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| Bintan - View from Seaplane |
Bintan is one of the largest land mass of Indonesia's Riau Archipelago. The Island flourished as a trading spot between India and China in the Third Century. Now it is more popularly known as Getaway Island across the shores of Singapore.
An 85 minutes ferry ride from Tenah Merah Ferry Terminal, Island is an ideal place to holiday with many resorts springing up along the shores. The Bintan Lagoon Resort ferries guests directly to the Resort. We took the 9 am ferry.
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| Bintan Lagoon Resort |
Weekends attract lots of golfers to the holiday Island. Immigration is in front of the Resort for On Arrival Visas. The ferry ride along the South China Sea was quite smooth though I was prepared with bags for my seasickness on a turbulent sea ride. A mini bus takes us to the lobby of the hotel and we were welcomed by local Indonesian dancers.
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| Welcome dancer at Bintan Lagoon Resort |
The check-in was fast and we soon set out to Pasar Oleh Oleh, Kampong Langoi and the local wet market place. The place looked so desolate probably it was early evening and we were even too early to have supper at Helo Helo. There are shops for handicrafts, clothes, spa and food stalls at Pasar Oleh Oleh.
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| Pasar Oleh Oleh |
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| Shops at Oleh Oleh |
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| Houses of Staff of Resorts |
Late evening we relaxed at the swimming pool of the resort and had an Indian cuisine from the in house platter.
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| Poolside at Resort |
The beauty of a place is it's heritage and no visit is complete without a peep into it. Next morning we hired a car to take us to the town which was about an hour drive from the resort.
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| Boat Ride along the Mangroves |
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| Bintan Mangroves |
On the way to the town, we had gone for a boat ride through the dense mangroves. There was constructions for resorts at some banks which looked disturbing in the point of view of conservation of the mangroves. The ride was wonderful. We couldn't spot any birds because it was almost noon but we did see a Green Kingfisher flying past. Mangroves are home to Blue, Green and Brown Kingfishers. On the ride through, we spotted the Boiga dendrophila hanging from a branch. Boiga dendrophila, gold ringed cat snake, is normally seen on mangrove trees. They are nocturnal and mildly venomous. I must admit that there is a whole lot of excitement to capture the images of wildlife in their natural habitat.
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| Boiga dendrophila |
The main occupation of the Islanders is fishing. Along the coastline of Trikora Beach we can see kelong (stilt houses) made on the calm sea. Kelongs were made for 6 to 8 months or during fishing period for commercial fishing. When monsoon arrives fishermen leave the kelong and build new one for the next season. These days kelongs are made on land and dragged by the boat to the sea whenever they need it.
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| Trikora Beach |
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| Kelong in Trikora Beach |
We then went to Tanjungpinang which is on the west of the Island. One of the popular mall is Ramayana Mall in Tanjungpinang. A visit to Indonesia wouldn't be complete without tasting the local cuisine, so we had Padang food at Bundo Kanduang next to Ramayana Mall. Padang food is a spread of meat dishes (beef, chicken, mutton), Seafood and vegetables. We are charged for the choice of dishes we have had.
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| Padang at Tanjunpinang |
Tanjungpinang was bustling like any other towns on a Saturday afternoon. There is a large Chinese population on this part of the Island. On our drive back to the resort we visited the 100 year old Banyan Tree Temple and Senggarang Buddhist Temple.
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| Banyan Tree Temple |
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| Entrance to Buddhist Temple at Senggarang |
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| Sculptures at Buddhist Temple |
That evening we dined at Kelong Seafood Restaurant at Nirwana Resorts. Our order was Black Pepper Crab and Chilli Lobster, which is cooked from our choice of the live crab or lobster from the tank. Since I couldn't come in terms of choosing the live one I am going to eat, my spouse took the charge of it. Black Pepper Crab is a highly recommended dish to be had there.
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| The Kelong Restaurant at Nirwana Resort |
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| Black Pepper Crab & Chilli Lobster |
Bintan Lagoon resort has a night club Silk with live band by resident DJ, a golf course turf for weekend golfer from across the shore, Taman Sari Spa and lots of activities like archery, cycling, trekking and many more at the Leisure Centre. Our next day was reserved for the beach activities.
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| Seaplane and Jet Skiing at the Beach |
I had planned for Kayaking and was all excited about it until....the night before my spouse dreamt that an excited and adventurous me with my Kayak drifted away to the sea never to return...the nightmare had it's toll and Kayaking hence stood cancelled. But excitement had no limits when the activity we chose for was Seaplane ride.
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| Seaplane ready to take off |
It is conducted by Air Adventures Flying Club Bintan by two Pilots from London. Stu Perkins was our Captain for the ride. The flight is worthwhile, along the white sand beach, across blue sky and over the aqua blue sea. The sky wasn't that clear when I took the flight, I could photograph the downpour at a distance. Captain was coordinating with the ground for the weather update by the Weather website regarding the movement of the rain clouds.
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| The Website for Weather forecast |
It was an awesome experience. In an hour's time beach activities were stalled due to drizzle. We then headed for a Japanese lunch to Miyako Restaurant.
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| Sushi & King Prawn |
After lunch we went for an Archery session at Leisure Centre. By 18 hours we were all ready for an Aromatherapy Javanese Spa at Taman Sari Spa. We bought some essence oils from there. There was no better way to end a holiday than with a good massage. Next morning we ferried back to our shore to get back to routine bringing back memories of a wonderful weekend at the getaway Island.
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| View of Shores of Singapore |
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