3D2N Bintan Trip - Part 1

Just came back from a 3D2N Bintan trip with a group of old friends, 4 of us in total.

We bought the trip package from the DEAL.com.sg site at $269/pax. After adding the surcharges (weekend + fuel surcharge) and travel insurance (optional), it totals up to close to $350/pax. It's good to do some calculations of the actual package price before purchasing your deal from the deal websites. I would say the deal sites packages are generally not very cheap, but it makes the booking process and activities planning a bit more hassle free.

We purchased the package to stay at the 4-star Mayang Sari Resort, but it was fully booked for the weekend we wanted, so we took the "free upgrade" to the 5-star Bintan Lagoon Resort instead, which is supposed to be bigger.


Day 1 (24/01/2015)
Take SBS bus service 35 to Bintan Ferry Terminal from either Bedok or Tanah Merah interchange. I recommend taking the bus from Bedok so that you have a higher chance of getting a seat.

Out ferry to Bintan departs 12.10 pm, tickets to be collected at least 1.5 hours before departure. I got my friends to meet at 9.45 am, everyone arrived at 10 am and we reached the Ferry Terminal at 10.30am after a slow bus ride. Always buffer enough time for waiting, slow traffic, customs and contingencies.

By the way, there are 4 departure timings (0910, 1110, 1210 and 1400). I think 1210 is a good time because the first two ferries are full, which means possibly longer waiting time at the customs and security checks as well. We were done with customs pretty quick.

I had Starbucks breakfast in Singapore before departing.

Rosemary Chicken with Raspberry Mocha

And then I vomited everything out in the ferry. Haha. I guess it may be due to the whipped cream on the coffee which make me feel nauseous when the waves were big.

Upon arrival, our local tour guide from IndoBintan is waiting at the ferry terminal with my name, and we took the shuttle bus to Bintan Lagoon Resort.

Check-in process was notoriously slow. I accidentally cut a queue and the guys standing far behind made their presence known with a hint of impatience. I guess I can understand why after standing in the queue myself. They served a glass of lemongrass drink during the wait too. I find it nice, but not all my friends liked it. Anyway, the official check-in time was 3pm, they were nice enough to allow us to check in earlier. (check-out late is chargable though!)

Our room. 

Nice extended balcony only for rooms at Level 1, great for reading or hanging out!

The platform is good for games.

Snacks we brought from Singapore for night-time party.

The room looked rather nice and spacious, especially with the extended balcony. However it was stale-smelling and sometimes smell of cigarette smoke when someone is smoking, possibly because the air-con is linked. We got someone to spray room-fresheners for us and it helped. Perhaps it would have been useful to bring some room fragrance along.

Another little complain is that the bedside lamp on my side was faulty. As a result the room is too dark for my liking especially at night. At least I can't do bedtime reading on the bed, so sometimes I read on the platform instead. The platform is a bit cold without a mattress though. I've seen on someone else's blog where there is mattress on the platform, which is much more comfortable. I tried requesting for a mattress on the platform but was rejected because they said my room cannot put mattress. I didn't really understand why but never mind.

We explored the resort a bit, and had lunch at the Hanskell Cafe in the resort.

Mee Goreng and Nasi Goreng

Things are generally pricey at the resort. Just the Mee Goreng and Nasi Goreng cost us 379,500 Rupiah, which is more than S$40! The serving was big though, the 2 dishes were enough for 4 people. The Mee Goreng was quite nice, but the Nasi Goreng not really.

In the evening, we met up with the tour guide for the itinerary included in our package. To summarize, our package included:

1. A short visit to Pasar Oleh Oleh (closed from Mar 2015)
2. 60 min Traditional Indonesian Massage
3. Free Kueh Lapis
4. Mangrove Tour OR Fireflies Tour (We chose the latter)
5. Kelong Seafood lunch.

Pasar Oleh Oleh - Possibly the last time I'll see it because it'll be closed from March 2015.

At Pasar Oleh Oleh, there were about 10 shops opened or so when we visited, because many shops have already started closing down. We spent about 20 minutes there, nothing much left to see. Mainly the hut-like looking shops and little merchandises.

Then we had the massage at Nibanna Spa. It was two people in one room, I felt a bit uncomfortable actually, but that's my issue. I didn't really enjoy the massage, sometimes it was too painful and the sore muscles weren't really massaged enough. I was also quite disturbed when my masseuse kept burping. I think my masseuse also skipped some steps because she tends to finish earlier for each portion even though she may start later compared to my friend's beside me, but they are supposed to be in sync so sometimes she sit there and wait.

After the massage we went to the Kueh Lapis shop beside to try some samples, and then collected the free Kueh Lapis. The free Kueh Lapis was the coffee flavour one, but my friends preferred the original ones. I'm not exactly very fond of Kueh Lapis, but I think both are fine.

The highlight of the night was probably the Fireflies Tour. Actually, the Mangrove Tour is the same ride, the only difference is day or night. At night you get to see fireflies.

Left: Fireflies in the dark. Right: Close up of fireflies on my hand!

Mating fireflies in our boat!

It's not the first time I've seen fireflies in the dark, but it's my first time getting to hold them in my hand and look at them close up! Even get to see them mating. Haha! The boat ride was 5 km long, stopping beside trees to let you touch the fireflies. Very cooling and nice ride.

The boat ride will bring you to the Kelong Seafood restaurant.

Kampong Kelong Seafood Restaurant @ Mangrove River

I'll let a picture summarize the food. Actually, I forgot to take a proper picture.

4 course dish.

It was quite a waste because we didn't really touch the mussels and the gong-gong. We just don't really eat those food. I ate mostly the vegetables, tofu and the soup. Very salty but the taste is not bad.

Some living things in the restaurant

We get to go up the fish catching area to see how the seafood are caught.

Fish rearing area.

That ends our first day, and everything included in the travel package. In the next post, I'll write about how we spent the rest of our days.
3D2N Bintain Trip - Part 2