REVISITING BINTAN


The first time we went to Bintan was sometime last year, with Leah and Eder. I loved it so much that everytime we would meet thereafter, I'd find a reason to chant, 'Bintan! Bintan! Bintan!'

Well, what better reason to go back than for a birthday? So here are the promised pictures. Some are shots taken from our, others are from Christine's and Sara's.

I was up early that Friday morning. Before we can board the ferry at 8pm, there were a lot of things I had to do first... go to the market, cook dinner, make sandwiches and pack our bags. There was a slight skip to my steps as I went about my errands in anticipation of that night. Everything was going well until 5pm came and I decided to call Papa and ask about his passport.

'Oh shit! It's at the Indian embassy!'

I was stunned! We had barely 2 hours before boarding the ferry and he didn't have his passport with him? A lot of calls were exchanged attempting damage control. In the end, Papa came through for us... he left the office 30 minutes ahead of time, left his bike behind in the office garage (hoping against hope that it would still be there come Monday morning) and got to the house, passport and all, by 6:30.

Everything was fine, except... we left behind a half kilo of salmon for the salmon-miso soup. Eder and Leah picked us up at a little past 7, not faring any better than us, as they've left behind the pork for the sinigang and the sotong balls. No turning back now. 10 minutes before the ferry gates closed and we were finally, thankfully there.



calm before the storm... Papa, before he decided to get intimately acquainted with the toilet




and the culprit was one of those tuna sandwiches Leah's munching on

Leah left no stone unturned to make it a truly wonderful welcome for us, making us all feel really special.




a welcome party...




a private shuttle to the resort...




gongs beaten as we stepped up to the hotel's foyer...




and of course, my very own birthday cake! (in the picture, I was wearing Christine's birthday gift... really nice!)

After dinner, we went to the karaoke bar and had a really great time.




taking pictures...




dancing...




chugging down drinks...




making a mess...




and simply goofing off




I know, I know. It's pretty late. We got the message, Ron.


The following morning...




the epitome of relaxation...




communing with nature...




water, water everywhere!

We had barbecue that night, not quite a luau but still. We were planning to visit the nearby Mana Mana resort and check out the disco but we were all poofed out and settled for a quiet night of stories, dazzling ourselves with each other's company, the single bottle of Malibu Rum not quite successfully inebriating us.

We were leaving Sunday afternoon and didn't have anything planned the whole day. Nevertheless, it turned out quite well.




snakes and ladders was never played quite like this...




nor was chess...




nor has anybody swam this way...




or come out of the pool looking like this...




anybody would have done this at one time or another...




but not with these smiles...




or hang loose like this...




it may take a while before we get to do this again...




or be in this corner of paradise

But if company is all it takes to have insurmountable fun...




then we're having that again tomorrow!

See you again, guys. And don't forget the food this time!