TravelStream™ news feed for member gin_gy on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/gin_gy en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:31:10 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/4/1275838200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/4/1275838200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/4/1275838200/tpod.html Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:31:10 -0400 Pulau Perhentian

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Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

On route Turtle Point, we passed the Perhentian Village located on the south-east shore of Kecil.. From the distance, it seemed more functional than environmental/touristy, with a lack of a nice beach front but I guess that would be more important to the villagers than lazing on a stretch of white sand. Anyway, paradise is just a short speedboat ride away! :)





Turtle Point was located in front of the pricey Perhentian Island Resort. It was a little different from the Shark Point and the offshore reef next to Bubu.. instead of a variety of coral and fishes, I found a barren sea bed covered with algae with the occasional seaweed and a couple of fishes swimming around.. And no turtles.. Turtle, i.e. ONE. Didn't spot it initially until I saw a whole bunch of people gathering.. Lo and behold! The largest turtle I have ever seen in my entire life, to the extent it was a little scary. If that thing fell on me, goodbye world! But it was rather shy of all the attention it was getting and deftly swam away when too many inquisitive hands got too close. (And with that size too! Man!)

The snorkel at Turtle Point wasn't very long and soon the boat took us back to Bubu for lunch. I met up with Mel and Ren for lunch. Our lazy bodies decided that we should sample the lunch at Bubu's Santai restaurant instead of wandering off further and I must admit, I kinda regretted the decision. Nonetheless, we used the time-that-would-have-been-spent-walking-elsewhere to marvel at the scene before us (Yes, we still couldn't get enough of it!) and take more group photos involving a pair of sunglasses. Haha.





















What can we say, we're on holiday! :)

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Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Rise and shine sleepyheads! Day 2's sun was up early and working hard to give all islanders a good dose of Vitamin D.. so Mel and Ren had to oblige and dragged their half-asleep bodies down to the Bubu 'cook-house' for the complimentary breakfast.. nothing to cheer about I can reassure you! The only cheer at breakfast was the excellent company and a lovely view of the tranquil early morning beach.. More befitting of the Panorama namesake than our dinner venue eh? We clowned about utilizing our cameras and yours truly came up with a brilliant idea of a group pic! Well, though Ren and I are kinda in the dark and Mel gets most of the limelight, at least there's three of us in the pic.. Cool right!!







It was about 10am when the Bubu Resort Boat departed for the first Snorkeling trip of the day.. Got a lovely pic of the resort! :) Mel wasn't feeling too well, so Ren accompanied her in the room.. bet they had a good time snoozing and taking lazy pics! On the other hand, moi braved a HUGE group of noisy Chinese Kuala Lumpur folks all the way to Shark Point (for the lack of a better name).. apparently, here's the best place to see black-tip sharks.. 2-3m vegetarian though, according to one of the tour operators.. hmmm.. okayy.. as long as they dun see humans as delicacy! But anyway, I've given up Shark Fins for almost a year, so they should be least likely to attack me.. I hope!!

There were already quite a few smaller boats at Shark Point when we arrived.. so I wasted no time and plunged into the cool, inviting waters.. well, not so inviting I soon realised.. there were a lot of 'sea mosquitoes' (or whatever they are) and they sure were hungry that morning.. ended up with quite a few mini stings! Urgh.. and these KL folks.. noisy on boat, just as noisy in water.. yak yak yak yak.. I bet they must have scared all the sharks away! I only saw one tiny one about 1m in length.. BOO! But to give the site credit, the coral were abundant and thriving! Truly an underwater paradise! Especially if I dunk my head under and the water blocks out all chatter from around! Heee..

There were some strong currents and suay suay, it was pushing us away from the Bubu Resort boat.. Yours truly the hero noticed some younglings of the noisy group in a little difficulty and helped to pull one of them back to the safety of the boat.. well, that is my account.. his version could have been of this stranger dragging him away from his coral viewing and back to the boat! hahahahaha!
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Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

En route to Panorama Cafe for dinner, we passed by the Matahari Chalets.. true to its reputation for being one of the better budget accommodation around, there was a sign at the reception indicating a full house that evening.. Not a single soul was in sight though (maybe they were all at Panorama Cafe for dinner?), apart from a watch-cat which gamely posed for a picture.. ain't it a beauty? Hee..



Panorama Cafe's dinner scene is rather different from the laid-back, relaxed lunch atmosphere.. totally bustling with energy and filled to the brim with a young and ang-moh (and usually sun-burnt) backpacker crowd.. Better arrive early to ensure a seat! As mentioned in an earlier entry, the beef tacos is an absolute must-try! The tortilla is fresh and fried to the right degree of crisply-ness, and the beef were just so.. for the lack of a better word.. yummy! I wonder what was in their sauce.. .. Mmmmm.. (Oops, just drooled onto my keyboard). Can't vouch for the mango lassi, but I recalled Mel gushing on how good it was and went on to order another two glasses.. (Ok, I'm exaggerating a little, she only ordered another one). Dinner time was also movie time and I heard from Marvin that if the crowd was more blondish/brunettey/un-asian, a porn flick may be screened.. awww.. were we Asians the spoiler for the evening? - "Over Her Dead Body" starring Eva Longoria was that night's selection.. um.. well, on a positive note, Eva was hot!! Though the movie was not..





Internet is not easily available on this backpacker island and not cheap either.. So it was lucky for Mel and Ren that there was wireless at Bubu and luckier that we had made a 'friend with benefits' (haha, sorry Marvin!) who had a friend who had a laptop with wireless lan connection so that Mel could go online and do her private stuff.. And so could Ren.. Hmmm.. I wonder what sneaky business they were up to.. sure looks intriguing! Card games and drinks from the Bubu Bar soon ensued and moi had another Bridge (Singapore local version) disciple under my wing.. I'm pretty sure he has forgotten the game by now though! hahaha.. Oh oh! The Gin& Tonic was not too bad, but please please NEVER order the fresh fruit martini from Bubu Bar.. the wierdest tasting martini.. EVER!


Got a sneak peak at the Deluxe Room before heading off to bed.. Day 2 is gonna be a long day!
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Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia


After our snorkelling fun (Well, not that fun for Mel cos she drank a fair bit of Perhentian sea water), Marvin kindly offered to bring us for a trek across Pulau Perhentian Kecil to Coral Bay, the only place where u can have an unblocked view of the sunset.. We turned in towards Matahari Chalets and followed the path left of the new block.. where Mel and Ren couldn't resist taking a pic with Moshin Chalets and its trademark blue roof.. We walked a clear path up a slope past some chalets (a rather unappealing location, wonder why would anyone wanna stay there..) and enjoyed a short 5min 'trek' through the forest.. No wild animals spotted, but we were blessed with a gorgeous sunrays-shining-through-the-trees kodak moment.. which we tried to capture through our lens.. but it's nothing compared to the real deal la..








Coral Bay was a little of a disappointment.. the sand was really comparable to, or maybe worse than, Singapore's East Coast Park and that really says a lot!! So folks, if you're looking for a good beach, it's not found in Coral Bay! The sunset is a different thing though.. there's this little lookout point at the eastern end of the beach just for Sunsets.. Marvin was warning us to be there early to avoid the crowds.. apparently it's part the itinenary of some hotel packages.. be careful though.. the rickety pathway has a few loose boards!










We were still early and the sun had yet to make its way down the horizon, so the girls chilled at the lookout point and took pics, while the guys took a more adventurous path along the rocky coast to catch the sunset.. Caution: sunset-watchers must have a certain level of fitness to attempt the climb over the rock outcroppings, some parts are quite high and the rocks are slippery! This blog will not be responsible for any incidents that may occur! Heh.. Speaking of slippery, I fell while attempting to cross some rocks.. despite springing up onto my feet almost instaneously, my little clumsy act was caught by Marvin's watchful eyes.. how EMBARASSING!! But I soon forgot my little misadventure and enjoyed the rugged little terrain that Mother Nature laid out for us.. The sea was all calm, the blu-ish green water mixed with the golden rays of the sun.. total tranquility! I was lucky enough to catch sight of a school of tiny fishes breaking though the surface in the distance.. leaping through the air for a good few before diving back into the sea.. What an amazing sight, however brief (and tiny). And then the serenity was broken.. first from a group of locals (I presume) who were wading waist deep in the water from the right towards Coral Bay.. this was followed by a HUGE group of tourists at the lookout point.. with a few of the guys climbing over the rocks to get a less crowded view of the sunset.. haizz..





Guess this signalled our time to leave.. but not before we immortalized ourselves with the sunest at the lookout point.. heh.. It was still bright as we made our way back, but we could see that the restaurants are all geared up for their evening BBQs.. tables were all laid out and the fire had already been started.. the locals sure know how to what our appetite! Better balika balika back for our own feast!
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Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Terengganu, Malaysia

As the fast craft approached the islands, you could feel the excitement onboard simple soar.. camera's were whipped out and and commenced their rapid firing (What to do, only Asians on board! - self included.. hee..). The fastcraft first approached Perhentian Kecil from the Southwest where we caught a glimpse of the isolated Watercolours Impiani Resort on Impiani Beach, followed by the Perhentian Village shortly after.. All images of a rural settlement were quickly dispelled, as the town looked pretty modern.. with concrete, multi-storey buildings and a new jetty.. looks like the revenue generated from tourism has been put to good use eh.. These people must be quite lucky.. having paradise at their front yard whereas others have to travel more than 12hrs by coach to visit.. tsk!







As Long Beach came up in sight, the first thing that struck me was its blinding stretch of white sand from afar.. a prequel of more good things to come.. The fastcraft pulled up on the beach right in front of Bubu Resort instead of using the new jetty.. and whilst waiting for the rest of the passengers to disembark, we soaked in our beautiful surroundings.. the water was soooo clear that you could see all the way down to the bottom.. and the water was so clean there were even fishes swimming under the boat! I think both Mel and Ren must have felt that the agonizing bus journey was worth it! Hehe..

Once again, the moment we stepped on shore, another plethora of photo-snapping occurred.. but who can blame us for being so excited! Everything was perfect, the sun, the sand and the sea! Don't join the Navy, come to Perhentian! Hahaha.. Once the initial excitement died down a little, we made our way to the seafront restaurant where we were given a short briefing by one of the interns, Marvin (soon to be my new lil bro). Settled some administrative stuff and he arranged for an early check-in for us! How lovely! Good thing about interns is that though they may lack professionalism in certain areas, they make up in terms of service! Yay! Had another presentation by one of the diver instructors from the shop just along the resort on responsible diving and the marine life at the Perhentian Islands.. I like this soft approach on sales.. if I had the time and money, I would definitely go on a trip with them!

Mel was commenting that the pictures in the Bubu Resort brochure is truely as they are.. without any help from photoshop.. I truly agree! Take example this pic we took while waiting for our room.. Truely beautiful ain't it!! However, there was one exception.. the pictures of the rooms.. I heard from Marvin that the pics used were of the Honeymoon Suite.. here is the picture of the true normal rooms.. just two queen size beds, a dressing table and a bedside table.. and concrete floor.. with lots of sand.. not really good value for the price you pay.. but the only consolation was the renovated toilets.. now tiled with a nice, slightly fresher look.. And the view from the balcony was.. not too bad.. it was a corner room so we could see the sea from the side of the balcony.. though the view was a little blocked, but we are easily pleased, so no complains on that!




The girls napped a little.. much to my annoyance.. cos I was hungry.. AND, the sun and the sea were calling out to me.. haiz.. but anyway, they didn't nap long and soon, we were having a fantastic lunch at the Panorama restaurant just further down Long Beach.. Mel's and Ren's burgers were HUGE and yummy! My fried rice was.. ok.. darn. But the dinners at Panorama were much better.. plus they have movie screenings then too.. and the beef tacos.. MMmmmmm! Um.. ok, that's another story..



So after lunch, we hurried for snorkelling at the house reef just north of the new pier.. and despite the construction of the pier, the water was still so clear and there was an abundant of marine life! Swam among schools of small fishies and if you don't move and just float, they will come near.. one even nibbled me!! The house reef seemed pretty much alive to me.. brimming with live corals and a variety of fish.. Simply excellent! Perhentian has done a good job protecting its treasures!! Keep it up!! I really regretted not getting an underwater camera, so I guess I'll can only make do with these lovely pics of Long Beach.. Which is good enough la..

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Kuala Besut, Malaysia

It was a short 15min ride from Jerteh to Kuala Besut where we were dropped off at the Bubu Resort office at Samudra Hotel along the coast.. It was a pretty hassle-free process of settling our speedboat tickets and completing the guest forms at the main desk (Ah! The conveniences of getting a package!), but the resort speedboat would only depart at 10am (Ah! The inflexibilty of getting a package!) which meant that we had quite a bit of time to kill before our next journey.. Just as well, it was time for breakfast and explore Kuala Besut a little..



Not surprisingly, with Pulau Perhentian's longstanding fame as a beach/island paradise, the jetty has pretty modern infrastructure.. looks like a marina leh! Further down from the main terminal building, there are a few eateries with the usual Malay fare where the tourist can grab a bite whilst waiting for their ride.. as well as a few convenience stores to stockup on supplies to the islands and travel offices to book your rooms.. Breakfast was at the cafe just next to the pier, came up a little short on the mee goreng and funny-tasting green apple juice, but never short on the company of flies.. hee.. Still, business was good, and we were joined by several other tourists.. be careful with your little ones though.. you'll never know who might be playing with them behind your back -->











There was still plenty of time after breakfast so we headed off to a playground behind the Bubu Office just along the coast.. Good, quiet place to hang out away from the bustle of the pier area where we can laze on the benches by the waterfront and engage in some good ol' girl talk.. Or, if you're not a girl, you can always look out to the vast ocean and try to catch a glimpse of the Perhentian Islands on a clear day.. though the breakwaters might block off the view.. then you might just have to be content with the odd fishing boat floating lazily just offshore.. a lone fisherman casting his net into the water.. Hmmm.. wished I had gone out onto the breakwater though.. the view could have been nice..











Time soon came for us to depart for destination paradise and we made our way back to the Bubu Resort Office.. where Mel almost stepped on a squashed frog.. hahaha! Her shriek was hilarious! Anyway, a noisy bunch (including a HUGGGE Chinese family from KL) had already gathered outside the office and we were all led to the jetty by one of the staff.. There, we paid the National Park entrance fee of RM5 before boarding the resort fast craft to our destination.. A smooth sailing 30min ride whilst gazing out to Terengganu's sandy coastline and lush green headlands that met the richly coloured ocean.. a refreshing sea breeze that seems to negate the sleeplessness from the coach ride.. Ahh.. simply heavenly!
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Jerteh, Malaysia

While planning for the trip, we read online that the coach journey would take 9.5 to 10 hours.. i.e. departing Lavender at 7.30pm would meant reaching Jerteh at 5am latest.. Our speedboat to Pulau Perhentian departs at 10am.. what are we going to do for 5 hours?! Furthermore, our package at Bubu Resort had a free pickup from Jerteh, which we requested at 5am.. such an ungodly hour huh..

But as it would turn out, our journey took longer than expected and we reached our destination only past 8am.. As we alighted, we were greeted by a "Ms Melissa?". Apparently our pickup had been waiting for some time.. Oops! I sure hoped he didn't come at 5am!! But I'm sure the resort would know the rough arrival time of guests right?! The driver wouldn't come too early! Heh.. as you can see, I'm trying to console myself..

Getting off the coach must have done wonders for Mel as she perked up.. "Aah.. a breath of fresh air!" Well, it sure felt better than on the coach.. good enough for both girls to take a nice pic! Heh.. I would have liked to taken a quick look around the town but since it wasn't nice to keep our driver waiting further, we quickly boarded and set off for Kuala Besut.. Little did I know that any thoughts of seeing the town centre on our return trip would be dashed as the bus terminal at Hentian Plaza was nowhere near the centre.. sigh.. ah well, so the only impressions I have of Jerteh are of a KFC (where we alighted), a new constructed/renovated mosque with a reddish dome and the lousy Hentian Plaza..
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Singapore, Singapore

Our chill-out vacation to the idyllic Pulau Perhentian had a start that was anything but.. Mel, Ren and I all rushed to the Lavender Food Centre for dinner before boarding the 7.30pm Transnasional coach at Lavender Bus Terminal.. Well, that was the orginal plan la but poor Ren had a last minute case which she had to prepare for and not only was unable to join us for dinner but she missed the coach at the bus terminal! Ah well.. looks like the government needs to do something about the traffic apart from putting more ERP gantries!

Though her cab driver used a shortcut to Woodlands checkpoint through Senoko drive, she arrived there wayyy before Mel and me cos we were stuck in a massive jam just several hundred metres away from the checkpoint.. So while she waited amidst the smog-emitting buses that thundered by, I was trapped in the coach, forced to listen to David Archuleta on Mel's MP3 player.. her then (and now still.. I think) obsession.. Murphy's Law at its best!!

We finally reunited after the passport control at about 9pm before continuing the journey to Jerteh.. thankfully, Ren was Mel's partner in Archuleta and while they indulged in his marvellous singing, I was left alone to snooze for the night.. the seat, though not first-class comfort, was good enough for me to get some eyeshut thoughout the journey.. despite the swerving and wobbling of the speeding bus.. it can be a little worrying since bus accidents are not that uncommon in Malaysia.. and to add salt, one just occured the day before we depart! How comforting huh.. Ah well.. if you think about it from the other angle, many buses also go accident-free right?

Poor Mel had it worst.. guess she couldn't get used to the bus motion and had a rather sleepless night.. On a12hr journey somemore! Poor girl.. Only consolation she had was probably Archuleta's singing..
... and a bag of Ruffles! Haha! At the thought of comfort food, you can see her eyes light up and before long, she was munching vigorously at the chips.. all the way to Jerteh.. *MUNCH* *MUNCH* *MUNCH*

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Bintan, Indonesia

Rise and shine.. It's a bright, sunny day! Perfect for heading down to the pool/beach to get my daily dose of Vitamin D! If we had gotten up early that is... ... Half the morning was wasted lazing in bed and watching reruns of animal planet on cable tv.. (And trying to get Imp to wakeup wakeup.. hee) Well, the morning was not exactly wasted.. A strategy meeting was ongoing among the ruffled bedsheets and pillows and snippets of animal planet (it was the Valley of the Wolves).. We were to leave Bintan on the last ferry at about 7pm but the checkout was 12noon (extended to 1pm).. What are we to do in between leh? So a brilliant plan was hatched:

Have a hearty breakfast! Eat as much as we can so that we wouldn't need to have lunch and can save $$$!


Go swim in the pool.. well, we couldn't have actually done proper swimming cos we were too full.. floating around was still possible though.. The pool was nice.. very large and even had plots of mini landscaped gardens in the middle of the pool.. plus a jacuzzi area.. though the jets were positioned a little too low.. seemed to be aiming for the lower back or... hmm.. never mind..











Shower in the room.. pack all our stuff and check out.. We lugged our bags around (ok la, it was only one tiny haversack for me) but left our valuables in the lobby safe.. which is very safe cos there are two keys for each box, and you keep one of them.. neat! Well, not so neat if you keep forget to put something in or need to take something out.. *Glares at Imp* Anyway, the sun was a little too glaring to be out at the beach so we just lazed about in the lobby.. Nibbling on biscuits while watching the members of staff hurrying about hiding chocolate eggs for some Easter party for kids, then going around to gather all the little ones.. Hmm.. looked a little haphazard.. the kids seemed a little coerced to participate, the activities (apart from the egg hunt) were blah and the Easter bunny seemed more from a Tim Burton movie than a kid's Easter book.. oooh, scary!


Go gym.. and swim (again)!
The Bintan Lagoon Resort has a sports centre behind our block and there where we spent the remaining hours at the gym and at the second pool.. I think this is more for kids - not so large, shallower and complete with slides.. but nonetheless, we still went for our dip.. with more 'modelling' shots.. haha.. Actually, this was the best part of the plan cos there were shower facilities nearby, so we needn't worry about getting all the chlorine water off us when we depart the hotel..










Have a stroll along the beach.. After showering and depositing the rest of our bags at the counter, we went for a sunset stroll along the beach again.. Not as gorgeous as the one experienced in Kuching or Bako (see previous blog article) but it still evoked a sense of awe and appreciation for nature.. The tide was receding then and Imp had more opportunities to snap photos of crabs (at my order of course!).. thought the pictures didn't come out quite as cleared as we hoped.. heh.. Apart from that, it was just pure relaxation, listening to the sounds of the lapping waves while playing hide-and-seek with the crabs..




And though the sunset didn't thrill as much, the moon made an early appearance that evening.. and in full force too! Isn't it gorgeous? And thankfully for a photographer couple passing by (the guy looked alarmingly like my French corridor-mate from Sweden, Benjamin), we managed to get this lovely shot of that evening..











And then it was time to bid Bintan Lagoon farewell.. Lovely the beach may be, but the lack of local life and high cost of vacationing won't bring me back to this place again.. Or maybe I'm speaking too soon.. who knows? But anyway, the last irk for that evening relates to lack of local activities.. there was only 1 'cafe' at the ferry terminal and the dish of the day was.. .. cup noodles.. expensive cup noodles at that!! URGH!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/2/1206017400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/2/1206017400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gin_gy/2/1206017400/tpod.html Sat, 17 May 2008 11:40:18 -0400 Bintan Resorts

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Bintan, Indonesia

Actually a trip to the Bintan Resorts area doesn't really constitute a proper holiday to another country.. the resort developments are Singaporean, currency used are SGD, and it's devoid of any local activity unless you are willing to pay for overpriced trips out of the resort area into local territory.. which is (surprise, surprise) separated by the rest of the island by barbed wire, checkpoints and armed guards.. another trademark of PAP-land eh? Hehe.. Well, despite the artificial surroundings (And Imp's constant complaints on what I mentioned in the previous paragraph), the trip was fairly relaxing.. despite the cloudy skies, the ferry ride was pretty smooth and the transfer from ferry terminal to hotel was taken care of.. Taking the extra day of leave to make the trip on a Thursday paid off too, as the hotel was able to allow us an early check-in and we could enjoy our stay earlier without the hassle of looking after our bags.

The view from the lobby was spectacular.. down terraces of potted plants to the pool to the vast open sea.. though it would have been better if the sun was out.. no tan for me! Anyway, the view was only a preview (haha.. pun not intended) of what was to come! The beach at Bintan Lagoon was EXCELLENT, not because of the clear water or ultra fine sand (Actually, I don't think Bintan's beach would make it to the world's top beaches list) but cos of a little mangrove forest located just next to the beach.. I'm actually quite amazed that at least part of it was left in its natural state (though with a concrete path cutting through it) during the construction of the resort.. Well, I must say it was a stratetgic move of the developer! Anyway, was hoping to catch a glimpse of little birdies or mudskippers lurking in the stream but alas, I wasn't graced by any appearances..








Beyond the little mangrove was a small beach and a headland where Imp and I could climb over the rocks and appreciate the beautiful beach that lay before us.. The tide was receding then and there were all these little crabs darting beneath rocks along the water edge, away from the fearsome Imp.. not knowing that the bad Imp wasn't a fan of seafood.. hee.. It sure was a place to utilise the camera.. from snapping our shy crustacean friends to little green martian plants growing on the headlands to playing model on some exotic photoshoot (less the glam outfits).























Crossing over the headland brought us to the main beach of Bintan Lagoon Resort, where the sand stretches way off in the distance and there were more human activities observed.. Apart from the usual beach sights like the volleyball net and deck chairs, Bintan Lagoon has one unique feature - a little stream that orignates from the little mangrove forest mentioned earlier.. complete with a meander that bends round the headland.. How LOVELY!! It's like a scaled-down model on how rivers flow from the main land into the ocean.. But apart from the little geography lesson the real Lesson of the Day is: places left in their natural state tend to exude more beauty!! Remember that well!!







Before we knew it, it was lunch time and we faced the dilemma on where to eat.. do we want to have expensive and possibly not-so-filling Japanese food, or expensive and filling but not-so-yummy buffet at the main cafe? No surprises, we chose the latter.. And yes, no surprises, the food ain't that fantastic.. but the view half made up for it! The restaurant was just below the lobby (and above Imp in the photo) and we had a seat that faced the ocean.. complete with a pool that seemed to cascade down to the pool and trees below.. nice huh! But a note of caution.. beware of leaving your food unattended, as the open-aired restaurant allows winged-creatures (more specifically, sparrows) to lie in wait for the chances to fill their growling tummies.. of course, with birds, there are also bird droppings, so check out your seat before plopping your ass down!! Hee..










With our tummies full and satisfied, we made the biggest error of the trip.. which was to take a nap that lasted till dinner time.. Sigh.. Ah well, never mind la, it was supposed to be a relaxed vacation anyway.. Dinner was at the Italian restaurant where our pockets had a larger hole burnt into than lunch.. though the difference in food standards kinda made up for it.. There wasn't much to do at night unless we were interested to check out the karaoke lounge so the rest of the night was spent lazing in the lobby reading newspapers and watching cable tv in the room..
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