been to bintan! =)
bintan trip is finally over! hahaz...though it is only 1 day after the trip...starting to miss the times at bintan liaoz...hahaz...lemme try to recall everything from the past 3 days...
Day 1
left house to go to meet the rest at tanah merah mrt station...but was late...so in the end had to take a cab to the ferry terminal itself...=P...then there was this mix up where the rest can find me and huifen though all of us were at the departure hall...hahaz...then after checking in and distributing all the tickets and immigration cards...we stood there and waited for boarding...miraculously...a queue formed and the place where we stood happened to be in the line! =P...so we all went thru the customs where some of us saw the "wanted list" affixed behind the counters...hahaz...
boarded the "ariabupula" and went to the second level deck...sat at the side...like round table liddat minus one edge...hehez...took a couple of photos...then the fun part came...apparently...the initially part of the journey was quite smooth and stable...but midway through...the sea became a little rough due to strong winds...then was rocking a bit...some of us could not stand it and was getting nauseous...luckily i bought sour prunes before coming! hehez...so spread it out...but poor fenniu did not feel very well...she has motion sickness and the med she took din seem to be working...so in the end...she slept thru it...hahaz...
reached the bendar bentan ferry terminal at bintan resorts...went thru customs again...and boarded the bus to nirwana gardens! hehez...the journey was quite boring larz...cos to the left and right are all greenery...so nothing exciting...but the welcome at the resort was a surprise...there was a traditional malay drum and dance performance and a free slurppy like drink that tasted quite good! hahaz...while waiting for ben to check in for us...continued to take photos and played with the giant chess set there! then when ben came back...it seemed that the rooms were not ready yet...well 4 out of the 5 rooms are not ready...so we just all moved out bags and belongings to the only room ready and were on our way to lunch!
took a taxi to a nearby tourist pit-stop...called "pasar oleh oleh"...the taxi ride cost S$12 each...and it sits up to 7...hahaz...yarz...almost everything there is in sing dollar...ate lunch at a restaurant called "helo helo"...the fried rice there was very nice! $3 only and the serving was large! can say that the lunch was quite filling...after that went to the convenience store and stocked up on drinks, junks and cup noodles for lunch! hahaz...then it was shopping time...since it was the tourist place...walked from shop to shop in search of nice souvenirs and stuff...in the end bought some nice key chains and a shawl...after that...we all went back to the resort and prepared to move into the rooms...
we had five adjacent rooms...i shared the room with zhemin...hahaz...i remember telling him that he wun starve in the room since i brought so much junk food along...after a while...we all changed into swimming attire and proceeded to the resort pool! there are jacuzzi jets in the pool and the deep and shallow parts...played witht the beach balls for a while...before the sky started to darken...and we all came up...went back to the room and washed up for dinner...seeing that it was so late and we are all lazy...we decided to eat at the resort restaurant...walked in to see a latin quartet band singing...they sounded so good! ordered a dish called nasi rames which cost $14...then while waiting for the food to be served...the quartet made their rounds of the tables...they played "this love" by maroon 5 and "sway" by michael buble using drums, cello, guitar and fork guitar! it sounded fantastic! i think if yujin saw the way that they played...he will go mad! hahaz...the food came and we all tucked in to the great food! according to likoon...their chicken was superb....much much better than singapore one...one thing i must mention is the great service there...much much cordial and polite than singapore one...haix...
after a great dinner...we all went back to the room for night activities...played cards...watched tv...jamming with the guitar etc into the night...with that...day one finally ended!
Day 2
woke up quite early as my biological clock still could not adjust to the 1 hour difference yet...hehez...so it was quite early...survived zhemin's snore for the night...hahaz...and after washing up and meeting up with everyone...we all proceeded for our freakfast buffet! according to ben...the buffet there only cost $12++...lemme recall wad was offered...lean beacon...pancakes...omelette...miso soup...fried noodle...chicken curry...porridge...english breakfast...baked potatoes...salad...fruits...alot of pastry...cereals...juices...the list goes on! after a hearty and absolutely filling breakfast...we all went back to the hotel room and prepared for a day at the beach!
went down to the beach...the view is absolutely mesmerising! unlikely singapore...there was no ships at the horizon...only the sea and lots of pretty white waves...and sand was very soft and comfortable...took some photos...and then played beach volleyball...the game had lots of flying sand and crazy balls flying all over the court...and playing in the sun and falling in the sun and burning in the sand...we all decided to head for the pool again! hahaz...this time...we brought nini's volleyball along and played with it in the pool...played monkey at the shallower parts...and there was this little boy by the name of brandon that came to join in the game...after the game...went swimming for a while before slacking at the jacuzzi jets for some massage by the water...hahaz...by evening...we were all up and went back to the room to prepare for our dinner!
went to bintan delight which was opposite pasar oleh oleh for dinner...then had this dinner set that included chicken...kang kong...pepper crab...egg and tofu on a hot plate...prawn...the crab was delicious...the kang kong is simply fantastic! it was green and fresh and crunchy! unlike singapore kang kong that is brownish and not as fresh! thinking about it makes me hungry! hahaz...after that...took the bus back...but before that...went shopping at pasar oleh oleh again...bought a pair of nice surf berms...and went back to the resort room for some song session and junk food snacking! hahaz...although it was on the bed that me and zhemin slept on...but heck larz...who says we cannot sleep with junk food crumbs? hahaz....
during the singing...there was this part of a marathon with zhemin strumming the same chords over and over again where we fit songs into the strumming...then tze hwee got emotional and teared in the midst of the singing...after the songs and the junk food...everyone retreat back into their rooms and slept...
Day 3
last day in bintan! woke up at an okay time...called to wake up the rest before meeting for our breakfast buffet again...there was this funny situation that zhemin, huifen, tzehwee, sophia, shuyun, fenniu and i were waiting for nini, sanmei, weishan, jingsong, ben and likoon in our room...while they were waiting for us outside at the corridor! muahahz...so funny...proceeded for the buffet and pigged out again...before taking the bodyguard photo with zhemin and likoon...hahaz...then we went on the check out early...cos we did not want to miss out on the free archery session...
went to the archery range and tried out archery...which was quite fun minus the strong winds that is...hahaz...then there was also this air rifle range beside the archery range...the guys went to go try out the shooting...for a cost of $5 for 20 pellets...it seems that i am quite a sharpshooter...hehez...hit percentage quite high...=P...then after the shooting...it was free and easy time again! the girls went to play monopoly while the guys hung around the arcade area...waiting for our slot for the table tennis table...=P...played and played...lost quite a number of table tennis balls over the ledge...hahaz...had to go pick it up to continue playing...there was this round that zhemin and i played against likoon and fenniu...and we lost 11-0! wad madness! we could not believe it also...hahaz...anyway...after playing...at 1630 local time...we went back to the lobby to pick up our bags to take the bus to the ferry terminal...but it seems that the bus has left without us! argh...thought that we would be stranded in bintan for another day...luckily...a bus was arranged for us and another couple to take to the ferry terminal...luckily we were in time...
was waiting at the lounge for the ferry and we were almost suffocated by the smoke there...all the second-hand smoke! argh...after a long wait...finally boarded the "arung mendara" for tanah merah terminal...the captain was joking to us to prepare for choppy weather and dun look in front cos the roller coaster will come to us...-lame-...and later bragging that only arung mendara has such a roller coaster ride...bleahz...the tanah merah terminal was freezing larz...so cold...but at least we were back in singapore! hehez...waited for the bus and went to bedok to dinner before taking the long train ride back home!
to conclude...the bintan trip was most fun and enjoyable...a great way to relax and spend time with frens! hahaz...must thank first and foremost...ben, mj and jw for organising this trip! and most importantly...must thank all those who have been on the trip that made is so memorable!
