Bintan Spaventures

Excited group at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

It was early morning on Saturday, the 3rd week of May 2007. Embarking on my 2nd overseas trip with my colleagues and feeling really tired but excited, I made my 1.5hrs journey to Tanah Merah MRT Station to meet the rest of my colleagues for the start of the 2D1N Bintan Spa Trip.

On board the Penguin towards Bintan!!

In all, 13 of us gathered at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, anxiously waiting to board our ferry, Penguin 31. The ferry was full with lotsa holiday-makers (mainly aunties), which transformed the sea trip a noisy one.

Departing Singapore... ...

My colleague and I on the top deck of the ferry

Finally, after almost 2 hours of choppy waters, we arrived at sunny Bintan. The hot weather welcomed us with all its sunshine smiles as we meander our way thru the town centre towards the outskirt where our inland resort lies. Bintan Agro Resort is a sprawling holiday destination, with a huge variety of accomodation. As a big group, we had 2 cottages with 3 rooms each. Simple and clean, the self-sufficient cottages are not your typical 5-star hotel standards. They are more like homes you will find along the streets of Malaysia. But the place was well-maintained and spacious.

Harbour view of the Bintan Port Customs
Our accomodation, the nice little cottage

Lunch was a simple affair, but at dirt cheap prices. We ordered around 10 dishes amongst the 13 of us, and each paid only $8 for a superbly prepared and filling meal. After the great lunch, we were given a tour around the resort's ground by the friendly staff on a bike-tricycle. It was a fun ride and we were given fresh fruits plucked from the trees.

Waiting for lunch to arrive......
Complimentary tour ride around the resort by the friendly staff

View of the pool, from the Spa complex

The star of the trip was the spa session. I took up the King Spa, which set me back $74 for a 2.5hr session. It included a jaccuzzi session, followed by a body scrub using coffee beans. The scrub was relaxing (though I still feel the best scrub I had was in Bangkok). Then come the main dish, the oil massage. Frankly speaking, THIS MUST BE THE BEST OIL MASSAGE I"VE EVER HAD till now. The attention to details and the consistency were executed so well you are put into relax mode almost immediately the moment they started with ur feet. The whole session ended with a full body mask. After the spa session, everyone was drown in the siesta mood. We headed for a hearty dinner of crabs and fishes, and then sleepily returned to our cottages. I thought that all of us would have an early night since we were all in the mood to sleep. But I was WRONG!!

Night gathering at the common area of our cottage

Crazy snap shots

Games session commenced, with Twister being the main event. It was so funny stacking onto each other. It was almost midnight that we realised that we had purchsed too much food. As such, we played silly games to clear the food, where the loser will finish 1/2 a cup of the instant noodles. I had 1.5 cups.. Tell you, I will not wanna eat another cup noodles anytime soon!

Twister time, and everyone's really twisted!!

The nex morning, everyone woke up with panda faces. Yup, most of us didnt have enuff sleep. After an Indonesian breakfast, we split into 2 groups. One group went to the beach for sight seeing. My group went to the resort pool for a dip, and a second shot at the back massage. At just $10 for the almost 40 min session, I can tell you that not even a pizza comes that cheap! Cheap is one thing. The service was impeccable and the massage was itself a triumph. It was so relaxing that I nearly fell asleep towards the end of the session.

Poolside fun just before the ferry ride home

Well, good times have to end somehow. After the massage session, all of us gathered at the lobby for our bus ride to the ferry terminal. It was a short but memorable journey which left all of us looking forward to the next one.

A satisfied group at the Bintan custom terminal