I guess there was a bit of apprehension – maybe expecting the worst, but overall, fears were groundless. There were, however, some passengers who thought they were getting a Qantas service (there is a codeshare flight number) and were a little agitated when they boarded and found that there were no movies or other in-flight entertainment available, and they had paid more too. To add to the anxiety; Jetstar hire DVD players to passengers, but they only had 4 machines available! Not good Mr Jetstar.
The meal served was adequate, and unexpected as most budget airlines charge for meals. Presentation was quite picnicky – it came in a little cardboard lunchbox – but the content was fine. It did appear, however, a little hard to get water; handed out in tiny disposable cups. Very person and time intensive, rather than the bottle you usually get from Qantas. There were pillows and blankets (PS they even had Qantas names on them) and the seats did recline a few centimeters; both of these features were absent from Tiger. Watches back an hour and a half; the time flew by and we arrived into Singapore close to time.
We proceeded through the formalities, collected bags and into a taxi and on to our hotel.
Back to an old favourite in Little India, refurbished and a new name, now the Parkroyal on Kitchener Road, so we decided to try it again. After we had checked in, eaten a murtaback at a small Indian eatery behind the hotel [the McDonalds of Indian food], we then had to go and check that Mustafa Department store was still the same.
It was marginally not as chaotic as it can be on a Sunday, but I guess it was a bit late, 11pm by the time we got there, and many of the workers would have headed home to bed to prepare for their early starts on the construction sites the next morning. Usually on a Sunday, if you are on the Serangoon Road side of the hotel and look out your window, you will see a sea of humanity meeting in the streets and parks as the (mainly) “tourist worker” construction workers have their one day off, do their shopping, and meet their friends.
Mustafa is open 24 hours, so is quite a handy spot if you arrive in late or only have a short stopover, as you can buy most things there. It has changed over the last few years as it has “modernized” and the spaces between the shelves have increased; it used to be quite an effort to move about through the place! We also notice that the new shopping centre / residential high rise across the road has got quite a move on since we last saw it in August. We have been watching the project since it was an empty block, through the last two and a half years as it has progressed. The taxi driver (always the local expert of most things) told us that if we had purchased an apartment ”off the plan” when we first saw construction start, we would have doubled our money by now. Haven’t dabbled in that sort of thing for a while now … hmmm ... reminds me of the Gold Coast in the 80’s.
We had a reasonably early start the next morning to get to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to catch the mid morning ferry to Bintan. The terminal has had an upgrade since last visit and after we checked in there is time for a coffee before we are allowed into the boarding area. The crossing was quite rough on a choppy sea and cloudy, rainy conditions, with a few course corrections to miss the odd floating log or three, and it takes about 45 minutes on a wave piecing high speed catamaran. We passed by a large number of ships anchored; it is a very busy shipping lane for tankers, container ships and cruise ships as well as the many in
ter island ferries and shipping boats. We put our watches back another hour and we are soon slowing down and pulling into the ferry terminal at Bintan. Through the formalities, visa on arrival for Australian passport holders [$10US for 7 days single entry], collect bags and the resort provides a bus for transport.
Check in at Bintan Lagoon Resort is quick and pleasant and we decide to have a walk around to orient ourselves. Bintan Resorts is a popular escape island for Singaporeans, with several resort options available, depending on what you want. Golf or no golf, with courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Ian Baker-Finch, Greg Norman and Gary Player that I am aware of. And pretty fancy they are too, with some lovely beachside greens and tees; complete with the odd strolling monkey I also noticed; I am not sure what his handicap is, apart from the obvious one, height. I must state here that I am not a golfer; sad way to spoil a nice walk I think, but there are a lot that don’t share my view on that topic.
Sadly, some of the fairways desperately need a major herbicide spray workover to clean up weeds [professional opinion of one of us – it can be done], greens were good, the courses appear challenging, and quite a few balls disappeared [mostly into water] from a steady stream of players while we were strolling among the fairways.
Bintan is a bit like Nusa Dua on Bali in some ways – an artificial westernized resort in Indonesia. All prices in Singapore $, and matching high prices too, yet the bill must be in Indonesian Rupiah. And you tend to be captive to the resort, so have little opportunity to lower costs, buying a few drinks outside in local shops. Many Singaporeans carry a lot of food and drink across with them, and it is a good idea, especially if with family or staying a few days.
In general Bintan Lagoon Resort – as any of the resorts on Bintan Island – is an opportunity to turn off, laze and relax. As such, a perfect location to do just that. Do as little as nee
ded, although there is a wide range of the usual extra curricula options, at a fee – go here or there, ride ATV bikes, shoot arrows etc, but there are many activities that are free, the swimming pools are good and so are the beaches. Bintan Lagoon Resort beach may even have real surf, as it has done in late December, due to the NE monsoon.Food in the restaurants is good; starting with breakfast in the Kopi-O. And I quote from the advertising: “Feast on authentic Asian and Western specialties created with the freshest seasonal ingredients. Overlooking a cascading pool and waterfall, the restaurant offers buffet and a la carte dining breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our sumptuous evening buffet presents a new theme each day; from Malay to Middle-Eastern; Chinese to Steam Boat and Grill and more. Boasting 12 restaurants, bars and cafe as well as function rooms, guests can enjoy culinary delights from around the world using market-fresh imported and local ingredients prepared by our brigade of international chefs. Choose to enjoy casual al fresco dining, sumptuous buffets, cocktails by the pool, ‘surf and turf’ beach BBQ, Mediterranean cuisine or authentic Japanese, or make it memorable and intimate under the stars with a candlelight dinner at the water's edge or go deep into the jungle for a rousing rendezvous to the beat of the drums.” Just about whatever your stomach desires is available.
Weather remains overcast and rainy for our stay but there is plenty of time to get out on walks, even if they had to be kept short a couple of times to avoid a drowning. But even that in the tropics is not too traumatising, as the rain is not cold and you can usually find shelter and dry off fairly easily after the storm passes.
Out time on Bintan is too quickly over and we are on the ferry on our way back to Singapore.
For more photos please click on one of the thumbnails below.
by oldfartz99
by oldfartz99
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