Bintan holiday 2008

We just got back from our Bintan trip last evening. It was a rather good holiday, despite E and I "working" all the time to keep the kids entertained and happy. I am glad my mum went with us this time, so the kids got to spend time with her and we had an extra pair of hands and eyes which can be so useful at times. 

For a change, we stayed at the Banyu Biru Villa of the Nirwana Gardens for 3 nights. There is plenty of space in the villa for the kids to walk around without stomping over each other which is great compared to the usual tiny amount of space offered by a hotel suite. However, the spiral stairway posed different problems. Luckily we had good weather on most days so a big part of the days were spent outdoors by the beach and the pools. The kids had tons of fun playing with sand and dipping in the pool that they both look like little brownies now.

Overall, it was quite an experiential trip for the kids this time. There were the 45 min ferry rides, coach rides and several golf buggy rides around the resort; dinner at a kelong; witnessing the release of new born turtles into the sea and close encounters with several monitor lizards around the resort. Of course, not to mention their play by the beach and pool for hours at a stretch, which in itself, was satisfying enough for the boys.

The boys were so well-behaved on the ferry ride to Bintan. Excited by the experience, they were chirpy and curious about their surroundings. On the way home, it was a different story. One just woke from nap, so was grouchy and the other was grumpy because he was tired and sleepy.

Sand play while the sun was setting... 

Chipsy half-buried in the sand... 


Mum and I watched the kids play while enjoying the sunset.

The first time the boys witnessed the release of baby sea turtles back to the sea. They were so amused and watched intently as the babies made their way across the beach. 

We strolled along the beach everyday, looking for crabs and star fish. Sometimes barefoot, sometimes with their Crocs on. Sometimes they complained of sand between their toes, sometimes they tolerated the grains as they got mesmerized by their surroundings. 

Marcus ate so much during this trip. Here he was stuffing his face with some sausages. 

He asked for 2 digestive biscuits after a swim and bit into them at one go! 

Snacking on rice cakes before dinner... 

We tried to "shoot" daddy with jets of water. Look at the baby's expression!

Fooling around in the pool.



Chipsy flying with papa!

The boys relaxing after a swim.

Chipsy playing in the villa. 

Marcus couldn't leave home without his stationery to do his daily drawings. Here he was busy completing a triple decker bus but was upset later that he couldn't draw perfect circles for the wheels as he forgot to bring along the stencil. A coin solved the problem. 


The part I hated the most. We sighted quite a few monitor lizards around the pool and path to and fro our villa. The first one we saw literally jumped out of the rubbish bin as we walked past and scuttled real fast away. It sure looked like it was scared of us but it also that totally freaked me out. I probably jumped 3 feet which in turned startled my kids. They were more curious than scared but they didn't know what to fear. The worst was when one jumped into the pool when we were in the water and swam past Marcus. He was about 2 metres away from that reptile and again I jumped and got to him as fast as I could. He wasn't even scared until he saw my expression. The lizard just swam right across the pool towards the grass on the other side. There were more sightings after but I shan't go into details. Yikes!!

Without the lizards and dirty floors of the villa, this holiday would be pretty good. The food could be better though, as even a highly recommended high-end Japanese restaurant managed to disappoint. Oh well, we didn't go there for good food though it certainly would be a big bonus.