Shopping in Batam; Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall

Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall is the largest mall in Batam.  It has 3 storeys and 2 anchor tenants- Hypermart (think a Carrefour-like store) and Matahari, which is a well-known department store throughout Indonesia.  There is a Food Street with small restaurants offering very affordable Indonesian and other Asian food.  There is also a multi-screen cinema. 

The shops sell mostly very affordable fashion.  I’m not confident of the quality though.  You can also find counterfeit leather goods here.  There are a couple of spas.  In the basement, you find computer and IT stores, including one or two shops selling pirated DVDs.      

The best bet for fashion is Matahari but even so the quality is not very good.  Around Nagoya you have more shops selling luggage, some restaurants, massage spas. 

It is easier to get there, harder to get away.  From Harbour Bay Terminal to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, a mere 5-minute drive, I managed to negotiate a cab for IDR$30,000.  Coming back to Swiss-Belhotel Harbour Bay, the taxi stand in front of the mall quoted me IDR$50,000.  Other taxis quoted me IDR$40,000.  They are not willing to come down on the price because they know there will be other tourists who will be willing to accept the price.  Finally, I walked out to the road in front of the mall.  A passenger car passing by stopped and agreed to take me back to Harbour Bay for IDR$30,000.