Marina's Bloggariffic

Recently, I’ve been invited by Jennifer of Dunbar Jones to join the lovely Nadnut, Jenjen as well as Sassyjan for a trip to Bintan Resort Lagoon.

I was most excited. It was such a coincidence as just a few weeks back, I told mum that I needed a break. And then this invitation happened. What a fantastic way to just chill out!

As I was allowed to bring a partner with me, I called up my longtime netbuddy, Geri. And on the specified date, we headed to the Tanah Merah Ferry where we met the rest of the lovely blogger ladies as well as the coordinators Felicia and Jennifer who handed us our boarding passes.

I looked around the terminal area which reminded me a lot like the sentosa Mrt Terminal, Geri mentioned that the terminal has improved a lot since the last time that she was there.

While waiting for our ferry to arrive, I looked at my boarding pass and embarkation slip with interest as this was probably the second embarkation slip that I’ve ever used, the main one being the Malaysian one.

I smiled to myself. It was my very first time going to Indonesia! How exciting!

And not before too long, our ferry arrived. All of us scrambled madly to enter the ferry. Not before too long, we were already acting all silly.

We’re going to Bintan tomorrow! from rinaz on Vimeo

The group wanted to sit in the middle of the ferry as Jenjen was afraid of getting seasick. But I didnt wanted to torture myself looking and smelling the snacks which was in front of us.

Moreover, I wanted to look at the sea! So I plonked myself next to the window and stared outside. There is always something calming about looking at the waters swirling up and down.

And that was what I did for most of the journey. In any case, after about an hour or so, we arrived on Bintan Island! I looked up at the clock there indicating that we had to adjust our watches as their timezone with Singapore was an hour earlier.

And then we stumbled around wondering where to go next. But not for too long, we were greeted by the staff carrying placards such as these.

I felt as if we was some big shot. A rock star … perhaps even a blog star? :D We were ushered to take a shuttle bus where a pretty lady introduced herself to us, “My name is Sari and I’ll be here to show you around the resort”.

Throughout the shuttle journey, I was marvelling to myself. “I’m in Indonesia!” and I stared at the greenery. It was not too long when we reached the resort.

I read about the welcoming dance in Malique’s blog. But nothing quite prepared me for this!

Welcome dance from rinaz on Vimeo

How very festive!

We were given a cool drink and a wonderfully fragrant towel to freshen up, which I thought was a very nice touch and were given our keys. Not before long, we went headed to our separate rooms where all of us could not wait to explore.

Me and Jenjen had rooms in the same floor and while I passed her door, I noticed that Jenjen knocked on her door before opening. I was puzzled. Its not like there was anyone inside.

That was when Geri mentioned that it was a Chinese custom to knock on the door of a place you’ve never entered before as a form of salutation to the spirits. Interesting! That was something new to me.

In anycase, both Geri and I were extremely enamored by our room. Its gorgeous!

I love how the entire room was decorated. It was a fusion of modern, zen as well as earthy Indonesian together. Everything looked very inviting. We loved it so much that we could not help but stop gushing.

What was there not to like?

The beds were perfect.

The bathroom was perfect.

Even the view outside was just a vision of loveliness.

Here is our reaction video the first time we stepped in our room :

First reaction to Deluxe Room from rinaz on Vimeo

After We put our luggage in the room, we headed to the cafe, called ‘Kopi O’ for lunch. Such a lovely spread that they had there. I love buffets!

Lunch at Bintan Lagoon from rinaz on Vimeo

Later on, after our sumptuous lunch, we were given a tour around the resort to look at the other rooms that was available there. The idea was so much fun – I love exploring and discovering places.

One of the rooms that we went to was what the original rooms looked like before it was renovated. It looked similar to our deluxe room, apart from the lack of decorations and furnishings.

And then, like a piece de resistance, we were shown the suite. This was when I went crazy! Such an exclusive room! There was a Walk in closet! A powder room! Four poster bed! Jacuzzi bath tub! I was stunned!

I bet, that if I had had that room, I would not want to ever leave. You’d have to drag me by all my four limbs to have to get me to go out. Why would anyone ever leave? You’ve got everything you need here to be self sustained.

I want to stay here … *nudge* Cartcart *nudge*

Reluctantly we left where we were in for another surprise! Our very own buggies to drive!

It was such a treat for me. Sure, it might not be a true car, regardless, I’ve never imagine that I would ever drive it. Excitedly, I jumped in. Geri, having experienced in driving cars and buggies, guided me on how to manouver. It wasnt that difficult, apart from reversing.

With our buggies, we explored another part of the lagoon – their villas.

Their villas were quite lovely. The feel was different from our rooms, more rustic and private even. Sari told us that for all of the villas rented, has a buggy attached to it so that it’ll be easier for the occupants to move around the resort.

Here is a quick video overview of one of their villas.

Deluxe Villa from rinaz on Vimeo

I quite liked the villas, it looked clean and comfortable and homey. But for me, I still have a personal preference to the fantastic suite *nudge* cart *nudge*

After viewing the villa, we were given a few hours of free time. Geri and I decided to head back to our rooms to rest after our explorations.

Sitting in my bed, I looked out of the window and waited for the sun to set. As Bintan has an hour difference compared to Singapore, I was a little fuzzy at what time it would set. At 5pm it was still rather bright, so I decided to watch abit of telley. I was fascinated by Spongebob Squarepants speaking in Indonesian.

Indonesian Sponge Bob from rinaz on Vimeo

I naturally have a habit of dozing off most of the times when I watch telly. Then I jolted up to find out that it was already dark! But its only 6pm! Argh! I wanted to catch the sunset!

To console ourselves, Geri and I decided to go to the beach anyways and frolick in the sea before having dinner.

It was such a beautiful sight. The luminous, full moon that greeted the two of us. And there were just the two of us. There were no one else on the beach when we were there. It was as if, we had our own personal beach.

Full moon over the sea from rinaz on Vimeo

I love the sound of the waves crashing and the softness of the sand that it was comfortable enough for the both of us to jump around happily. Refreshed, it was time for dinner at the resort Nelayan Grill where Nadnut, Jenjen and Sassyjan were already changed and looking beautiful in their dresses. I was still in the same shirt when I arrived! Ehm …

Nelayan Grill was a lovely restaurant, decorated with tiki torches around. It was a quiet and romantic area, quite nice for couples.

While waiting for our main course, we were given gado-gado as an appetizer. I think that, that was the most elaborate and beautiful gado-gado that I’ve ever seen. Usually the vegetables would be mixed up as a regular salad but here it was wrapped up!

Later on, after our appetizer, we looked quizzedly at our menu – ‘Surf and Turf’. What did it mean? Is it seafood? Was it chicken?

And then we realised that it was an entire medley of grilled food consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables. It was a hearty meal. Nothing beats the taste of freshly caught seafood :) I ate so much that I was as stuffed as the grilled calamari that I had.

After dinner, we said goodnight to each other and retired to our rooms, to be ready for tomorrow’s adventures.

Read part two where we experience the different activities in Bintan Lagoon :)

Whee!

Sidenote : Why don’t you try your luck before the 2nd November to win a resort break at Bintan Lagoon for yourself? :)

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 10:57 pm and is filed under life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.