Sunday, December 19, 2004
11:59 AM

Bintan Trip!

Tmr gotta start working le... relli miss the bintan trip already cuz that was the time when we could play ard without any worries...

it's relli a great overseas trip, becuz of my company! 29th relli rox. though i hoped that more pple had gone, 13 is actually a large no too!

Day 1

Went to buy preserved plums n minty sweets juz in case of motion sickness at 7-11 with jizheng. We were all so excited abt the trip n quite high at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

Sat by the window on the 2nd floor, where the amplitude of oscillation of the ferry on the waters is the greatest. Well, fenniu, sophia and i got motion sickness but fn's was the most serious though she already ate the anti-motion sickness med. Then i started massaging myself n voila! i burped several times n sorta relieved my motion sickness. By the time we reached the calmer waters near Bendar Bentan Ferry Terminal, we were already dreading the trip back home. Come to think of it, the 45 min of torture on the ferry was worth it for a trip like this...

Upon arrival at Nirwana Resorts, we were welcomed by the traditional Indonesian dancers n drummers. The pple there are warm n we felt so impt at that time... While waiting for our rooms to be ready, we settled in a room first n started planning activities for the rest of the days. I shared a room with Tze which was the common rm cuz it was connected to Zm n JZ's room. Actually, we had no inkling as to wad to do the rest of the times cuz we had no guide and there were no complete map guide for us. Luckily we collected all the flyers we got at BBT, so at least we noe where to get cheap food.

The stuff there are quite ex unlike the usual indon stuff. the exchange rate was roughly S$1:Rp 5,500. Yeah, then i told them that Rp 1000 or even Rp 100 were used in indon places, cuz their stuff r relli cheap. their cost of living is damn low la, but not in bintan of cuz. At 1st we were so reluctant to spend so much there, but realised we have to, in order to enjoy ourselves.

For lunch, we settled at this place called helo helo village. It's actually run by the resorts. U noe wad?! We gotta take taxis there. I mean, we have no choice since Nirwana Resorts itself is almost the size of 2 town centres in Singapore, and the whole island itself is like 1.5 times that of Singapore. Quite troublesome, but eventually we got used to it. The food here is not exactly cheap, but at least they are much nicer that that in Singapore.

Went to take a look at the beach. It was so different from Singapore's! At least it's natural, evident from the tall n sturdy coconut trees there. It's facing South China Sea and so the wind blowing from the sea was super strong. The coconut trees were perpetually blown to 1 side. It's a miracle the trees could stand vertically. Later in the afternoon, all of us except Tze, Lk n benji, swam. (Poor Lk n benji got cramps! hehez) Though the sun was shining on us, it was still cold, cuz the wind was blowing directly from the sea, n most of us were shivering...

We were not too used to the time there cuz it follows indon time when actually the time zone there shud be slightly faster than Singapore's. So by 6, the sky was already darkening.

As usual, being the usual democratic OAC, we had a hard time deciding where to head for dinner. We were reluctant to eat at the "coffeeshop" in the resorts cuz it's not the conventional Singaporean coffeeshop. On the other hand, we were also reluctant to take taxi to somewhere else for dinner. When we saw that the food at the coffeeshop costs abt 10 to 20 bucks, we decided to go there. Yeah, we made the right choice, cuz we tried the indon food there, and though the food came much later, they were superb! We were enjoying ourselves with entertainment from the band too. They were talented singers n musical players. Gosh! They sang This Love by Maroon 5, live! And without any mikes! N they sang Sway in Spanish! Haha, the suaku us were so amazed!

We then spent the nite slacking ard, playing mahjong n watching tv. But very soon, we were all getting drowsy cuz our biological clock was still in Singapore...

Day 2

Woke up at 7+ but it felt like 8+ cuz the sky was already very bright at 6am there. The breakfast buffet was great! I juz ate and ate and ate.. hehez...

Played volleyball and swam to burn off the fats from the sumptuous breakfast till afternoon. Ate junk n cup noodles for lunch. Basically, it seems like we went there juz to eat, sleep, play. We din have much exploration of the island to do since we couldn't get our own transport n no maps.

Then for dinner, we ate at Delight. Thot the food was not very very nice though, but at least tasted better than Singapore's (again), so the guys were full of praises and salivating all over the tables n food. Well, we gals are not that small eaters after all, cuz San, Nini, Sophia n I ate quite a lot. As in, only 4 of us were eating at our table n we managed to finish our food. Hehez...

Went to "The Pub" and gosh, wondered if we made the right choice. We were tortured by the awful voices there singing away at the karaoke. Shuyun said the out-of-tune "Let it be" was still stuck in her head aft she returned to the hotel rm.

Tried the cocktail there n my face n neck became hot aft that. At least it was better than the beer which made me cringe from the bitterness. It's the grossiest drink i ever drank. Wonder y my dad likes beer so much. Yucks!

nini became a little tipsy aft that, evident from her constant exclamations that "I'm not drunk" in mandarin... hehez... Sang many songs, and it felt so reminiscent. Liked the feeling of being surrounded by my very own gd frens!

Day 3

Played archery today. So weird, cuz was telling nini it comes with practice. So if anyone's first try is bull's eye is tyco... Well, it came true for me, cuz my 1st try is bull's eyes, while my subsequent tries were nowhere near... Nevertheless, it was fun!

Such a slack day... We went to the beach n enjoyed the scenery once again, and of cuz took pics!

While waiting for the bus to come in the aft, we played monopoly and pingpong. I was irritated by the constant voice from the basketball game machine to "Please press start" so decided to press start... To my surprise, the balls relli rolled down n me n weishan started playing. haha... Quite lame la... JZ oso did the same with the adjacent machine n he managed to score a lot...

We were absorbed in our games that we only went to the lobby at 4.30 which was the time we were supposed to board the bus. Gosh! We were told that the bus came at 4.30 n left already, without us! So, together with another couple, we took a chartered bus to BBT. If not we may have to spend another day, roomless, in Bintan...

Actually, i dun relli mind that... =P

Bintan

Me & Tze