Bintan

Our much-looked-forward-to break of sun and beach in Bintan has turned out to be quite disappointing. Unknown to us it had been raining very heavily prior to our departure from Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. I think something like the heaviest rainfall recorded in I can’t remember how many decades and many places in Singapore and southern Malaysia were flooded. Still, when we heard this news on the plane, we were still hoping for the best, Bintan, after all, is still another hour by ferry away from Singapore. Hmmm……………….

When we got off the plane at Changi Airport, the weather wasn’t too bad, a bit drizzly but ok. We kept our hopes up and proceeded to Tanah Merah Ferry terminal for the ferry to Bintan. The sea, however, was a different story. It was really choppy. Geoff, as expected, was totally out of action. Tasha, who had traveled almost every where with us without much of a fuss was not feeling too good either, so we gave her a plastic bag to hold on to. This proved to be a very smart move as half way through the journey, she experienced her first sea sickness and vomited. She now knows how Nigel feels every time he rides in a car. Andrea was also feeling it, fussing and crying until she fell asleep. After what felt like eternity, we arrived in Bintan. When we got to the hotel, all we wanted to do was lie in bed. So, that’s how we spent Christmas Eve - room service and an early night.

Christmas day – the morning looked slightly promising. Although cloudy, it wasn’t raining (yet). After breakfast, we hurried to enjoy the pool. We managed to have a couple of hours in and around the pool area before it started to pour. We do what we do best in situation like this – give the kids a nice warm bubble bath! After lunch, Tasha went to the kids club (Note to all parents with kids age 3 and above – kids club at resorts is highly recommended!!!) for an afternoon of Christmas fun. The resort had arranged for some activities and a visit from Santa……….since Santa is in Asia, it came to the kids (in the rain) on the back of an elephant!!!

Boxing day – the thunder storm from last night continued. So, we entertained ourselves indoor. Once again, our life savers – DVD player and kids club!

The weather improved slightly over the next 2 days, we managed to spend sometime at the beach building sand castle and having fun with the waves.

After 5 days at rainy Bintan, we left to re-join civilization! As we only had a day and a half in Singapore, we didn't do too much. We indulged in some retail therapy and food – we had beef noodle at Galang and chili crab at East Coast Seafood Center and the kids had waffle ice cream sandwich.

We flew back to sunny Hong Kong on New Year’s Eve. After a week of running around after the kids, we were so tired once we got home. And you guessed it! We spend New Year’s Eve as we did Christmas Eve – dinner at home and an early night! Hope this is not a reflection of our 2007!!!!

For photos, go to:
www.pbase.com/gztlee/xmas06