Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Bintan Banyan Tree - Nov 09

I received a call from Kristina (one of my travel kakis) if I was keen to go to Bintan over the weekend..I was very excited as it meant Banyan Tree villa! Despite the fact that I was going Tokyo next week & just returned from Bangkok, I immediately agreed... We took the ferry @ Tanah Merah to Bintan around noon..I never realized that tix was so expensive -$60plus (2 way) on Penguin..Check out http://www.penguin.com.sg/pages.php?url=ferryservices

Upon reaching Bintan, we were whisked to Banyan Tree for check-in.There were free DVDs for rental & books for lazing on the beach. The buggy sent us to our room , I preened for pics around the villa before settling down with a glass of bubbly at the outdoor jaccuzi!






Before we knew it, it was almost 5pm..Time to leave our villa & proceed for dinner..We took a few pics at the swimming pool before we headed to Saffron for Thai-Indo fusion food..



Luckily there was 50% off otherwise it is super expensive..The food was interesting but perhaps not worth a second visit but presentation was pretty as expected..Although super full from the main course, we ordered dessert..coconut brulee & some dumpling cum icecream dish.





There was nothing else to do after dinner except to laze in bed, read a book & struggle to watch some DVD (i forgot the name) before falling asleep...Looking forward to Day 2..

Woke up & had coffee with cookie while gazing at the vast Indian Ocean...if only I did not need to return to work the next day..sigh..Next up, buffet breakfast at Tree Tops..We could choose the type of scrambled eggs we wanted (eg caviar) & unlimited flow of champagne!




Headed to the beach for more pictures..a waiter approached us with cold fruits..great service! I really stoned on the beach & realized that I was growing old..In the past, I would never regard lazing on the beach as a holiday. It has to be hectic & more hectic.
 


We went to Pasar Oleh-Oleh (Sun market)..This is a really lousy market that costs us $6 for transportatiom. There was absolutely nothing there! We proceeded for a massage ($20+) that was also so-so..followed by taking away nasi padang to eat at Banyan Tree. Soon, it was time to say goodbye & board the ferry back to S'pore.