Funtime @ Bintan, Indonesia.

100,000 rupya!!! Wallah!!!

abababbbbbbbbababababa......

This was how I reacted when the cabbie handed over a 1-lakh rupya bill for covering a mere 25 kms… But soon I had to digest to the fact that I was in Indonesia wherein the lowest denomination for a currency note is 1000 rupya and 1 USD = 9000 IDR! (ababbbbababababaaa....once again !)

Well, it was Good-Friday (April 6th, 2007) when I packed my bags to set foot in a new country, Indonesia! Sumeet, Tushar, Kush n Sameer (aka Baazigar) were the lucky souls who got the opportunity to join me in the venture. On reaching the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, Singapore early morning to catch a ferry for Bintan, we found it already packed with loads of people. The first available ferry to Bintan was only at 5pm. There was no way we could have afforded that long a wait, as it would've wasted our whole day. So we - the smart managers, took an immediate decision to go to Batam. Batam, also in Indonesia, is more of a commercial town than a holiday destination. So we took 10AM's ferry to Batam n got our indonesian visa stamped at Nongsapura ferry terminal of Batam. An hour of the ferry ride to Batam was great fun!!! Sumeet’s crazy modelling was just one bit worth mentioning! From Nongsapura, we took yet another 100,000 rupiah taxi to go to the Port of Punggur terminal. This was where we would board the ferry to Bintan..

After the hectic round of acrobatics, we landed at Tanjung Pinang terminal of Bintan at around 2pm (Indonesia time). I had booked the hotel on Trikora beach online. (I had to stay true my name, e-jd !) Again, we hired "one lakh rupya (rupiah) taxi" to reach the place. Nostalgia Yasin Bungalow (NYB), our resort, was simply superb; location, rates, food – all defined to perfection!!!

White sand beach with blue water lagoons, no plastic waste on beach, no traces of oil in water!!! Now isnt that a too good to be true??? But that’s what the place was like!

Edy welcomed us all to NYB with a fresh round of coconut water, and the huge and amazingly sweet Indonesian coconuts at that!

The next moment, we were in canoes. I was the only one amongst the four of us who was experienced in canoeing, which made it all the more fun for me!

The next day, it was time for a ride through the mangroves. It wasn’t as exciting as we had expected, but an experience to remember was the speed boat. Next on the list was banana boat ride; a banana shaped rubber float which can accommodate 6 people. This is then pulled by a speed boat in deep seas. Awesome fun, that ride!!!

Then on 7th april, we also did more of canoeing and biking in the nearby area..2 Honda Supras were given to us to roam around.. We went to fishermen village, other beaches nearby..Mee goreng was our hot favourite in the food items there..club sandwiches, french fries, coke were amongst the most wanted items..

Next day, I went for scuba diving while Sumeet, Sameer n Tushar went for 2nd round of biking.. I tried scuba again after 4 n half years..it was damn tough..My 1st attempt wasnt so successful but I got a hang of it..then i tried 2 more times n I had wonderful time 50 feet down there.. Bintan has a lot of live corals around..Also I could see many colorful fishes, sea grass..Its an experience which simply cannot be put into words..


4pm, 8th of April 2007 and it was time to say goodbye to Bintan!
We took the last ferry back to Singapore. ’Falcon 3’ was our vessel which was like a "junta vessel"; haat dikhao, ferry rukao! But it was nice to sit on the upper deck and enjoy the view! (I don’t know what exactly we saw in the journey :) but as we approached Singapore, we saw a very nice-looking post-sunset skyline of the city.

Another great excursion had just come to an end!!!

I'd be packing my bags soon though :)

-- jaydeep (april 19th, 2007 :: 0340 hrs SGT)

p.s. foto album @ http://picasaweb.google.com/jaydeephingne/BintanIndonesiaApril2007