo and it is quite compact and easy to carry around. It is about the same length of a badminton handle when the baton is retracted.

Even in retract mode, the baton can still be used as a weapon as there are still metal parts at both tips of the handle which can deliver devastating blow to the attacker. There are a few good clips in youtube which show the correct and effective techniques of using the expandable baton.

With a quick hard swing, the the baton will be fully expanded and give that extra length for the user against the attacker. The overall length is about 67cm or equivalent to the length of a badminton racquet. Hence, beginners can actually practice using the badminton racquet to perfect the baton swing before moving to the next step.

 

The expandable baton can be a great defense weapon but it can be also be a deadly weapon if it strikes critical part of human body such as the head and spine. The shaft is made of steel and can easily break bones if it hits the arm and leg of the attacker.

 

It comes with a pouch but unfortunately, the thread starts to come apart when attach to the belt while supporting the weight of the baton itself.

I really hope I don't have to use this baton to defend myself one day but I will have no qualm of using it if myself or my loved ones are threaten.

Donation Bins @ Putrajaya

I notice a white collection bins located at selected bus stops along Precinct 7, 9 and 11 since the beginning of the year.

It is actually a collection bins to accept clothes, shoes, hand bags, belts, linen and soft toy where the sales of those items will be distributed evenly to 3 charity associations; Malaysia Association for the Blind, National Cancer Council and Spastic Children's Association of Selangor and Federal Territory.

It is a well designed and solid donation bins, secured with 2 padlocks to ensure no one would take opportunity of the donation for themselves.

The only thing I don't like is the location of some donation bins which are rather isolated from the highly populated residential area and I wonder if people would actually walk the distance to drop their donation to the bins.

7th Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2015

Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta enters its 7th edition this year and as usual I made it to the site today for the record five years in a row.

 

 

 

 

As early as 7am, all the balloons are been inflated for take off.

 

 

 

 

 

I always enjoy the sight when all the balloons were released. Some of the balloonists skillfully piloted their balloons just above the lake.

 

 

The highlight this year is the Vincent Van Gogh balloon which pay homage to the famous Dutch artist. Unfortunately, this balloon was not able to take off this morning.

 

Other quirky design balloon this year features a penguin shaped balloon wearing Hawaiian clothes.

Humpy Dumpty balloon also made its first appearance here.

 

The Michelin balloon which never fail to make its appearance here. This balloon is usually dedicated for the tethered ride.

 

A giant white blimp which I believe belongs to the Perbadanan Putrajaya also made its maiden appearance here.