Travelogue: Bintan, Indonesia

I've been away for the past 3 days. It was a last minute short getaway. A quickie, as some people might call it. Where did I go? It's all in the header... yes, I went to Bintan, Indonesia. My 3rd time at Bintan, I thought I might just as well write about it. Haha...

I was to leave Singapore on Sunday, 12 Dec. I had this craving for crispy prata @ Sin Ming, so before we were supposed to depart, we went for cripsy prata and masala chicken. Good prata! But the masala chicken was a tad disappointing. Too tough, the meat. Even though they gave us drumstick and thigh. Incidentally, the parts I hate most. Don't ask me why. I just hate thighs and drumsticks.

For some reason, my boyfriend had to go fill up his petrol tank after the prata meal. Wanted to prevent the tank from rusting, he said. As he was paying for his petrol, I suddenly had the urge to look at my ferry ticket again.

I was being paranoid, but I just had to be sure... that I got the day correct... and ...

To my horror, I got the date alright, but I got the timing WRONG! The ferry was leaving in 20 mins from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and there was no way we could reach there in time!

It was PANIC BUTTON depressed. I searched for the phone number (the number on the confirmation mail had 1 number MORE), and tried my luck calling them... in the petrol station! I know it is bad, but I couldn't help it. I was too panicky to be thinking straight. I mean, who could be so "dai tao har" (read: big headed prawn, or blur in cantonese) to forget such details? To think I even looked at the ticket before I left my house, but somehow it just didn't register?

Anyway, I managed to call them and was told that the 12 noon ferry was available. Alot of seats available, I was told. Thank God. Come to think of it, maybe it was my punishment for missing church for a month?!?!

Anyway, we managed to reach TMFT in time for the amendment which costed us $10 extra, and managed to check-in our luggage. Our golf bags and his trolley bag, the lazy bugger. :P

Then finally, on the ferry, I heaved a sigh of relief... but not for long.

Mind you, this is the monsoon season... the sea is rough... the ferry wasn't full alright, we were seated in the front, watching Vivian Lai's face being painted like a female PCK and laughing our butts off. Then the ferry became like the viking. The viking that bobbed up and down on the choppy waters. One by one, the passengers took out that bright blue puke bag, and started to look terribly sick. One by one, the affected lot walked to the back of the ferry. I tried to be strong, I didn't take out the blue bag, but I was pretty sure my face was green... Meanwhile, my boyfriend was enjoying the silly "Gotcha" episode on TV Mobile and saying "yah... this is nothing. I've experienced 45 degree rolls before, when I was out on an exercise with the Navy in army..." I wanted to punch him.

I think they showed "Gotcha" so that people could forget about how horrible the ride was.

Well, finally they reached Bintan... and I was so glad we were on land. Thank goodness my legs didn't turn jelly when I stood up. Otherwise that would have been so embarassing...

This time round, we stayed at the Nirwana Resort Hotel. On the way to the resort, I was telling my boyfriend how we have downgraded... so sad... the first time we went to Bintan, we stayed at Banyan Tree, the 2nd time, at Angsana, now, Nirwana... you get the picture. I just hope if we go there again, we wouldn't end up pitching a tent somewhere or something.

Speaking of Banyan Tree, let me tell you this. The tiramisu there is totally heavenly... muah! It's one of the best I've eaten, not too dry, not too wet. Consistency is just nice, it's got the oomph! Wa... I can just eat it alone, with nothing else... yummy! Anyway, I digress...

Reached Nirwana, found that the rooms were not ready yet. It was about 12.30pm Bintan time, they being 1 hr behind us, and the check-in was supposed to be @ 3pm. 2.5 hrs to go, yikes. Left out bags at the concierge and went for lunch. A quick one at the poolside restaurant before exploring the place. Looks ok, but a little old. They've got a few shops in the resort for you to buy all your necessities from souvenirs to anti-motion sickness pills. We also managed to walk to the nearby resorts... well to be exact, they are from the same parent company operating under different names. And then... the rain came down. I mean, it poured.

Finally, the time came for check-in. Hehehehe... we got upgraded to a suite! Woohoo! One of the most exciting things is to get upgraded... cheapskate.



That's how our room looks like, image linked from nirwana's website. And we only paid 155++ for a suite that normally costs $500++! Cool.... Not bad, the place was clean, the bathtub was clean, the balcony was great, unfortunately we could only see part of the sea... the rest of it was blocked by the poolside restaurant and coconut trees without coconuts.

Well after checking in, we decided we should explore the place further. There was this internal shuttle that would take us to mana mana, mayang sari, indra maya and the kelong. We decided that we should try the food at the kelong. Heard it served great fresh cheap seafood.

So we went.

And we paid $120 Sing. Yap. It was $120 Sing. But let me tell you what we ate...

Double boiled scallop soup with fish maw
Aussie cod fish steamed
Scallops in taro basket
Sambal Kangkong
A slightly-longer-than-a-foot fresh lobster steamed with garlic
Black pepper crab
Fruits

Oh my... it was faaantastic! Finger-licking good! Fresh sweet seafood! Freaking high cholesterol! But heck! The meal in Singapore would have easily set us back by $180, so... we were really satisfied!

On the 2nd day, we decided to go for a golf game. Wasn't sure if the weather was going to hold, but we tried our luck anyway. But before that... let me tell you, we saw fresh bacon during breakfast. You know how bacon looks right? From the supermarket? It's almost always cured. With loads of salt. Now this bacon (beef, while I'm at that) is fresh. A pile of them. It tasted good... not too salty, not too bland. Just nice.

Ok ok, back to the golf game. We played at the bintan lagoon golf course. Because it was the cheapest. I was told Ria Bintan is the most scenic, but it is also more expensive. Bintan Lagoon course is cheaper, so we played there. For the first time in my life, I had a caddy following us during a golf game. How embarassing! I mean, we are not big shots who play very well you know, mind you, the last time I played was 3 months ago on a simple flat golf course off Science Centre! Disaster.

The course, however, was beautiful. The Jack Nicklaus Seaview course was breathtaking, with the ocean flanking some of the holes, and water traps all over the place.

The Ian Baker Finch Woodlands course was undulating, very challenging with sand traps as many as 5 in one hole and full of monkeys. Yap, we met some very fierce monkeys who threatened to pinch our belongings away!

Anyway I played horribly. My boyfriend was slightly better, but not that fantastic either. I was going from bunker to bunker, some of the shots just rolled across the fairway and he was slicing and hooking. The caddy must have been cursing and swearing about being assigned to us! I think it was because we felt bad... that we gave her a gift of samosas and chicken pie after that... :P

So we went back to the hotel after the game, and went straight to the pool. It was an infinity pool, looked really great, and had huge strong water jets in the "jacuzzi" area. Cool. I can't swim for nuts, and I think I almost died trying to swim to the edge of the pool looking out to the sea. Haha. I ended up just going back to the deck chair. My boyfriend, was having fun in the pool. He went to the pool bar situated right in the middle... ok, side of the pool, the only way to get there is to swim, for a drink. Poor me, I was dying of thirst... but I can't swim for nuts, remember? I'd rather die of thirst than to die of drowning. At least I won't look any more bloated than now.

This time round for dinner, we went to this new swanky Thai restaurant called Baan Aarya in the vicinity. Very good ambience, nice staff and service, and good food. I think it is the holiday syndrome. Just kept saying that the food was nice... but it really is! The Tom Yum Talay (Seafood Tom Yum Soup) was really tasty, nice and spicy and the fried noodles and green curry was authentic. The kitchen is ran by 2 Thais, I think that's why.

Finally, it was time to go back to Singapore. I think subconsciously, we both started to feel abit depressed. The thought of having to go back to work just as we were winding down was unthinkable. But... it was inevitable. Well, wait for the next trip! That's all I can say...

Want to travel to Bintan? Here are some tips for you.

1. Check in your luggage, whether big or small.
It is so much easier, just boarding the ferry without carrying anything.

2. Bring your checkpoint access card.
Apply for one, if you don't have. The queue at the immigration counter was LONG. The queue for access card? Zero.

3. Jan - Mar is the best time to go there.
Waters are in better condition for water sports. Weather is also less rainy then.

4. If on budget, eat at pasar oleh oleh.
The restaurants in the resorts are either in SGD or USD. Can be pricey... just like restaurants in SGP. Pasar Oleh Oleh has rates like the "ze char" stall in coffeeshops.